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Douglas J. Feith (born July 16 , 1953 ) served as the Under Secretary Of Defense For Policy for United States President George W. Bush from July 2001 until he resigned from his position effective August 8 2005 . Feith holds a J.D. (magna cum laude) from the Georgetown University Law Center and an A.B. (magna cum laude) from Harvard College . His responsibilities included the formulation of defense planning guidance and forces policy, United States Department Of Defense (DoD) relations with foreign countries, and DoD's role in U.S. Government interagency policymaking. BACKGROUND Early life Douglas J. Feith was born on and International Relations . According to Feith, " Chamberlain wasn’t popular in my house." [http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/050509fa_fact Undergraduate Feith attended and Edmund Burke as two major intellectual influences. Feith has expressed ambivelence about the overall intellectual pedigree degree does not have to be a liability. In Conservative political circles, I've found, it may require some explaining." {Link without Title} in 1981 as well, working for Pipes . CAREER Like his father, and Zionism have drawn criticism from those who oppose his views. (see e.g. {Link without Title} ). Feith has long advocated a policy of peace through strength. He was an outspoken skeptic of U.S.-Soviet detente and of the Oslo, Hebron and Wye Processes on Palestinian-Israeli peace. Feith first entered government as a Middle East specialist on the National Security Council (NSC) under Ronald Reagan in 1981. He transferred from the NSC Staff to Pentagon in 1982 to work as Special Counsel for Richard Perle , who was then serving as Assistant Secretary Of Defense For International Security . Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger promoted Feith in 1984 to Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Negotiations Policy and, when Feith left the Pentagon in 1986, Weinberger gave him the highest Defense Department civilian award, the Distinguished Public Service medal. Upon leaving the Pentagon, Feith established the Washington, DC law firm of Feith & Zell. His law firm colleague, Marc Zell, was resident in Israel. Three years later, Feith was retained as a lobbyist by the Turkish government. Among other clients, his firm represented defense corporations Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman . Various newspaper stories and books have asserted that Feith was a co-author of a controversial report ''A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm'' a set of policy recommendations for the newly elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu . The report was published by the Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies without an individual author being named. According to the report, Feith was one of the people who participated in roundtable discussions that produced ideas that the report reflects. Feith pointed out in a Sept 16, 2004 letter to the editor of the ''Washington Post'' that he was not the co-author and did not clear the report's final text. He wrote, "There is no warrant for attributing any particular idea [in the report , let alone all of them, to any one participant." Feith criticized the Oslo Accords and the Camp David peace agreement mediated by former President Jimmy Carter between Egypt and Israel. In 1997, he published a lengthy article in '' Commentary Magazine '', titled "A Strategy for Israel." In it, Feith argued that the Oslo Accords were being undermined by Yasser Arafat 's failure to fulfill peace pledges and Israel's failure to uphold the integrity of the accords it had concluded with Arafat. Two years later, Feith and other former US officials signed an open letter to President Bill Clinton calling for the United States to oust Saddam Hussein . Feith was part of a group of former national security officials in the 1990s who supported Ahmad Chalabi and the Iraqi National Congress and encouraged the US Congress to pass the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998. That act was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton. Feith also served on the board of the Jewish Institute For National Security Affairs (JINSA), a think tank that promotes a military and strategic alliance between the United States and Israel. {Link without Title} Feith is a conservative on foreign policy and arms control. He was an outspoken opponent of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty , the International Criminal Court and the Chemical Weapons Convention which he criticized as ineffective and dangerous to U.S. interests. Feith favors US support for Israeli security and has promoted US-Israeli cooperation. He also favors stronger US-Turkish cooperation, and increased military ties between Turkey and Israel. Both Feith and his father have been honored by the Zionist Organization Of America (ZOA), a conservative organization that often makes common cause on foreign policy issues with conservative Christian organizations. Feith also cofounded the organisation , which ''"offers in-depth study programs for the adult Washington Jewish community that cross denominational lines." Feith's writings on international law and on foreign and defense policy have appeared in '' The Wall Street Journal '', '' Commentary Magazine '', '' The New Republic '' and elsewhere. He has contributed chapters to a number of books, including James W. Muller's '' Churchill as Peacemaker'', Raphael Israeli's ''The Dangers of a Palestinian State'' and Uri Ra'anan's ''Hydra of Carnage: International Linkages of Terrorism'', as well as serving as co-editor for ''Israel's Legitimacy in Law and History''. During his time in the Pentagon in the Reagan Administration, Feith was instrumental in getting the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of Defense Weinberger and Secretary of State Shultz all to recommend (successfully) to the President not to ratify changes to the Geneva Conventions. The changes, known as Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, would have allowed non-state militants to be treated as combatants and prisoners of war even if they had engaged in practices that endangered non-combatants or otherwise violated the laws of war. President Reagan informed the Senate in 1987 that he would not ratify Protocol I. At the time, both the ''Washington Post'' and the ''New York Times'' editorialized in favor of President Reagan's decision to reject Protocol I as a revision of humanitarian law that protected terrorists. As Under Secretary, Feith continued to champion US respect for the Geneva Conventions, i.e. his Op-Ed article "Conventional Warfare" in the '' Wall Street Journal '' on May 24 , 2004 . When the logic of President Reagan's decision on Protocol I was applied by President Bush in 2001 in designating Al Qaeda fighters as "enemy combatants" or "unlawful combatants" rather than as "prisoners of war" a passionate debate ensued (and continues) as to whether one is undermining or supporting the Geneva Conventions by designating combatants as "terrorists" and denying detainees POW status. Feith On His Legacy Feith confided to the New Yorker in 2005, "When history looks back, I want to be in the class of people who did the right thing, the sensible thing, and not necessarily the fashionable thing, the thing that met the aesthetic of the moment.” {Link without Title} PROFESSIONAL PRAISE Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld When Feith left the Defense Department in 2005, Secretary Donald Rumsfeld highlighted the following accomplishments {Link without Title} :
In his speech, Rumsfeld said: :"''Years from now, unfortunately it may be many years, accurate accounts of what’s taking place these past four years will be written and it will show that Doug Feith has performed his duties with great dedication, with impressive skill and with remarkable vision during this perilous and indeed momentous period in the life of our country''." Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine General Peter Pace United States Marine Corps General Peter Pace , now the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff , worked closely with Feith, co-chairing with him the Defense Department's Campaign Planning Committee (CAPCOM). At Feith's farewell-from-government ceremony on August 8th, 2005, Pace as then vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff said: "Doug Feith is a patriot. It irritates me, not that anyone would question his thoughts or his policies -- that is absolutely fair game -- but that anyone would question his loyalty or his motives. I have watched this man for four years. He cares only about what is best for the United States. He works hard to understand as much as he can about the policy arena, and he works hard to articulate what he believes to be true." {Link without Title} The New Yorker , who told me that Feith is 'one of the brightest people you or I will ever come across. He's diligent, very well read, and insightful.' Donald Rumsfeld , Feith's former boss, is also General Pace's superior, and appointed both Feith and Pace to their posts. Donald Rumsfeld explained Feith's trouble with Franks this way: 'If you're a combatant commander and you're in the area of operations and you're hearing from people in Washington, what you're hearing is frequently not on point to what you're worrying about at the moment, just as the reverse is also true.'" {Link without Title} National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley In a letter to Feith on the day of his resignation from government, August 8, 2005, Hadley wrote: {Link without Title} "Your efforts in developing the war on terrorism strategy, the global defense posture, the President’s June 24, 2002, Middle East speech, and moving forward the president’s agenda on advancing freedom and democracy are among your many significant accomplishments. For the last four years, you and your fine staff have provided outstanding support to Secretary Rumsfeld and the President. Your intellectual leadership within the interagency has helped us meet the challenges that face our nation at this critical time. But equally important, you have provided an example of honesty, decency, and integrity that have made you a valued colleague and friend to us all." PROFESSIONAL CRITICISM Former National Security Advisor Condeleeza Rice According to the long-running Washington newsletter, The Nelson Report , edited by Christopher Nelson , Feith was standing in for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld at a 2003 interagency 'Principals' Meeting' debating the Middle East, and ended his remarks on behalf of the Pentagon. Then- National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice said, ''"Thanks Doug, but when we want the Israeli position we'll invite the ambassador."'' [http://www.antiwar.com/lobe/?articleid=4629 Former Secretary of State Colin Powell In Bob Woodward 's book '' Plan Of Attack '', then- Secretary Of State Colin Powell called Feith's operation at the Pentagon the " Gestapo " office because Powell believed it amounted to a separate, unchecked governing authority within the Pentagon . {Link without Title} Former Feith Deputy, Lieutenant Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski (ret) Former Feith Deputy, and Al Qaeda .) Former Commander Coalition Forces in Iraq, Gen. Tommy Franks (ret) United States Army General Tommy Franks , according to Bob Woodward 's 2004 '' Plan Of Attack '', described Feith as the "fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth" (p.281). {Link without Title} {Link without Title} . In his autobiography, ''American Soldier'', Tommy Franks clarified the context of this phrase by stating that he was talking to his subordinates who were upset with Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and Feith and Franks said that his actual words were 'word is going around that Feith is the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth'; thus, he says he was reporting what he heard about Feith rather than expressing his own personal opinion. On the April 14 edition of Hardball with Chris Matthews , Franks changed his assessment of Feith in the following exchange: HOST CHRIS MATTHEWS: What did you think on a scale of one to 10 of the military expertise, of the civilians surrounding Secretary Rumsfeld, the people like Wolfowitz and Feith? How would you on a scale of 1 to 10, where would you put their military savvy? FRANKS: I would put the dipstick at oh—-with a reasonable degree of understanding, I would put Doug Feith in a category as a brilliant man with some military understanding, but both of these gentlemen were apt to think out of the box. And candidly, Chris, for all I know, maybe that's what Don Rumsfeld wanted them to do. MATTHEWS: Were they ideologues or were they analysts? FRANKS: In my personal they were analysts. Now, that does not imply that I'm making some statement that they were not ideologues, maybe so, but that's not the way that I saw them. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12354723/ Former Sec. of State Chief of Staff, Larry Wilkerson In 2005, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson , chief of staff to then Secretary Of State Colin Powell , publicly stated he could "testify to" Franks' comment, and added "Seldom in my life have I met a dumber man." {Link without Title} When asked to characterize Feith's role in US government, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson replied "Was he nefarious? Absolutely." Colonel Wilkerson "believes that Feith placed Likud 's interests above America 's during his service at the Pentagon ." [http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17800345-601,00.html?from=rss ACCUSATIONS AND REFUTATIONS 1982 NSC Alleged Firing and Security Clearance Controversy It has been alleged by Former by the NSC head at the time, Judge William Clark. When a Montana newspaper reported this accusation, Clark, who was President Reagan's National Security Adviser at the relevant time, wrote a September 22, 2005 letter to the editor {Link without Title} to correct the record: ''"Your article cites a Mr. Cannistraro to the effect that Mr. Feith was fired for wrongdoing from President Reagan's National Security Council in 1982. I was President Reagan's National Security Advisor at the time and I tell you that is untrue. Mr. Feith served honorably on my staff and went on to serve well at the Pentagon under Secretary Cap Weinberger. Because of his fine record, President George W. Bush hired him as his Under Secretary of Defense for Policy."'' Feith and The Office of Special Plans Feith at Office of Special Plans Feith led the controversial Carl Levin , in an official report on Feith's Office Of Special Plans singles Feith out as providing to the White House a large amount of Iraq-Al Qaeda allegations which, post-invasion, turned out to be false. {Link without Title} Actions Feith Authorized at Office of Special Plans Concerning Iraq A source of Iraqi found Iraq had no stocks of WMD , and had not produced WMD since 1991. {Link without Title} Actions Feith Authorized at Office of Special Plans Concerning Iran The "back-channel" meetings Feith authorized dealt not only with was also controversial because the CIA determined in 1984 that Ghorbanifar "should be regarded as an intelligence fabricator," and put him under a Burn Notice , warning other intelligence agencies not to use him. {Link without Title} Investigations of Office of Special Plans and Feith Officially, Feith is currently under investigation by the Pentagon's Inspector General and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI). {Link without Title} Republican Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts began the investigation when he wrote to the Pentagon Inspector General asking him to start the review: “The Committee is concerned about persistent and, to date, unsubstantiated allegations that there was something unlawful or improper about the activities of the Office of Special Plans within the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. . . . I have not discovered any credible evidence of unlawful or improper activity, yet the allegations persist.” In an attempt to lay these allegations to rest once and for all, he requested the Inspector General to “initiate an investigation into the activities of the Office of Special Plans during the period prior to the initiation of Operation Iraqi Freedom to determine whether any of activities were unlawful or improper; . . . [that is, whether the personnel assigned to the Office of Special Plans, at any time, conducted unauthorized, unlawful, or inappropriate intelligence activities.” Senator Levin has asked the Inspector General to look at the activities of the OUSDP generally, and not just the OSP. The SSCI is awaiting the outcome of the DOD Inspector General’s review." Sources within the SSCI report Feith and the Defense Department have been less than helpful to their investigation. [http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Pentagon_investigation_stalls_Phase_II_of_0130.html As of March, 2006 the news organisation Rawstory reports Republican Pat Roberts , head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was not allowing a complete investigation of Feith and his role at Office Of Special Plans . "One former intelligence official suggested that part of the reason for deferring the Feith inquiry was its sensitivity. A Feith investigation might unravel ''a bigger can of worms,'' the source said" {Link without Title} Subordinate's Involvement in the AIPAC Espionage Scandal A subordinate of Douglas Feith, office, and officially worked six layers of bureaucracy beneath Feith. However, while leading the Office Of Special Plans Feith used Larry Franklin Repeatedly for sensitive meetings involving foreign citizens, overseas. {Link without Title} FEITH TODAY Feith is now a Distinguished Visiting Fellow of the conservative Hoover Institution of Stanford University and is co-chairing a task force on strategies for combating terrorism at Harvard University's Kennedy School Of Government . He is writing a memoir about his involvement in the War On Terrorism which will be published by HarperCollins . Feith has four children. {Link without Title} On May 1st, Georgetown University announced that Feith would join the faculty of the Walsh School of Foreign Service in Fall 2006 as a "visiting professor and distinguished practitioner in national security policy." {Link without Title} REFERENCES
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