Bruce Riedel bio

Bruce Riedel, former CIA analyst, is a Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy of the Brookings Institution. He is known for his counter-terrorism expertise.

Some of the many public positions he’s held include serving as the Senior Director for Near East Affairs on the National Security Council, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Near East and South Asian Affairs, and National Intelligence Officer for Near East and South Asian Affairs at the National Intelligence Council. He has also served as an advisor to Presidents Barack Obama (as a presidential candidate), George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. 

He is the author of the article “Al Qaeda Strikes Back,” published in the May/June 2007 edition of Foreign Affairs, and the 2008 book The Search for al Qaeda: Its Leadership, Ideology, and Future.

• Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Saban Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings Institute, 2006-present
• Policy Adviser, Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign, 2007
• Recipient, Department of State Meritorious Honor Award, 2006
• Special Advisor, NATO (Brussels, Belgium), 2003-2006
• Member, Royal College of Defense Studies, (London), 2002-2003
• Special Assistant to President George W. Bush, 2001-2002
• Senior Director for Near East and North African Affairs, National Security Council, 1997-2002
• Recipient, Distinguished Intelligence Medal, 2001
• Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton, 1997-1999
• Recipient, Secretary of Defense Distinguished Service Medal, 1997
• Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Near East and South Asian Affairs, Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1995-1997
• National Intelligence Officer for Near East and South Asian Affairs, National Intelligence Council, 1993-1995
• Director for Gulf and South Asia Affairs, National Security Council, 1991-1993
• Deputy Chief Persian Gulf Task Force, CIA, 1990-1991
• Analyst, CIA, 1977-1990

• M.A., Harvard University, 1977
• B.A., Brown University, 1975

• Deadly Embrace: Pakistan, America, and the Future of the Global Jihad, 2011
• “The Afghan Gold Rush,” The Daily Beast, June 16, 2010
• “Defusing the Gaza Flashpoint,” Brookings Institute, June 2, 2010
• “Around the Halls: A New National Security Strategy,” Brookings Institute, May 27, 2010
• “Osama’s Top Gun Ayman al-Zawahiri is Back,” The Daily Beast, May 21, 2010
• “U.S. Options Limited in Pakistan,” Council on Foreign Relations, May 11, 2010
• “Al Qaeda Has Us in Its Gun Sights,” The Daily Beast, May 3, 2010
• “The Case Against Threatening Iran,” POLITICO.com, Mar. 16, 2010
• “Do Not Even Think About Bombing Iran,” Financial Times, Feb. 28, 2010
• The Search for al Qaeda: Its Leadership, Ideology, and Future, 2008