home > the cfr think tank > experts > leslie h. gelb
President Emeritus and Board Senior Fellow
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:
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.
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 (196769); 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: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).
September 2, 2008
Op-Ed
National Interest
Leslie Gelb argues that now is the time for realists to put aside partisan differences to form a " politically potent coalition...to shape U.S. foreign policy."
See more in U.S. Strategy and Politics, Grand Strategy
May 11, 2008
Op-Ed
Parade
Leslie H. Gelb writes that “the reality of the 3 a.m. call, however, is both less dramatic and less telling than most Americans think.”
See more in Presidency, U.S. Election 2008
April 27, 2008
Op-Ed
New York Times
Leslie H. Gelb reviews Aram Roston's new book, “The Man Who Pushed America to War,” about Ahmad Chalabi.
See more in United States, Iraq, Foreign Policy History
April 27, 2008
Op-Ed
Washington Post
Leslie H. Gelb argues that real issue is not whether to talk to "bad guys" but how.
See more in United States, North Korea, Iran, U.S. Strategy and Politics
April 26, 2008
Op-Ed
Washington Post
Watering down previous deals will reinforce Pyongyang’s instinct for bluster and blackmail, argue Winston Lord and Leslie H. Gelb.
See more in United States, North Korea, U.S. Strategy and Politics
October 16, 2007
Interview
Former CFR President Leslie H. Gelb says the plan to persuade Iraqis to accept a federal form of government is the best way to “maintain harmony among the different Iraqi groups,” although it remains unpopular among many Arabs.
See more in Iraq, Civil Reconstruction, Peacemaking
October 16, 2007
Op-Ed
National Interest online
Leslie Gelb and Morton Abramovitz consider the common assertion of presidential candidates that the U.S. must restore its leadership in the world.
See more in United States, Foreign Policy History, U.S. Election 2008
October 3, 2007
Op-Ed
Washington Post
Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) and CFR's Leslie Gelb in the Washington Post say the U.S. should support federalism, not partition, in Iraq.
See more in Iraq, Democracy Promotion, Nation Building
September 23, 2007
Article
New York Times
See more in United States, Israel, Congress, U.S. Election 2008
February 9, 2007
Op-Ed
Wall Street Journal
See more in Middle East, Iraq, Grand Strategy
January 23, 2007
Testimony
See more in Iraq, Defense Strategy, Conflict Assessment, Congress, Grand Strategy
January 14, 2007
Op-Ed
The Washington Post
See more in Iraq, Wars and Warfare, Congress, Foreign Policy History, Presidency
December 10, 2006
Op-Ed
The New York Times
See more in Iraq, National Security and Defense, Wars and Warfare, International Peace and Security, Congress
October 24, 2006
Op-Ed
Wall Street Journal
See more in Iraq, Wars and Warfare, Congress
October 15, 2006
Op-Ed
Time Magazine
See more in Iraq, Wars and Warfare, Grand Strategy
July 28, 2006
Op-Ed
Wall Street Journal
See more in Middle East, U.S. Strategy and Politics
July 11, 2006
Audio
Listen to Fouad Ajami discuss his book The Foreigner's Gift: The Americans, the Arabs, and the Iraqis in Iraq as part of the Council's Iraq: The Way Forward Series.
See more in Society and Culture, U.S. Strategy and Politics
July 11, 2006
Video
Watch Fouad Ajami discuss his book The Foreigner's Gift: The Americans, the Arabs, and the Iraqis in Iraq as part of the Council's Iraq: The Way Forward Series.
See more in Society and Culture, U.S. Strategy and Politics
July 11, 2006
Transcript
Author Fouad Ajami and CFR President Emeritus Leslie Gelb discuss the history and current state of Iraqi politics as well as the prospects for the country’s future.
See more in Society and Culture, U.S. Strategy and Politics
In Termites in the Trading System, Jagdish Bhagwati reveals how the rapid spread of preferential trade agreements endangers the world trading system.
America Between the Wars explores how the decisions and debates of the years between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Twin Towers shaped the events, arguments, and politics of the world we live in today.
In The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State, Noah Feldman tells the story behind the increasingly popular call for the establishment of the sharia—the law of the traditional Islamic state—in the modern Muslim world.
Complete list of CFR Books.
This report outlines the nature of the challenges in Pakistan's tribal areas, formulates strategies for addressing those challenges, and distills the strategies into realistic policy proposals worthy of consideration by the incoming administration.
This report analyzes the debate over U.S. use of assurances against torture, explaining the contexts in which they are used, how they can be conveyed, and what they can contain, and recommends a number of ways to respond to criticism so that the United States can continue using assurances.
Complete list of Council Special Reports.
For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:
Gary Samore
Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
+1.212.434.9627
gsamore@cfr.org
Sebastian Mallaby
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
Janine Hill
Deputy Director of Studies Administration
+1.212.434.9753
jhill@cfr.org
The David Rockefeller Studies Program is CFR’s “think tank.” Its work is integral to achieving CFR’s goal of contributing to the foreign policy debate. Fellows in the Studies Program do this by researching, writing, and commenting on the most important challenges facing the United States and the world.
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