March 8, 2005

Speaker Biographies

Zalmay Khalilzad was nominated Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Afghanistan by President Bush in 2003. Dr. Khalilzad had previously served as special presidential envoy to Afghanistan, a role he retains. He also served as special assistant to the President and senior director for Islamic outreach and Southwest Asia Initiatives at the National Security Council, as well as special assistant to the President and senior director for Southwest Asia, Near East, and North African Affairs. He also has been a special presidential envoy and Ambassador at Large for the Free Iraqis. Dr. Khalilzad headed the Bush-Cheney transition team for the Department of Defense and has been a counselor to Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld.

Between 1993 and 1999, Dr. Khalilzad was director of the strategy, doctrine and force structure pogram for RAND's Project Air Force. While with RAND, he founded the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Between 1991 and 1992, Dr. Khalilzad served as assistant deputy undersecretary of defense for policy planning. Secretary Cheney awarded him the Department of Defense medal for outstanding public service. Dr. Khalilzad also served as an associate professor at the University of California at San Diego in 1989 and 1991. From 1985 to 1989 at the Department of State, Dr. Khalilzad served as special advisor to the undersecretary of state for political affairs, working on policy issues and advising on the Iran-Iraq war and the Soviet War in Afghanistan. From 1979 to 1986, Dr. Khalilzad was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Columbia University. Dr. Khalilzad is the author of many books, articles, studies and reports.

Danielle Pletka is the vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at AEI. Her research areas include the Middle East (including Iran, Iraq, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict), South Asia (India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan), terrorism, and weapons proliferation. While at AEI, Ms. Pletka has developed a conference series on rebuilding post-Saddam Iraq, a project on democracy for the Arab world, a roundtable of experts to discuss global energy security, and a project to develop bilateral relations between India and the United States. Before coming to AEI, she served for ten years as a senior professional staff member for the Near East and South Asia on the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Ms. Pletka has also been a journalist based in Washington and the Middle East.

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