Current Position: National Security Council member (since December 2008)
Why He Matters
Shapiro has guided congressmen and presidents on national security and the Middle East for more than 15 years. Now, he has been tasked with trying to normalize relations between the United States and Syria. He and Acting Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs
Jeffrey D. Feltman face the delicate task of trying to cultivate a relationship with a country that has allegedly funded terrorist group Hezbollah, supported the Iranian government and antagonized American allies in Lebanon and Israel.
Shapiro came to the Hill in 1993 as a professional staff member for the House Foreign Relations Committee. He sat on the National Security Council under President Bill Clinton for two years before accepting a job as deputy chief of staff for Sen.
Bill Nelson (D-Fla.). He joined President
Barack Obama’s campaign in 2007 and was tapped to run the campaign’s Jewish outreach effort. He was also Obama’s top adviser on Israel and the Middle East during the presidential race.
Shapiro was appointed to the National Security Council being led by Gen.
James L. Jones shortly after Obama was elected.
At a Glance
Current Position: National Security Council member (since December 2008)
Career History: Adviser to President Barack Obama's Presidential campaign (Aug. 2008 to Nov. 2008); Vice President, Timmon's and Co. (2007 to 2008); Deputy Chief of Staff, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) (2001 to 2007)
Birthday: N/A
Hometown: Champaign, Ill.
Alma Mater: Brandeis University, B.A., 1991; Harvard University, M.A. (Middle Eastern politics), 1993
Spouse: N/A
Religion: Jewish
Office: N/A
Email N/A
Web site
Path to Power
Shapiro was raised in Champaign, Ill. He graduated from Brandeis University in 1991 and earned his master’s degree in Middle Eastern politics from Harvard University in 1993.
Shapiro has made foreign policy a hallmark of his Hill career. He was a professional staff member of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East under former chairman and foreign policy heavyweight Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.). He moved to Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Cal.) office in 1995 to work as a legislative assistant and senior foreign policy adviser.
Shapiro worked briefly for President Bill Clinton's National Security Council under National Security Adviser Sandy Berger from 1991 to 2001. He focused on coordinating legislative strategies in support of the Clinton administration’s foreign policy.
In 2001, Shapiro moved to Nelson’s office, where he worked as deputy chief of staff. In that position, he spearheaded legislation that designated al Manar, the satellite television channel for Hezbollah, as a foreign terrorist organization. He also helped push for the Syria Accountability Act, which sanctioned Syria because of its support for terrorism and its attacks on Lebanon. The sanctions have hit the country’s economy hard, and Syrian officials have indicated that they would like to see them lifted.
Shapiro left Nelson’s office in 2007 to lobby for Timmons and Company. He was registered to lobby on behalf of the American Petroleum Institution. He also started volunteering with the Obama presidential campaign as its main outside consultant on Israel in 2007.
Jewish Outreach for Obama Campaign
In 2008, Shapiro was added to the campaign’s payroll as director of Jewish outreach. He worked especially hard in Florida (where he had contacts from his time with Sen. Nelson), where he visited retirement homes with Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). “It might have taken a while for the Jewish community to get to know Obama,” he said at one event at a community center in the state in September 2008. “But I think we're going to come out for him.”
Shapiro was named to the National Security Council as top Middle East adviser shortly after Obama was elected president. Past members who focus on the Middle East have played a big role shaping policy, but Obama’s decision to send special envoys to the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran may limit that role.
In March 2009, Shapiro was selected to travel to Syria with Feltman, the first trip to the region by U.S. envoys since 2005. The two will try to improve ties between the estranged governments, which was one of Obama’s campaign promises. The U.S. withdrew its ambassador from the country in 2005 because they said Syria terrorism.
The Issues
The Obama administration has made a new relationship with Damascus, and Middle Eastern countries in general, a hallmark of its administration. As an indication of their commitment to a fresh start, it has already weakened U.S. export restrictions to Syria. Though Secretary of State Hillary Clinton acknowledged publically that she wasn’t sure this first round of talks would generate results, Clinton called the emissaries’ trip worthwhile and to engage in preliminary conversations."
Shapiro will have to try to convince Syrian officials to commit to working with Americans to stop Iran’s nuclear enrichment program and reduce the amount of violence in Iraq and Gaza. At the same time, he must convince America’s allies that the U.S. will not put Syria’s interests above their own. To that end, Shapiro’s first trip after accepting this position was to Lebanon, to assure officials that Obama would not make deals with Syria at the country’s expense.
Iran
During the 2008 campaign, Shapiro called Iran the most critical foreign policy issue for Jews. “Everyone is deeply concerned that an Iranian nuclear weapon would pose an existential threat to Israel - and it would,” he said in 2008. Shapiro has said preventing that country from developing a bomb must be a top priority, and the Obama administration must do everything in its power to stop that from happening.
Shapiro has also said that a nuclear Iran would strengthen other radical elements in the Middle East.
Israel
Shapiro supports a two-state solution in Israel.
The Network
During the campaign, Shapiro was not part of Obama’s inner foreign policy circle, a group of nine who developed policy positions for the President. However, he was the president’ top adviser on Israel, working with
Dennis Ross and Daniel Kurtzer.
He will be traveling to Syria with Acting Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs
Jeffrey D. Feltman.
