Brent Scowcroft

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Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft is President and Founder (June 1994) of the Scowcroft Group and "one of the country's leading experts on international policy." Scowcroft provides "Group clients with unparalleled strategic advise and assistance in dealing in the international arena." [1]

He is also on the board of counselors for the Arabic media group Layalina Productions and is a member of the Inter-American Dialogue.

Warnings on Iraq, Israel / Palestine

Before the Iraq Invasion

Scowcroft, National Security Advisor to Presidents Gerald R. Ford and George H.W. Bush, and a close friend of the Bush family, said in August 2002 "that US action against Iraq, without resolving tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, 'could turn the whole region into a cauldron and thus destroy the war on terrorism'."

Scowcroft "urged the President to concentrate on trying to broker peace between the Israelis and Palestinians while separately pursuing terrorist threats to the United States. But he said that by going to war with Iraq without linking President Saddam Hussein and September 11, 2001, Washington was risking a conflagration in the Middle East that would also engulf its efforts to defeat global terror groups." --Times of London, August 5, 2002.

"But the central point is that any campaign against Iraq, whatever the strategy, cost and risks, is certain to divert us for some indefinite period from our war on terrorism. Worse, there is a virtual consensus in the world against an attack on Iraq at this time. ... Ignoring that clear sentiment would result in a serious degradation in international cooperation with us against terrorism. And make no mistake, we simply cannot win that war without enthusiastic international cooperation, especially on intelligence," Scowcroft said August 15, 2002, Forum for International Policy.

"... If we were seen to be turning our backs on that bitter conflict [Israeli-Palestinian] -- which the region, rightly or wrongly, perceives to be clearly within our power to resolve -- in order to go after Iraq, there would be an explosion of outrage against us. We would be seen as ignoring a key interest of the Muslim world in order to satisfy what is seen to be a narrow American interest." [2]

During the Iraq War

In May 2007, Scowcroft warned during an interview with the Financial Times, "If we get out before Iraq is stable, the entire Middle East region might start to resemble Iraq today. Getting out is not a solution." In invading Iraq, "we created a revolution; a social and religious revolution," he said. The U.S. should "gradually withdraw from inter-sectarian warfare. Shia versus Sunni is not a problem we can solve." [3]

Instead, Scowcroft advocated for increasing attempts to support the Iraqi Army and to work towards a resolution of the Israel - Palestine crisis. "I don’t think anything would release the energies of moderates in the region than to make progress on the Palestinian issue," Scowcroft told the Financial Times. "The general outlines of a deal are fairly obvious. ... If we could make some real progress on the Palestinian problem we can change the psychology" of the wider region in a way that would benefit Iraq, he claimed. [4]

New World Order

According to Keppler Associates, Inc.'s Web Page on Brent Scowcroft:

"With the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was Scowcroft who coined the term New World Order."

Profiles

Scowcroft is also the founder and "president of the Forum for International Policy, a non-profit organization that he founded in 1993 that promotes American leadership and foreign policy." [5]

Scowcroft served as National Security Advisor to both Presidents Gerald R. Ford and George Herbert Walker Bush. He was Vice Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc. (1982-1989), an international consulting firm. "In this capacity, he advised and assisted a wide range of U.S. and foreign corporate leaders on global joint venture opportunities, strategic planning and risk assessment." [6]

Scowcroft's prior 29-year "military career began with graduation from West Point and concluded at the rank of Lieutenant General following service as the Deputy National Security Advisor. His Air Force service included Professor of Russian History at West Point; Assistant Air Attache in Belgrade, Yugoslavia; Head of the Political Science Department at the Air Force Academy; Air Force Long Range Plans, Office of the Secretary of Defense International Security Assistance, Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Military Assistant to President Richard M. Nixon." [7]

Scowcroft has either chaired or served on a number of policy councils:

"General Scowcroft had an aeronautical rating as a pilot and has numerous military decorations and awards. In addition, President Bush presented him with the Medal of Freedom Award in 1991. In 1993, he was presented with the insignia of an Honorary Knight of the British Empire (K.B.E.) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace".

"General Scowcroft was born in Ogden, Utah. He received his undergraduate degree and commission into the Army Air Forces from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He has an M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University." [9][10]

Affiliations

SourceWatch Resources

External links

Profiles

Articles & Commentary

1992

1998

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2007

  • ↑ Directors, Academy of Political Science, accessed April 15, 2008.
  • ↑ People, Belfer Center, accessed November 18, 2008.
  • ↑ International Board, U.S./Middle East Project, accessed October 25, 2009.
  • ↑ Board of Directors, Alliance for Climate Protection, accessed October 20, 2007.
    • Retrieved from "https://dev.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Brent_Scowcroft&oldid=456769"