Paula Dobriansky, the undersecretary of state for democracy and global affairs during the presidency of George W. Bush, is a long-standing Washington political figure with ties to neoconservative organizations. A vocal proponent of the Bush administration's democracy agenda in the Middle East and more generally of its “Freedom Agenda,” Dobriansky supported the work of groups like the Hudson Institute and the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) before joining the administration in 2001. Dobriansky also worked in Ronald Reagan’s National Security Council and served as associate director of the U.S. Information Agency in the George H.W. Bush administration. 1
During the George W. Bush presidency, Dobriansky staunchly defended the administration’s interventionist policies in the Middle East. Like many neoconservatives, she often described U.S. foreign policy as based on principles of democracy and human rights but ignored U.S. abuses committed in prosecuting the “war on terror.” For example, upon the release of the State Department's annual human rights report in March 2005, Dobriansky argued, "Promoting human rights is not just an element of our foreign policy, it is the bedrock of our policy and our foremost concern." 2 The report condemned the use of "torture techniques" by countries like Egypt, Libya, and Iran—techniques that that had been described by Donald Rumsfeld and other administration figures, in the context of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq, as merely "abuses."
Dobriansky's first post in the Bush administration was as undersecretary of state for global affairs, and in July 2005, her portfolio was extended to include democracy promotion—though she had been working on democracy issues previously. According to her State Department biography, in this post Dobriansky was “responsible for a broad range of foreign policy issues, including democracy, human rights, labor, refugee and humanitarian relief matters, and environmental/science issues." 3
In 2003, Dobriansky took to the pages of Foreign Affairs to defend George W. Bush’s democracy policies. “Any effort to juxtapose or contrast our efforts to win the war against terrorism and our democracy-promotion strategy is conceptually flawed. Pan-national terrorist groups (such as al Qaeda) and rogue regimes (such as that of the Taliban or of Saddam Hussein) pose grave threats to democratic systems, as do the xenophobic, intolerant ideologies that they espouse. Accordingly, fighting against these forces is both in our national security interest and a key ingredient of democracy promotion. And democracy promotion is the best antidote to terrorism.” 4
After Bush's second inaugural, Dobriansky frequently repeated the president’s message about spreading "democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture ... [and] ending tyranny in our world." 5 In March 2005, at the opening of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Dobriansky said, "History is calling to us—democracy is on the march everywhere, and it is the imperative of our time to rally to this cause. Georgia's Rose Revolution and Ukraine's Orange Revolution freed millions and inspired countless more who are still living under despotism. People around the world saw citizens of Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Palestinian Authority choosing their own governments and knew that they too should have that right. In Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East, the people have raised their voice for a true democracy with free and fair elections and a sovereign nation free from foreign occupation and influence. There is now enormous momentum for democracy to reach every corner of the globe." 6
Dobriansky has actively supported or worked for a number of neoconservative-led policy institutes, including the Hudson Institute, Freedom House, and the Independent Women's Forum. She signed on to several early public letters assembled by PNAC, including its founding statement of principles, which called for a "Reaganite policy of military strength and moral clarity," and championed America's "unique role in preserving and extending an international order friendly to our security, our prosperity, and our principles." 7 Dobriansky also signed PNAC's January 26, 1998, letter to President Bill Clinton, which urged the president to attack Iraq, arguing that containment had failed. It said: "The only acceptable strategy is one that eliminates the possibility that Iraq will be able to use or threaten to use weapons of mass destruction. In the near term, this means a willingness to undertake military action as diplomacy is clearly failing. In the long term, it means removing Saddam Hussein and his regime from power." 8
Among the signatories to the 1998 letter were several figures who, like Dobriansky, would later serve in the George W. Bush administration. This point was highlighted by PNAC founders Robert Kagan and William Kristol in an October 2001 editorial for the Weekly Standard, in which they argued that Iraq must be targeted in the wake of 9/11. They wrote, "Indeed, we find it hard to believe that anyone in this administration, whether in the State Department or in the White House or in the CIA, can seriously be arguing that the Iraqi regime should be left alone. In 1998 a group of prominent figures sent a letter to President Clinton urging him to take strong action against Saddam Hussein.… They pressed President Clinton to make it the aim of American foreign policy to 'remove Saddam Hussein and his regime from power.' The signatories of that 1998 letter are today a Who's Who of senior ranking officials in this administration: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Under Secretary of State John Bolton, Under Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky, Assistant Secretary of Defense Peter Rodman, and National Security Council senior officials Elliott Abrams and Zalmay Khalilzad." 9
Dobriansky's State Department biography reports, “Dr. Dobriansky has lectured and published articles, book chapters, and op-ed pieces on foreign affairs-related topics, ranging from U.S. human rights policy to East European foreign and defense policies, public diplomacy, democracy promotion strategies, Russia, and Ukraine. For three years, she hosted Freedom's Challenge and co-hosted Worldwise, the international affairs programs on National Empowerment Television. Additionally, she has appeared on ABC, CBS, CNN Headline News, CNN & Company, Fox Morning News, John McLaughlin's One-on-One, The McLaughlin Group, C-SPAN, MSNBC, PBS, and National Public Radio, and has testified often before the Senate Foreign Relations and House International Relations Committees." 10
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Affiliations
Project for the New American Century: Letter Signatory
Council on Foreign Relations: Former Vice President and Director of the Washington Office; Former George F. Kennan Senior Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Bob Dole's 1996 Presidential Campaign: Foreign Policy Coordinator
National Endowment for Democracy: Former Vice-Chair
Freedom House: Former Board Member
American Council of Young Political Leaders: Former Board Member
American Bar Association Central and Eastern European Law Initiative: Former Board Member
Independent Women's Forum: Former Advisory Board Member
Hudson Institute: Former Adjunct Fellow
Government Service
State Department: Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs (2001-2009); Special Envoy on Northern Ireland (2007); Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs (1987-1990)
U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy: Former Member
U.S. Information Agency: Associate Director for Policy and Programs (1990-1993)
1990 Copenhagen Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe: Deputy Head of U.S. Delegation
1985 UN Decade for Women Conference: Advisor to U.S. Delegation
National Security Council: Director of European and Soviet Affairs (1980-1987)
Private Sector
WorldWise: Cohost (1997)
Law Firm of Hunton & Williams: Senior International Affairs and Trade Advisor (1994-1997)
Freedom's Challenge: Host (1994-1996)
Western New Independent States Enterprise Fund: Board Member
Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Co-Chair of the International TV Council
Education
Harvard University: M.A. and Ph.D. in Soviet Political-Military Affairs
Georgetown University School of Foreign Service: B.S.F.S. Summa Cum Laude, International Politics
Date of Birth
September 14, 1955 |
