Anthony H. Cordesman is the Emeritus Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He previously served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council (NSC), the State Department, and the Department of Energy. He was also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and served as National Security Assistant to Senator John McCain. He was a consultant to the Departments of State and Defense during the Afghan and Iraq wars, and has since acted as a consultant to various elements of the U.S. military and NATO.
During his time at CSIS, Cordesman also served as the Burke Chair in Strategy. In that capacity, he acted as director of the Gulf Net Assessment Project and the Gulf in Transition Study, and principal investigator of the CSIS Homeland Defense Project. He has also led studies on national missile defense, asymmetric warfare
and weapons of mass destruction, and critical infrastructure protection. He directed the CSIS Middle East Net Assessment Project,
codirected the CSIS Strategic Energy Initiative, and developed assessments of Russian and Chinese military forces and competition with the United States and its strategic partners.
He is the author of a wide range of studies and books on U.S. security, strategy, the lessons of war, and energy policy. He has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
