home > the cfr think tank > experts > leslie h. gelb
President Emeritus and Board Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
Contact Info:
Phone: +1-212-434-9742; for all media requests call +1-212-434-9460
E-mail: JZelmati@cfr.org
Location:
New York, NY
Media downloads:
One-page bio (PDF, 52K)
Video clip (WMV, 970K)
Video clip (MP4, 1.3 MB)
Pulitzer Prize-winner, former correspondent for the New York Times, and senior official in State and Defense Departments; expert on U.S. foreign policy and national security. Author of the new book Power Rules: How Common Sense Can Rescue Foreign Policy (HarperCollins, March 2009).
Expertise:U.S. foreign policy; national security; Russia; Persian Gulf.
Experience:Columnist, Deputy Editorial Page Editor, Op-ed Page Editor, National Security Correspondent, Diplomatic Correspondent, New York Times (1981-93); Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (1980-81); Assistant Secretary of State for political/military affairs (1977-79); Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution (1969-73); Visiting Professor, Georgetown University (1969-73); Director of Policy Planning and Arms Control for International Security Affairs, Department of Defense (1967-69); Executive Assistant, U.S. Senator Jacob K. Javits (1966-67).
Honors:Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Journalism (1985); American Political Science Association (APSA) Woodrow Wilson Award for the best book on international relations (1981); Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Selected Publications:Power Rules: How Common Sense Can Rescue Foreign Policy (HarperCollins, March 2009); Anglo-American Relations, 1945-1950: Toward a Theory of Alliances (Taylor & Francis, 1988); Claiming the Heavens: The New York Times Complete Guide to the Star Wars Debate (coauthor, Crown Publishing Group, 1988); Our Own Worst Enemy: The Unmaking of American Foreign Policy (coauthor, Simon & Schuster, 1984); The Irony of Vietnam: The System Worked (coauthor, Brookings Institution Press, 1980).
Related Links:
New York Times Editor's Choice: "Power Rules" (New York Times Sunday Book Review; April 16, 2009)
"'Power Rules,' by Les Gelb: We're Still the One" (New York Times Sunday Book Review; April 10, 2009)
First Chapter: "Power Rules" (New York Times; April 10, 2009)
"Common Sense to the Rescue of Policy" (New York Times book review of Power Rules; March 22, 2009)
June 22, 2009
Op-Ed
The Daily Beast
Leslie H. Gelb argues that President Obama is right to keep his distance--this is what Iranians want, and they have smart, sophisticated reasons for it.
See more in Iran, U.S. Strategy and Politics
June 15, 2009
Op-Ed
Democracy: A Journal of Ideas
See more in Iraq, National Security and Defense, Media and Foreign Policy
June 15, 2009
Op-Ed
The Daily Beast
Leslie H. Gelb writes that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "made some significant points that Washington shouldn’t ignore," in his speech on Sunday.
See more in Middle East, Israel, U.S. Strategy and Politics
June 13, 2009
Op-Ed
The Daily Beast
Leslie H. Gelb discusses the outcome of the Iranian election and its significance for U.S. policy.
See more in Iran, U.S. Strategy and Politics
June 10, 2009
Op-Ed
The Daily Beast
Leslie H. Gelb discusses the surge of reformers ahead of the Iranian elections.
See more in Iran, Elections, U.S. Strategy and Politics
May 31, 2009
Op-Ed
The Daily Beast
Leslie H. Gelb discusses Secretary Geithner's trip to China.
See more in United States, China, Geoeconomics, International Finance
May 26, 2009
Op-Ed
The Daily Beast
Leslie Gelb argues, "the president's cool Korea strategy is wise."
See more in North Korea, U.S. Strategy and Politics
May 14, 2009
Op-Ed
The Daily Beast
Leslie H. Gelb discusses foreign policy bestsellers.
See more in Foreign Policy History
May 8, 2009
Op-Ed
The Daily Beast
Leslie H. Gelb discusses the meeting among Presidents Obama, Zardari, and Karzai.
See more in Afghanistan, Pakistan, U.S. Strategy and Politics
May 6, 2009
Op-Ed
The Daily Beast
Leslie H. Gelb argues that President Obama's upcoming meeting with Asif Ali Zardari will ignore the issue of Pakistan's supply of nuclear weapons.
See more in United States, Pakistan
April 27, 2009
Op-Ed
The Atlantic
Leslie H. Gelb discusses what President Obama's first 100 days in office have revealed about his foreign policy strategy.
See more in U.S. Strategy and Politics, Presidency
May/June 2009
Foreign Affairs Article — Summary
The United States is declining as a nation and a world power.
See more in United States, Global Governance
March 27, 2009
Op-Ed
The Daily Beast
Leslie H. Gelb argues that President Obama's team has yet to identify the benchmarks that are central to the president's Afghanistan strategy, and knowing what President Obama chooses not to do in the region is just as critical as knowing the policies he does plan to carry out.
See more in Afghanistan, U.S. Strategy and Politics, Congress
March 21, 2009
Op-Ed
Wall Street Journal
Leslie H. Gelb argues that in the face of multiple foreign policy crises, strict prioritization--with a focus on economic revitalization--is essential.
See more in Financial Crises, U.S. Strategy and Politics, Foreign Policy History
March 20, 2009
Op-Ed
The Daily Beast
Leslie H. Gelb expresses concern that the White House may be focusing too narrowly on its own strategy for Afghanistan, and Congress will have to take responsibility to explore a larger set of options.
See more in Afghanistan, U.S. Strategy and Politics, Congress
March 18, 2009
Audio
Listen to Leslie H. Gelb, CFR's president emeritus and board senior fellow, discuss his new book Power Rules: How Common Sense Can Rescue American Foreign Policy.
See more in Foreign Policy History, Grand Strategy
March 16, 2009
Interview
Leslie H. Gelb, CFR's president emeritus, says the United States should focus on "attainable objectives" in talks with Iran and plan a "power extrication strategy" for Afghanistan.
See more in Afghanistan, Iran, U.S. Strategy and Politics
March 13, 2009
Op-Ed
New York Times
Leslie H. Gelb discusses how the United States can effectively reduce the risk of terrorist attacks from Afghanistan in a way that would still allow for the withdrawal of American forces.
See more in Afghanistan, Pakistan, U.S. Strategy and Politics
March 11, 2009
Op-Ed
The Daily Beast
Leslie H. Gelb argues that the frequency and ease of decisions made by President Obama's National Security Council might reveal a worrisome lack of strategy.
See more in United States, U.S. Strategy and Politics
March 8, 2009
Op-Ed
Parade
Leslie H. Gelb discusses whether the Obama administration, unlike those past, can improve U.S. intelligence capabilities.
See more in Intelligence, U.S. Strategy and Politics
Explore international efforts to curb nuclear proliferation with a new interactive from CFR's program on International Institutions and Global Governance.
The Canadian oil sands present an important challenge to policymakers: they promise energy security benefits but present climate change problems. Michael A. Levi assesses the energy security and climate change effects of the oil sands and makes recommendations for U.S. policymakers within the context of broader bilateral relations with Canada.
This report explores an important element of the maritime policy regime: the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Author Scott G. Borgerson examines the international negotiations that led to the convention, the history of debates in the United States over whether to join it, and the strategic importance of the oceans for U.S. foreign policy today.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
In War of Necessity, War of Choice, Richard N. Haass contrasts the decisions that shaped the conduct of two wars between the United States and Iraq involving the two presidents Bush and Saddam Hussein, and writes an authoritative, personal account of how U.S. foreign policy is made, what it should seek, and how it should be pursued.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba’s unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
As Ray Takeyh shows in Guardians of the Revolution, behind the famous personalities and extremist slogans of Iran is a nation that is far more pragmatic—and complex—than many in the West have been led to believe.
Complete list of CFR Books
For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:
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Director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for
Geoeconomic Studies, Deputy Director of Studies, and Paul A. Volcker Senior
Fellow for International Economics
smallaby@cfr.org
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Deputy Director of Studies Administration
+1.212.434.9753
jhill@cfr.org
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