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US - IRAQ WAR
Last updated on: 12/15/2008 6:16:00 AM PST US - Iraq War Home Page > Source Biographies > >Ryan Crocker

Ryan Crocker Biography

Title: US Ambassador to Iraq
Position: Con to the question "Should the US Have Attacked Iraq?"
Reasoning:
"In late 2002, as the Bush administration prepared for war, then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell tasked Crocker and Assistant Secretary of State William Burns with exploring the risks of military intervention. The result was a six-page memo they entitled 'The Perfect Storm,' according to an account in Washington Post reporter Karen DeYoung's biography Soldier: The Life of Colin Powell.

The memo bluntly predicted that toppling Hussein could unleash long-repressed sectarian and ethnic tensions, that the Sunni minority would not easily relinquish power, and that powerful neighbors such as Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia would try to move in to influence events. It also cautioned that the United States would have to start from scratch building a political and economic system because Iraq's infrastructure was in tatters."

"A Diplomat Who Loves The Really Tough Jobs," by Robin Wright, Washington Post, Jan. 11, 2007
Theoretical Expertise Ranking:  Experts
Individuals with PhD's, JD's, or equivalent advanced degrees in fields relevant to the US - Iraq conflict. Also top-level government officials (such as foreign leaders, US presidents, Founding Fathers, Supreme Court Justices, members of legislative bodies, cabinet members, military leaders, etc.) with positions relevant to the US - Iraq conflict.
Involvement and Affiliations:
  • US Ambassador to Iraq, 2007-present
  • US Ambassador to Pakistan, 2004-2007
  • International Affairs Adviser, National War College, 2003-2004
  • Director of Governance, Coalition Provisional Authority, 2003
  • Honorary Doctor of Laws degree, Whitman College, 2001
  • Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, 2001-2003
  • US Ambassador to Syria, 1998-2001
  • US Ambassador to Kuwait, 1994-1997
  • US Ambassador to Lebanon, 1982, 1983, 1990-1993
  • Recipient, State Department Distinguished Honor Award, 1994
  • Recipient, Award for Valor
  • Recipient, three Superior Honor Awards
  • Recipient, American Foreign Service Association Rivkin Award
  • Joined the Foreign Service in 1971
  • Education:
  • BA, English, Whitman College, 1971
  • Other:
  • President Bush conferred on him the personal rank of Career Ambassador, the highest in the Foreign Service, 2004
  • Grew up in an Air Force family, attending schools in Morocco, Canada, and Turkey, as well as the US
  • Quoted in:
    • 1. Was the 2008 Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to withdraw US troops from Iraq by 2011 a good agreement?
    US - Iraq War Homepage
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    Iraq Statements by US Vice President Cheney
    New Iraqi Flag Approved by Iraqi Lawmakers
    President Bush Announces Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended
    Remarks to the United Nations Security Council from US Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.
    Saddam Hussein Executed on December 30, 2006
    43rd US President Speaks to the United Nations General Assembly
    Oct. 2002 Congressional Votes Authorizing the President
    to Use Military Force Against Iraq
    Massive Reconstruction Waste in Iraq Says Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction
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