
Anthony H. Cordesman is the Emeritus Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He has previously served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, the State Department, and the Department of Energy. Dr Cordesman also served as the national security assistant to Senator John McCain, and he previously held the position of adjunct professor at Georgetown University. He has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by the Office of the Secretary of Defense. During his career, he has held assignments in the U.S. embassy in London, the U.S. embassy in Iran, and in official assignments elsewhere in the Middle East. Dr. Cordesman also served as a consultant to the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), worked on force planning and net assessment in the NATO International Staff, and held a position as an analyst on security developments in China and Asia. During his time at CSIS, Dr. Cordesman previously held the Burke Chair in Strategy. In that capacity, he served as the director of the Gulf Net Assessment Project and the Gulf in Transition Study, as well as the principal investigator of the CSIS Homeland Defense Project. He has 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 spearheaded 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 on U.S. security policy, energy policy, and Middle East policy and has served as a consultant to the Departments of State and Defense during the Afghan and Iraq wars. He served as part of General Stanley McChrystal’s civilian advisory group during the formation of a new strategy in Afghanistan and has since acted as a consultant to various elements of the U.S. military and NATO. Current projects include ongoing analysis of the security situation in the Gulf, U.S. strategic competition with Iran, the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, a net assessment of the Indian Ocean region, Chinese military developments and U.S. and Asian assessments of these developments, changes in the nature of modern war, and assessments of U.S. defense strategy, programs, and budgets. Cordesman is the author of more than 50 books, including a four-volume series on the lessons of modern war. His most recent publications include:
• The Iranian Sea-Air-Missile Threat to Gulf Shipping
• The Indian Ocean Region: A Strategic Net Assessment
• The Gulf Military Balance (3 volumes)
• Iraq in Crisis
• Iran—Sanctions, Energy, Arms Control, and Regime Change
• Changing US Security Strategy
• Chinese Military Modernization and Force Development
• The Evolving Military Balance in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia (3 volumes)
• The Afghan War in 2013: Meeting the Challenges of Transition (3 volumes)
• The North African Military Balance: Force Developments in the Maghreb
• Lessons from the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War
• Iraq's Insurgency and the Road to Civil Conflict
• Iran's Military Forces and Warfighting Capabilities
• Salvaging American Defense
• Gulf Military Forces in an Era of Asymmetric Wars (2 volumes)
• The Global Oil Market: Risks and Uncertainties
• Iraqi Security Forces: A Strategy for Success
• Iran’s Developing Military Capabilities
• The War After the War: Strategic Lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan
• The Lessons of Afghanistan
Areas of Expertise
- Africa
- Asia
- Afghanistan
- China
- Korea
- Pakistan
- Southeast Asia
- Europe
- European Union
- NATO
- Eastern Europe
- Middle East
- The Gulf
- Egypt and the Levant
- North Africa
- Russia
- Defense and Security
- Counterterrorism and Homeland Security
- Defense Budget and Acquisition
- Defense Strategy and Capabilities
- Geopolitics and International Security
Media Queries
- H. Andrew Schwartz
- Chief Communications Officer
- 202.775.3242
- aschwartz@csis.org
- Paige Montfort
- Assistant Director of Communications, External Relations
- 202.775.3173
- pmontfort@csis.org
All Anthony H. Cordesman Content
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The Changing Trends in Gulf Military and Security Forces: A Net Assessment
Report by Anthony H. Cordesman — November 21, 2023
Gaza: Why the War Won’t End
Commentary by Anthony H. Cordesman — November 2, 2023
The Hospital Attack and the Gaza War
Commentary by Anthony H. Cordesman — October 18, 2023
The War in Gaza and the Death of the Two-State Solution
Commentary by Anthony H. Cordesman — October 11, 2023
Using Unclassified U.S. Government Reporting in America’s Global Battles of Influence
Report by Anthony H. Cordesman — September 6, 2023
China’s Emergence as a Superpower
Report by Anthony H. Cordesman — August 15, 2023
China: The Need to ‘Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick’
Commentary by Anthony H. Cordesman — August 2, 2023
Ukraine: Prepare for a Longer War and Be Cautious in Pushing for Major Offensives
Commentary by Anthony H. Cordesman — July 24, 2023
The Lasting Strategic Impact Of the War in the Ukraine
Report by Anthony H. Cordesman — July 5, 2023
The Key Lessons of America’s Recent Wars: Failing or Losing in Grand Strategic Terms
Report by Anthony H. Cordesman — June 13, 2023