The Ayatollah’s Dilemma

Elliott Abrams is Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C. Early in his career, Mr. Abrams spent four years working for the United States Senate:  as Assistant Counsel to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in 1975; as Special Counsel to Senator Henry M. Jackson in 1975-1976; and as Special Counsel and then Chief of Staff to Senator Daniel P. Moynihan from January 1977 to June 1979. 

Mr. Abrams served in the State Department during all eight years of the Reagan Administration.  In January, 1981 Mr. Abrams became Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs.  In this capacity he supervised United States participation in the United Nations system.  In December, 1981, he was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs.  In July, 1985, Mr. Abrams was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for Inter- American Affairs, where he supervised U.S. policy in Latin America and the Caribbean.  In 1988, Mr. Abrams received the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award from Secretary George P. Shultz for his work in the Department. He served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor in the Administration of President George W. Bush, where he supervised U.S. policy in the Middle East for the White House.

Mr. Abrams joined the Bush Administration in June, 2001 as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director of the NSC for Democracy, Human Rights, and International Organizations. From December 2002 to February 2005, he served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director of the National Security Council for Near East and North African Affairs.  He served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Global Democracy Strategy from February 2005 to January 2009, and in that capacity supervised both the Near East and North African Affairs, and the Democracy, Human Rights, and International Organizations directorates of the NSC.