
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
In the News
Ukraine conflict: whose war is it?
Anthony H. Cordesman in Yeni Safak — December 6, 2022
Military retention and changing national security needs: A discussion with Anthony Cordesman
Anthony H. Cordesman in WHRO — September 30, 2022
OPEC+ Creates Its Own Volatility: Elements by Liam Denning
Anthony H. Cordesman in Bloomberg — August 26, 2022
COLUMN-A year after Kabul's fall, has West learnt its lessons?: Peter Apps
Anthony H. Cordesman in Nasdaq — August 18, 2022
Republicans ramp up criticism of Biden over Afghanistan
Anthony H. Cordesman in The Washington Examiner — August 16, 2022
'Sometimes we eat dinner, sometimes we don't.' Afghan food crisis poses dilemma for the West one year after Taliban takeover
Anthony H. Cordesman in CNN — August 15, 2022
Terrorist’s Afghan Hideout Chills US Bid to Free $3.5 Billion
Anthony H. Cordesman in Bloomberg — August 5, 2022
China's military drills around Taiwan show how it is closing the gap with the U.S.
Anthony H. Cordesman in npr — August 5, 2022
All content by Anthony H. Cordesman
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The Changing Strategic Importance of the Middle East and North Africa
Report by Anthony H. Cordesman — February 6, 2023

Saving by Spending: The True Value and Cost-Effectiveness of U.S. Aid to Ukraine
Commentary by Anthony H. Cordesman — February 2, 2023

The Strategic Importance of the Middle East and North Africa: The Strengths and Limits of MENA Oil and Gas Wealth and the Challenge of Climate Change
Report by Anthony H. Cordesman — January 24, 2023

Strategy and the Congressional National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023
Commentary by Anthony H. Cordesman — December 7, 2022

United States Aid to Ukraine: An Investment Whose Benefits Greatly Exceed its Cost
Commentary by Anthony H. Cordesman — November 21, 2022

A World in Crisis: The “Winter Wars” of 2022–2023
Report by Anthony H. Cordesman and Paul Cormarie — November 15, 2022

Further Definitions of the Biden Administration’s National Security Strategy
Commentary by Anthony H. Cordesman — November 1, 2022

The New U.S. National Defense Strategy for 2022
Commentary by Anthony H. Cordesman — October 28, 2022

NATO Force Planning and the Impact of the Ukraine War
Commentary by Anthony H. Cordesman and Paul Cormarie — October 24, 2022

Major Powers and Strategic Partners: A Graphic Net Assessment
Commentary by Anthony H. Cordesman — October 18, 2022
