Douglas Feith
Douglas Feith: A Life of Public Service and Controversy
==============================================
Full Name and Common Aliases
Douglas J. Feith is a well-known American lawyer, strategist, and former government official who has been involved in several high-profile roles throughout his career. He is commonly referred to as Doug Feith.
Birth and Death Dates
Born on September 7, 1953, in New York City, Feith is still alive at the time of writing this biography.
Nationality and Profession(s)
Feith holds American citizenship and has worked as a lawyer, government official, and strategist throughout his career. His professional experience spans various fields, including law, politics, and national security.
Early Life and Background
Douglas Feith was born to an Orthodox Jewish family in New York City. His father, Aharon Feith, was a professor of history at Columbia University, while his mother, Rachel Feith, worked as a schoolteacher. Feith's parents were both Holocaust survivors who immigrated to the United States after World War II. Growing up in a family with a strong emphasis on education and public service, Feith developed an interest in politics and international relations from an early age.
Feith attended Columbia University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1975. He then went on to study at Harvard Law School, graduating cum laude in 1981. After completing law school, Feith worked as a lawyer for several years before transitioning into government service.
Major Accomplishments
Feith's entry into government began in the early 1990s when he served as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for negotiations policy under Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. During his tenure at the Pentagon, Feith played a key role in shaping U.S. policy towards Iraq and other countries.
In 2001, after the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush appointed Feith as the undersecretary of defense for policy, making him one of the most influential voices on national security issues within the administration. Feith's tenure at the Pentagon was marked by controversy, particularly regarding his role in promoting the invasion of Iraq and his involvement in the development of the administration's torture policies.
Feith also served as a member of the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee (DPBAC), which provided strategic guidance to the secretary of defense on matters related to national security. He has been involved in various think tanks and research organizations throughout his career, including serving as a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.
Notable Works or Actions
Feith's work on Iraq policy has been widely reported and criticized. As undersecretary of defense for policy, he was instrumental in shaping the Bush administration's strategy towards Iraq, including advocating for the invasion of the country in 2003. His views on national security issues have also been influential in shaping U.S. foreign policy.
Feith's involvement in the development of the administration's torture policies has been particularly contentious. In 2004, he was criticized by several senators for his role in promoting the use of coercive interrogation techniques against detainees at Guantanamo Bay and other facilities.
Impact and Legacy
Douglas Feith's impact on U.S. foreign policy and national security issues is complex and far-reaching. His advocacy for the invasion of Iraq has been widely debated, with some arguing that it was a crucial factor in shaping the country's trajectory towards chaos and instability.
Feith's involvement in promoting torture policies has also had significant consequences, both domestically and internationally. The use of coercive interrogation techniques by U.S. personnel has been widely criticized as a breach of human rights and international law.
Despite controversy surrounding his actions, Feith remains a respected figure within the national security community. His views on strategic issues continue to be sought after by policymakers and media outlets around the world.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
Douglas Feith is widely quoted and remembered due to his high-profile roles in shaping U.S. foreign policy and national security issues over the past few decades. As a key figure in the Bush administration's Iraq policy, he has been involved in several high-stakes decisions that have had far-reaching consequences for global politics.
Feith's work on torture policies has also made him a lightning rod for criticism from human rights groups and other organizations concerned about the treatment of detainees in U.S. custody. As a result, his opinions and actions continue to be closely followed by policymakers, journalists, and scholars around the world.
Quotes by Douglas Feith
The UN inspectors do not have the capability to find hidden weapons in a country the size of Iraq if the Iraqi government is working to conceal them.
I mean, the idea that we could have peace no matter what anybody else in the world does didn't make sense to me.
I'm not saying that getting to the bottom of this WMD issue isn't important. It is important. But it is not of immediate consequence.
I think the essential message was that Saddam Hussein represented a serious threat to the United States and to our friends and allies in the region.
Here we are less than two years after the liberation of Baghdad, and an enormous amount of reconstruction has been done.
I did think it was important to do what we could to train up Iraqis as a security force in advance of our military operation.
What the UN inspectors can do is demonstrate to the world, help the Iraqi government demonstrate to the world that the Iraqis are cooperatively disarming if that is in fact what the Iraqi government decides to do.
Well we are hoping that the power of the community of free nations is such that our sovereignty our rights are not going to be challenged by anybody who's going try to undermine the freedom, the openness of our societies and our security.