Eric Edelman

Eric Edelman    (politician)
Born	1951 Baltimore, Maryland
Alma mater	Cornell University, Yale University
Spouse	Patricia D. Edelman
Member of	Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Jewish Institute for National Security of America, Justice for Kurds, Sibel Edmonds/State Secrets Privilege Gallery
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy  In office August 9, 2005 - January 20, 2009 Preceded by Douglas Feith Succeeded by Michèle Flournoy  United States Ambassador to Turkey In office August 29, 2003 - June 19, 2005  United States Ambassador to Finland In office August 27, 1998 - January 29, 2001

Eric S. Edelman is the current Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey (2003-2005), former U.S. Ambassador to Finland (1998-2001), and former Principal Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs (2001-2003). A career Foreign Service Officer, Edelman entered the Senior Foreign Service in 1992.

Background

Edelman received a B.A. in History and Government from Cornell University in 1972, and a Ph.D. in U.S. Diplomatic History from Yale University in 1981.

U.S. Government service

Edelman was appointed to the position of Undersecretary of Defense for Policy on August 9, 2005, by recess appointment by George W. Bush, after his nomination was stalled in the Senate. "Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee led by Carl Levin of Michigan, their ranking member, stalled Edelman's nomination to force the release of documents related to a Office of Special Plans that Feith set up before the conflict." Edelman replaced Douglas Feith, who had resigned. The appointment, set to expire in January 2007 when a new Congress convened, was confirmed by the Senate on 9 February, 2006. Edelman served as Turkish Ambassador after the second Iraq invasion, during which anti-American tensions within Turkey were high. According to Ibrahim Karagul, a columninst with the Turkish Weekly, "Edelman act(ed) more like a colonial governor than an ambassador... (He) is probably the least-liked and trusted American ambassador in Turkish history, and his reputation is not likely to recuperate."

• Principal Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs (February 2001-July 2003) — a member of Dick Cheney's staff

Corruption

Edelman has been identified as implicated by Sibel Edmonds.

Profile

"Edelman is a career foreign service officer who served most recently as U.S. ambassador to Turkey. He was Vice President Dick Cheney's deputy national security officer from Feb. 2001 to June 2003 and ambassador to Finland for three years prior to that, according to the State Department. Edelman was an aide to Cheney when Cheney was secretary of defense under President George H.W. Bush.

"Edelman received his bachelor's degree from Cornell University in 1972 and a doctorate in diplomatic history from Yale University in 1981. He was born in Baltimore and raised in New York and now lives in Virginia with his and four children, according to congressional testimony."

Resources, articles and notes

External articles

• "Edelman: DoD IG Report on PreWar Intel 'Egregious'. Memo Demonstrates Pentagon Damage Control Efforts," IraqSlogger.com (Registration to site required), 15 February, 2007.
• Marcy Wheeler, "Oh, It Was Eric Edelman Lecturing Hillary??" The Next Hurrah Blog, 19 July, 2007.
• Fred Kaplan, "The Pentagon Insults Hillary Clinton. Big mistake," Slate, 20 July, 2007.
• Marcy Wheeler, "Edelman Says: 'Congressional Oversight Emboldens Our Enemies'," The Next Hurrah Blog, 20 July, 2007.
• Juan Cole, "The Last Neocon Attacks Hillary," Informed Comment, 21 July, 2007.
• Amanda Terkel, "Pres. Clinton: Edelman Is An ‘Ideological Holdover’ From Cheney’s Inner Circle," Think Progress, 22 July, 2007.

 

A Document by Eric Edelman

Title	Document type	Publication date	Subject(s)	Description
Document:Open Letter to Erdogan	open letter	30 March 2016	2016 Turkish coup attempt Justice and Development Party PKK	Open letter from a number of neocon deep state actors warning Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan to change his ways. The letter was published three months before the failed 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt.

 

Events Participated in

Event	Start	End	Location(s)	Description
Munich Security Conference/2010	5 February 2010	7 February 2010	Germany Munich Bavaria	An anti-war demonstration outside described it as "Nothing more than a media-effectively staged war propaganda event, which this year had the purpose of justifying the NATO troop increase in Afghanistan and glorifying the continuation of the war as a contribution to peace and stability."
Munich Security Conference/2011	4 February 2011	6 February 2011	Germany Munich Bavaria	The 47th Munich Security Conference
Munich Security Conference/2013	1 February 2013	3 February 2013	Germany Munich Bavaria	The 49th Munich Security Conference

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