Dov S. Zakheim, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer (2001-2004), Booz-Allen Hamilton
Biography provided by participant
Dov S. Zakheim is Vice President of Booz Allen Hamilton, a global strategy and technology consulting firm, where he is a leader in the Firm's global defense practice, working with U.S. Combatant Commanders and allied and coalition ministries of defense worldwide.
From 2001 to April 2004 he served as the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Defense, acting as the Secretary of Defense's principal advisor on financial and budgetary matters, developing and managing the world's largest budgets, overseeing all aspects of the Department's accounting and auditing systems, and negotiating five major international defense agreements. From 2002-2004 Zakheim was DOD's coordinator of civilian programs in Afghanistan. He also helped organize both the June 2003 UN donors' conference on Iraq reconstruction and the October 2003 Madrid Donors' Conference.
From 1987 to 2001 he was both corporate vice president of System Planning Corporation, a technology, and analysis firm based in Arlington, Va. and chief executive officer of its subsidiary, SPC International Corp.. During the 2000 presidential campaign, he served as a senior foreign policy advisor to then-Governor Bush.
From 1985 until March 1987, Zakheim was Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Planning and Resources in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Policy), playing an active role in the Department's system acquisition, strategic planning, programming and budget processes. Zakheim held several other DOD posts from 1981 to 1985. Earlier, he was a principal analyst in the National Security and International Affairs Division of the Congressional Budget Office.
Zakheim has served on a number of government, corporate, non-profit and charitable boards. His government service includes two terms on the United States Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad(1991-93); the Task Force on Defense Reform (1997); the first Board of Visitors of the Department of Defense Overseas Regional Schools (1998); and the Defense Science Board task force on "The Impact of DOD Acquisition Policies on the Health of the Defense Industry" (2000). He is Chairman of the National Intelligence Council's International Business Practices Advisory Panel, and a member of the Defense Business Board, which he helped establish, the Commission on Wartime Contracting, the Secretary of the Navy's Advisory Board, the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel and the Council on Foreign Relations.
A 1970 graduate of Columbia University with a B.A., summa cum laude, Zakheim also studied at the London School of Economics. He holds a doctorate in economics and politics at St. Antony's College, University of Oxford, where he held three fellowships. Zakheim is a Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and was an adjunct Senior Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations and an adjunct Scholar of the Heritage Foundation. He has been an adjunct professor at the National War College, Yeshiva University, Columbia University and Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., where he was a Presidential Scholar. The author of a dozen books or monographs, and of numerous articles, Dr Zakheim has lectured and provided print, radio and television commentary on national defense and foreign policy issues domestically and internationally. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his government, professional and civic work, including the Defense Department's highest civilian award in 1986, 1987 and 2004.
Timothy McVay wasn't a Muslim, and he was a terrorist. The Muslims who serve in our military, who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, are neither terorists nor a threat of any kind. We cannot generalize. What we can say is that we have not integrated recent Muslim immigrant well. Many recent arrivals live in poor conditions, similar to their co-religionists in Europe. That situation breeds crime--and, when stoked by the Internet and other influences, terrorism. Our governments--Federal, State, local--need to do whatever possible to integrate recent arrivals so as to avoid their alientation, or worse. And there are some things… Read more
I agree with those who find "whack-a-mole" too simplistic and reflective of our lack of any real strategy for fighting terrorism. We cannot, and should not, send our troops hither and yon to fight terrorists. Such an approach depletes our materiel, and, more importantly, our human resources, and accomplishes little. Terrorists are not a single unified group, and they can sprout anywhere. Of course they will prefer iungovernable terriitory, but they can operate in any place--ask the citizens of London, Madrid, or for that matter, New York. We need to treat terrorists the way we once treated anarchists. Terrorists are not common criminals, but they can… Read more
China is important; it is every bit as much the rising power as it claims to be. Yet we should be careful not to overstate its importance relative to those of other countries, or, for that matter, the EU. Last month's Irish referendum in favor of the Lisbon Treaty gave the EU the green light to move forward toward more coherence, if not greater unification. As such, it will become an increasingly important force in international political, security and economic affairs, second to none in its importance to the United States . India may not overtake China economically, but it too is a… Read more
I agree with those who argue that the award simply creates more problems for a President that has enough of them on his plate. Because he is such a powerful, articulate and compelling speaker, the President has already created unrealistic expectations of what he might accomplish. HIs visions are not reality, however, despite the fervent hopes of his admirers around the world. By awarding him the Nobel Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee hasadded to his lustre, but has made not the slightest difference in termsof his ability to accomplish anything. The risk of negative consequences arising from dashed hopes is… Read more
Barack Obama will not solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He has too many other concerns: the health care crisis, the war in Afghanistan, the latest revelations about Iran’s nuclear program. A failure to overcome the challenges posed by any one of these three issues, much less more than one, threatens his prospects for re-election, in a way that failure in the “Peace Process does not.” The President is a consummate politician; he knows his priorities. In any event, the emergence of a fact that the President was aware of for some time, namely, the existence of a secret Iranian nuclear facility… Read more
Updated at 12:00 p.m. on Sept. 8. "Go big or go home" is simply the wrong question, and it begs the question of "for what?" If the two primary objectives in this war are to inflict a mortal wound on al-Qaida, and to prevent the Taliban's return to power, then "big" is excessive for the former and insufficient for the latter. A half million troops did not prevent our defeat in Vietnam, nor did a roughly equal number enable France to hang on to Algeria. To ensure that the Taliban becomes a fringe player of little consequence, we must supplement… Read more
I just finished reading <Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend> by Larry Tye. My wife got the book for me because I am a rabid fan, but this book is about much, much more than baseball. By focusing on the great African-American pitcher Satchel Paige, an unusual product of the early twentieth century Mobile slums, Tye provides a penetrating picture of the Jim Crow South, and of a way of life that Americans tolerated for far too long. It may well be difficult for many Gen Xers and Gen Yers, especially those serving in the miitary, to comprehend the degradation that was the daily bread… Read more
I am inclined to agree with Loren Thompson. We no longer are certain about our strategy for two reasons: First, we are not sure whether we are still the world's overwhelmingly dominant power. Second, we are not sure whether we want to be that power. We have refocused our defense program and resources primarily with a view to continuing a long-term battle against a relatively minor set of non-state actors in a relatively remote location. At the same time, recognizing short- and medium-term budget constraints, we are curtailing the modernization and development of those capabilities that are essential to maintaining… Read more
Dan Goure and I shared that platform at the Heritage Foundation. I would not go so far as Dan in terms of how he characterizes Bob Gates. But I do think that Gates is attempting to swing the pendulum excessively in the direction of "irregular warfare." Like many militaries, that of the United States traditionally has fought the last war in preparing for the next one. And it has frequently been surprised. Whether Korea in 1950, Iraq in 1990, or Afghanistan in 2001, the US has found itself fighting in unexpected places at unexpected times. And it has then sought to… Read more
I would not be surprised if the Congress, with its overwhelming Democratic majority, would seek to conduct as broad an investigation as possible. After all, investigating the CIA in particular is red meat to the political Left, and the Congress, particularly the House, will be playing to its base as we approach the mid-term elections. Moreover, any such investigation would focus on events that happened during the Bush Administration, enabling the Congress to engage in a new round of Bush-bashing, which would-- at least so the bashers no doubt would hope-- not only be popular with the public (or at least… Read more
The pressure on Honduras to restore "Mel" Zelaya has been more than "a little rough" on that country. After all, Honduras opted for democracy, and then watched its President attempt to chip away at its governmental structure, using Chavez's behavior as his model. We must recognize that what happened in Honduras was not a garden variety military coup. Zelaya's ouster had the support of the Honduran Congress and of the judiciary, which ruled that his proposed referendum on permitting him to run again for office was illegal. Instead of initially demanding Zelaya's immediate reinstatement, the United States should first have emphasized its willingness to… Read more
The Iraq War most certainly is not over. It is not just a matter of the bombs that have been detonated in the past few weeks. More importantly, it is that Iraq is inherently an unstable place--a land that the British artificially constructed and that incorporates three major ethnic and/or religious groups, Shi'a, Arab Sunnis, and Kurdish Sunnis (not to mention the smaller Turkomen and Christian populations) that despise one another. As the United States gradually withdraws from the country, and reduces its force levels, the destructive forces that have chosen to be quiescent for the moment will emerge once… Read more
The regime is unlikely to collapse now, but the protests in the streets of Tehran and elsewhere are fundamentally different from the student protests that took place some years ago. Now, unlike then, the triggering factor, the election of Ahmadinejad, will, if he remains in office, and the "supreme" leadership of Khamenei, even if the president is removed, will constitute an ongoing reminder to people of all classes, and especially women, of why they protested. There will be another round, maybe two, of more protests and demonstration some time in the near future. At some point, people will not cower before the Basij (some people… Read more
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. In hindsight we might lament the Mexican War, for example, though I doubt many of the residents of Arizona and New Mexico would agree. The Spanish-American War brought on many headaches, notably in the Philippines; again, however, Puerto Ricans might disagree that the war was a bad thing. The Korean War ended in a stalemate, but saved South Korea. Korewan-Americans no doubt see it as a "good war." On the other hand, many Southerners might, in the privacy of their homes and clubs, still question whether the Civil War (or as they might call it,… Read more
President Obama is trying to accomplish what his predecessors over the past decades failed to do: get Israel to keep its word about stopping the expansion of settlements, and get the Arab states to take the first steps toward normalizing relations with the Jewish state (including not fussing about the term "Jewish state", which is no more offensive than the term "Islamic Republic.). The President clearly has set a very high bar for himself, and, in doing so, he will have to make some trade-offs. These will include: • Not pressing the issue of democratization at this time. The United… Read more
I share the pessimism of most of my colleagues. We have been truying for years to figure out a way to coax the North Koreans out of their paranoia, with absolutely no success. We give, they take, they then do what they want. That has been the pattern. Neither China, Japan, nor South Korea are ready for a united peninsula. The North knows that, and recognizes, therefore, that it is actually quite safe from any "aggression" by the RoK. Those who rule the North are far more worried about their own positions of power, and they recognize that any accommodation with the RoK, or… Read more
The states most likely to weather the current economic storm are -- in spite of all their troubles -- those developed states that have truly balanced economies and a powerful middle class. The underlying fundamentals of the American economy are still very strong; and while America has moved to a service-oriented economy, it still is a major producer of raw materials, as well as industrial goods. And it has a national market of 300 million, the overwhelming majority of whom are, by all international standards, middle class. One caveat, however -- one major loser in the economic crisis has been… Read more
Bob Gates certainly is doing the right things to change the Pentagon's broken acquisition system. But then, so did Don Rumsfeld. On September 10, 2001, Rumsfeld told the Pentagon bureaucracy that it--the bureacracy itself--was the DoD's most serious problem. A day later, a more serious problem materialized, and acquisition reform never took hold for the remainder of the Bush Presidency. Maybe Bob Gates, and his able deputy, Bill Lynn, as well as Ash Carter, once confirmed, can bring about the change that Rumsfeld also desired. But it will take more than just internal Pentagon actions. While Gates is to be… Read more
Rumors of NATO's death are very much premature; but the organization needs to be something more than a vehicle for adding new members. There is no point in adding new states to the increasingly unwieldy membership, if those who are already members appear unwilling or unable to step up to the challenges that currently face the alliance. In particular, because NATO is no better than the policies of its members, the Europeans need to get serious about their contributions to the war in Afghanistan. Those who send troops need to change rules of engagement. Their forces should be in Afghanistan to… Read more
Let me begin by addressing the assertion that “U.S. policy towards Israel has been frozen for years, if not decades.” It is simply not true. As the Washington Post, supposedly no friend of Israel (according to many of its advocates), editorialized on Thursday, March 12: “Israel’s ‘ruling faction’… in the past few years alone has seen the U.S. government promote a Palestinian election that it opposed; refuse it weapons it might have used for an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities; and adopt a policy of direct negotiations with a regime that denies the Holocaust and that promises to wipe… Read more
I too am an economist. And I am convinced that the global economic crisis poses a major threat to our security. In the first place,as a result of the American financial crisis, the defense budget is already being squeezed, particularly, if not solely, in the procurement and research and development accounts. While the Administration is pouring hundreds of billions into the civilian sector, it is purportedly "saving" money by reducing the growth of those defense expenditures that will preserve our military superiority over the long term. In other words, the opportunity cost of our budget choices is exceedingly high. Adversary nations no doubt… Read more
Troops are not enough. We must recognize that Afghanistan is very different from Iraq. It is not just a matter of topography, or even that the society is nowhere nearly as modern as that of Saddam's Iraq. It is also that we fought the Afghan War primarily in a support role. We did not send in thousands of troops; the war was fought by the Northern Alliance and some Pashtu allies. We have slowly evolved into occupiers--too much American (and Western) military presence, too little targeted economic assistance. So now we are back to having win hearts and minds--but it… Read more
I find myself in agreement with Gordon Adams on this issue. The OMB position of Associate Director for National Security and International Affairs should be elevated to the level of Deputy Director, and should be dual hatted with a Deputy NSC Advisor position. All too often, policy makers overlook the resource implications of their ideas, until it is too late. At the same time, some OMB Associate Directors (not, I emphasize Gordon Adams when he held that job) overreach and try to micro-manage the Defense and State Departments. A dual appointment would create a more balanced understanding of the resource… Read more
There is no harm in seeking to talk to the Iranians, and much to be gained. In the first place, "extending a hand" will make for better coordination with the Europeans--and allow us to apply greater pressure on Tehran at the same time. Moreover, in the likely event that the Iranians reject our offers to talk, we will be able to muster more support for military action, should it have to be taken. Finally, if the Iranians do talk, there is some hope that a compromise that allows them to "save face" yet puts their program in the deep freeze… Read more
If Hamas had its way, the two-state solution certainly would be dead. But Hamas need not get its way. It is not just a matter of the beating it took; more than that, there is a fresh opportunity for the West, and, more importantly for Israel, to support the PA as a far more viable alternative for ordinary Palestinians. Ratcheting up Israeli assistance to the PA would not make the Authority, or Abu Mazen, any more of a stooge than does our current support for the Maliki government. What it would do is provide the PA with sorely needed credibility. It… Read more
Many of the respondents have already identified the Bush Administration initiatives that made a difference, including the attack on Afghanistan, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, most notably the TSA (remember when contract employees doing the inspections at airports were often from the countries that spawned terrorists and themselves had not been vetted?) a more focused intelligence effort, cooperation with Allies. Nothing in the aforementioned list needs to be reversed by the Obama Administration, but some of the Bush initiatives should be strenghened. In particular, we still do not have a good way to prosecute terrorists. The Nation clearly does not support the Bush… Read more
It puzzles me why some might think that Bob Gates has been "leashed" until now. After all, he has been in charge of the Pentaogn's policies, programns and budgets for some time. He will, of course, make some changes, but far more important, the program and budget that he presents will no longer be those of a lame duck, outgoing Secretary, but rather that of one who clearly has bipartisan support. As a result, his office, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, will have far more clout vis a vis the Services in determining which programs to be allocated priority… Read more
The Israeli invasion of Gaza has prompted governments, intellectuals and pundits to take to their own battle lines with regard to the decades-old conflict between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East. As usual, the Europeans have censured Israel, the moderate Arab states have echoed them (though privately cheering Israel on), the "Arab street" has had its demonstrations, and the press, including the American press, has split along conservative/liberal lines, with the former supporting the Israelis and the latter chiding them. It is noteworthy that Barack Obama's public remarks during his campaign regarding Hamas rocket attacks and potential Israeli retaliation… Read more
I just finished William Hague's William Wilberforce: The Life of the Great Anti-Slave Trade Campaigner. Hague, the former Tory leader and now Shadow Secretary, writes elegantly, and from the vantage point of a fellow practitioner. His asides about current politics and policy are particularly noteworthy given his current standing among the Tories. Wilberforce is a companion to Hague's deservedly acclaimed life of Pitt the Younger, and provides a parallel perspective of politics and mores in the wartime England of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. While neither book is a hagiography, both reflect the high esteem with… Read more
We cannot, and will not, pull all our troops from Iraq in sixteen months, not even all our combat troops. We need troops to protect Iraq's borders, both from the predations of others as well as to reassure Iraq's neighbors that Baghdad will not once again threaten or actually attack them with its troops or missiles. Middle Easterners have long memories, and those of Iraqi aggressive behavior in the nearly half century that began in the 'forties (against Israel), and continued into the 'sixties (agianst Kuwait), the 'seventies (again against Israel) 'eighties (against Iran), and the nineties (Kuwait, Bharain, Saudi Arabia, Israel) remain as fresh… Read more
Senator Biden is correct, of course, the tests will come; and if Russian statements are any indication, they will come quickly, and perhaps in bunches. The challenge for the new Administration is to respond in a way that does not deflect it from its overall strategic priorities. The buureacracy creates inter-agency "task forces" that are fundamentally tactical. The objective is always to "get past" the crisis. The system certainly can work--as in the US-Chinese collision over Hainana Island in 2001, when matters did not spin out of control and the relationship between the two powers was restored to one of cautious, but practical, interaction.… Read more
Biography provided by participant
