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." |
| 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: |
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Top 10 Pro & Con Arguments
