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Bruce Riedel

b. 1953

American academic

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About Bruce Riedel

Born 1953. Bruce Riedel is an American writer, diplomat and political scientist.

Bruce O. Riedel (born 1953) is an American expert on U.S. security, the Middle East, South Asia, and counter-terrorism. He is currently a nonresident senior fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution and an instructor at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland.

Riedel served as an analyst and counter-terrorism expert at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1977 until his retirement in 2006. During his tenure at the agency, he advised presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush on Middle Eastern and South Asian issues on the staff of the National Security Council (NSC). In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed him chair of a White House review committee formed to overhaul U.S. policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Riedel is a contributor to several periodicals and an author of books examining topics related to counter-terrorism, Arab-Israeli relations, Persian Gulf security, and South Asia, especially India and Pakistan.

Early life and education Riedel was born in 1953 in Queens, New York City.

Honors Secretary of Defense Distinguished Service Medal (1997) Distinguished Intelligence Medal (2001) Department of State Meritorious Honor Award (2006), for work in the intelligence and defense communities

Publications

Books

As contributor (With Kenneth M. Pollack, Daniel L. Byman, and Martin Indyk) (With Kenneth M. Pollack, Daniel L. Byman, Akram Al-Turk, Pavel Baev, Michael S. Dora, Khaled Elgindy, Stephen R. Grand, Shadi Hamid, Bruce D. Jones, Suzanne Maloney, Jonathan D. Pollack, Ruth Hanau Santini, Salman Shaikh, Ibrahim Sharqieh, Shibley Telhami, and Sarah E. Yerkes) (With James G. Blight, Janet M. Lang, Hussein Banai, Malcolm Byrne, and John Tirman)

Personal life Riedel is married. His wife, Elizabeth, whom he met at the CIA, was a Middle East analyst at the agency as of 2008.

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Important facts

Born
1953, Queens
Birth century
Nationality
Education
Brown University, Harvard University, Royal College of Defence Studies
Employers
Johns Hopkins University, Central Intelligence Agency
Also known as
Bruce O. Riedel

People in Bruce Riedel's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Bruce Riedel's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Bruce Riedel?

American academic

When was Bruce Riedel born?

Bruce Riedel was born in 1953 in Queens.

What is Bruce Riedel's occupation?

Bruce Riedel is a writer, diplomat and political scientist.

What nationality is Bruce Riedel?

Bruce Riedel is American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Bruce Riedel

· Wikidata: Q991777

· DBpedia: Bruce Riedel

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Bruce Riedel. https://biography.guide/bruce-riedel/

MLA: "Bruce Riedel." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/bruce-riedel/.

Chicago: "Bruce Riedel." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/bruce-riedel/.

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