Current Position: Under secretary of Defense for Policy (since January 2009)
Credit: Center for New
American Security
Why She Matters
Flournoy is one of the top national security experts in the country.
She worked in the Defense Department under President Bill Clinton, holding two positions simultaneously. She has since accepted fellowships at a number of think tanks. In February 2007, she co-founded the Center for a New American Security, a progressive foreign policy think tank that has major influence on the Democratic foreign policy wonks.
Flournoy supported Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primary, but worked closely with President Barack Obama as a member of his transition team. She was named under secretary of defense for policy in January 2009.
She is often touted as a rising star within the Democratic defense establishment.
At a Glance
Current Position: Undersecretary of Defense for Policy (since Jan. 2009)
Career History: member of Barack Obama’s transition team (Nov.2008 to Jan. 2009); Center for a New American Security (since Jan. 2007); Center for Strategic and International Studies; Distinguished research professor, Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University
Birthday: 1961
Alma Mater: Alma mater: Harvard University, B.A.; Oxford University, M.A.
Spouse: N/A
Religion: N/A
Office: N/A
Email N/A
Website N/A
Path to Power
Flournoy received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a master’s from Oxford University.
She wore two hats as a member of Clinton’s Defense Department, where she acted as deputy assistant secretary of defense for both strategy and threat reduction. She was responsible for supervising policy offices on counter-proliferation and Eurasian affairs, among other things.
Flournoy accepted a teaching position at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University in 2001. In that position, she founded a working group to help the Joint Chiefs of Staff prepare for the Quadrennial Defense Review.
She joined the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Her research focus was defense policy and international security, with a focus on improving the U.S.’s ability to respond to large and small-scale attacks.
In the beginning of 2007, Flournoy helped found the Center for a New American Security with Kurt Campbell, a fellow Pentagon aid during the Clinton years. The “centrist and progressive” think tank aimed to develop new approaches for keeping the country safe through specific policy proposals. The think tank includes some Republicans fellows, though it is made up primarily of Democrats.
Flournoy is also a member of the Aspen Strategy Group, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Executive Board of Women in International Security.
Flournoy advised Clinton during the 2008 Democratic primary but shifted to doling out wisdom to Obama once Clinton lost the nomination. She heads the Obama administration’s two-person Defense Department transition team with John P. White.
She will be the undersecretary of Defense for policy under Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
The Issues
Flournoy is a progressive centrist who believes in developing strong and pragmatic national security and defense policies.
Iraq and Afghanistan
Flournoy has called on President Obama to implement the Iraq Study Group’s recommendations on the war, including a phased withdrawal of combat forces, a more accurate report of the violence and additional training of Iraqi military and police forces. She would also like American troops to embed themselves with Iraqi forces so that they can work more closely with local officials.
Flournoy has criticized the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki’s government for failing to provide for its citizens and develop a stable system of government. She said most Iraqis believe their government is plagued by corruption.
Iran and Syria
Flournoy believes that talks with Iran and Syria are “long overdue.” However, she warns that negotiators must set realistic goals and expect slow progress. She said one of the Bush administration’s biggest mistakes was including Iran in the its “axis of evil,” especially because the country had provided significant support in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11.
Defense Policy Reform
Like Gen. James L. Jones, Obama’s National Security Council pick, Flournoy has emphasized the importance of revamping the federal government’s approach to security. In 2005, she told Congress that the country’s defense operations had not been modernized since the Cold War, and that the nation had failed to develop a system for working together on an interagency level.
Flournoy believes America lacks the infrastructure it needs to respond quickly to international crises. She has called for a complete restructuring of the National Security Council so that it is better equipped to provide strategy advice to the president.
She would also like Congress to increase the planning capacities of the State, Treasury, Commerce and Justice departments by providing more funding to prepare for national emergencies. Additionally, she believes Congress should better fund civilians who work on foreign policy for the government.
Flournoy has called on Congress to create standards and mechanisms that outline the protocol for how all agencies and the military should work together.
Closing Guantanamo Bay
Flournoy has long advocated shuttering Guantanamo Bay and moving some prisoners to the U.S, a position that has antagonized several denators. Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) warned President Obama that the Senate would not fund the prison's closing until he provided a plan. Several Congressional officials also protested the plan, saying they did not want terrorists "in their back yard."
Flournoy pushed back against those critics, saying that if allied nations were taking detainees, the U.S. also needed to take some into its prisons. "When we are asking allies to do their fair share in dealing with this challenge, we need to do our fair share," she told the Chicago Tribune in May 2009. "This is a case where we need to ask members of Congress to take a more strategic view. Many of these members called for the closing of Guantanamo, and we need their partnership in making that possible."
