Brent Scowcroft
Brent Scowcroft (/ˈskoʊkrɒft/; March 19, 1925 – August 6, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer who was a two-time United States National Security Advisor, first under U.S. President Gerald Ford and then under George H. W. Bush. He served as Military Assistant to President Richard Nixon and as Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs in the Nixon and Ford administrations. He served as Chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005, and advised President Barack Obama on choosing his national security team.
Brent Scowcroft | |
|---|---|
Scowcroft in 1973 | |
| Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board | |
| In office October 5, 2001 – February 25, 2005 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Warren Rudman |
| Succeeded by | Jim Langdon |
| Chair of the Intelligence Oversight Board | |
| In office January 20, 1993 – May 26, 1994 | |
| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | James R. Thompson |
| Succeeded by | Anthony S. Harrington |
| 8th and 16th United States National Security Advisor | |
| In office January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993 | |
| President | George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Colin Powell |
| Succeeded by | Tony Lake |
| In office November 3, 1975 – January 20, 1977 | |
| President | Gerald Ford |
| Preceded by | Henry Kissinger |
| Succeeded by | Zbigniew Brzezinski |
| United States Deputy National Security Advisor | |
| In office January 4, 1973 – November 3, 1975 | |
| President | Richard Nixon Gerald Ford |
| Preceded by | Alexander Haig |
| Succeeded by | William G. Hyland |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 19, 1925 Ogden, Utah, U.S. |
| Died | August 6, 2020 (aged 95) Falls Church, Virginia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Marion Horner (m. 1951; died 1995) |
| Children | 1 daughter |
| Education | United States Military Academy (BS) Columbia University (MA, PhD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1947–1975 |
| Rank | Lieutenant general |
Early life and education
Scowcroft was born March 19, 1925, in Ogden, Utah, the son of Lucile (née Ballantyne) and James Scowcroft, a grocer and business owner.[1] He was a descendant of early 19th-century British immigrants from England and Scotland, along with immigrants from Denmark and Norway. He elaborated upon his relationship with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a 1999 oral history: "I have close personal ties to some of the church leadership. They would not consider me a good Mormon. I don't live by all of the rules the Mormons like—I like a glass of wine and a cup of coffee. But yes, I do consider myself a Mormon. It's part of a religious and a cultural heritage."[2]
Scowcroft received his undergraduate degree and commission in the United States Army Air Forces from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in June 1947. With the establishment of an independent United States Air Force in September 1947, his commission transferred to the USAF. Scowcroft subsequently earned an MA (1953) and PhD (1967) in international relations from Columbia University.[3]
Career
Having envisioned life as a fighter pilot following World War II, Scowcroft completed his pilot training in October 1948 following his commissioning as an Air Force Second Lieutenant in 1947 and received his Air Force Command Pilot Wings.[4] However, on January 6, 1949, while on flight training with a North American P-51 Mustang, his aircraft experienced engine trouble after taking-off from Grenier Army Airfield, causing the plane to crash-land. Although his injuries were not critical, Scowcroft assumed that he would never fly again and considered another career within the Air Force.[4] He served in a variety of operational and administrative positions from 1948 to 1953. In the course of his military career, he held positions at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, headquarters of the United States Air Force, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. His other assignments included: faculty positions at the United States Air Force Academy and the United States Military Academy, and Assistant Air Attaché in the American Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.[4]
As a senior officer, General Scowcroft was assigned to Headquarters U.S. Air Force in the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Operations, and served in the Long Range Planning Division, Directorate of Doctrine, Concepts and Objectives from 1964 to 1966. He next attended the National War College at Fort McNair, followed by assignment in July 1968 to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. In September 1969, he was reassigned to Headquarters U.S. Air Force in the Directorate of Plans as Deputy Assistant for National Security Council Matters. In March 1970 he joined the Joint Chiefs of Staff organization and became the Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Staff.[5]
| External video | |
|---|---|
| Booknotes interview with Scowcroft and George H. W. Bush on A World Transformed, October 4, 1998, C-SPAN | |
| After Words interview with Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski on America and the World, September 20, 2008, C-SPAN |
Scowcroft was appointed Military Assistant to the President in February 1972; and was reassigned as Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs in January 1973.[6] He was promoted to lieutenant general on August 16, 1974, and retired from active duty at that rank on December 1, 1975. He had, just a month earlier, during the Halloween Massacre, become the United States National Security Advisor (for him, the first time), replacing Henry Kissinger.[7][8] Scowcroft's continued service in the Air Force would have been contingent on reconfirmation of his rank by the Senate, a distinction that National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster elected to pursue in 2018.[8]
His military decorations and awards included the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster and the Air Force Commendation Medal.[9]
Before joining the Bush administration, Scowcroft was vice chairman of Kissinger Associates. He had a long association with Henry Kissinger, having served as his assistant when Kissinger was the National Security Adviser under Richard Nixon, from 1969.[10]
Scowcroft was long sought after as a respected, professional and largely apolitical or nonpartisan expert (within the standards of fellow White House veterans) and chaired and served on a number of policy advisory councils, including the President's General Advisory Committee on Arms Control, the President's Commission on Strategic Forces, the President's Blue Ribbon Commission on Defense Management, the Defense Policy Board, and the President's Special Review Board (Tower Commission) investigating the Iran–Contra affair. He also served on the Guiding Coalition of the nonpartisan Project on National Security Reform. He was appointed Co-Chair of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future from 2010 to 2012 alongside Lee Hamilton.[11]
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Scowcroft was in an E-4B aircraft, also known as the National Airborne Operations Command Center (NAOC), on the tarmac waiting to takeoff for Offutt Air Force Base, when the first hijacked airliner hit the World Trade Center (WTC). Scowcroft's aircraft was en route to Offutt when the second hijacked airliner struck the WTC. Scowcroft was involved in observing the command and control operations of both President George W. Bush in Florida, and Vice President Dick Cheney, who was at the White House.[12]
Scowcroft was the founder and president of The Forum for International Policy, a think tank. He was also president of The Scowcroft Group, an international business consulting firm. He was co-chair, along with Joseph Nye, of the Aspen Strategy Group. He was a member of the Inter-American Dialogue, Trilateral Commission, and the Council on Foreign Relations and a board member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Atlantic Council.[13]
Scowcroft was a leading Republican critic of American policy towards Iraq before and after the 2003 invasion, which war critics in particular have seen as significant given Scowcroft's close ties to former President George H. W. Bush.[14][15][16][17] He drew attention for reports of remarks critical of Bush – which he did not deny when reported by The Washington Post citing his view that "Bush is 'mesmerized' by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, that Iraq was a 'failing venture' and that the administration's unilateralist approach has harmed relations between Europe and the United States."[citation needed] Despite his public criticism of the decision to invade, Scowcroft continued to describe himself as "a friend" of the Bush administration.[18] He also strongly opposed a precipitous withdrawal, arguing that a pull-out from Iraq before the country was able to govern, sustain, and defend itself "would be a strategic defeat for American interests, with potentially catastrophic consequences both in the region and beyond".[19] Scowcroft went on to stress that the U.S. must "secure the support of the countries of the region themselves. It is greatly in their self-interest to give that support.. unfortunately, in recent years they have come to see it as dangerous to identify with the United States, and so they have largely stood on the sidelines."
| External video | |
|---|---|
| HBO History Makers Series: A Conversation with Brent Scowcroft, October 3, 2007, Council on Foreign Relations |
He backed the invasion of Afghanistan as a "direct response" to 9/11 terrorism, a war that would go on to last about 20 years.[20]
President George H. W. Bush presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991. In 1993, he was created an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. In 1988, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[21] In 2005, Scowcroft was awarded the William Oliver Baker Award by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance.[22]
In 1998, he co-wrote A World Transformed with George H. W. Bush. This book described what it was like to be in the White House during the end of the Cold War, as the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s. Notably, both figures explained why they didn't go on to Baghdad in 1991: "Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land."[23] In 1994, Scowcroft co-authored the opinion-editorial "The Time for Temporizing is Over" urging President Bill Clinton to order a preemptive strike on North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear facility unless it readmitted International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors.[24]
His discussions of foreign policy with Zbigniew Brzezinski, led by journalist David Ignatius, were published in a 2008 book titled America and the World: Conversations on the Future of American Foreign Policy.[25]
Scowcroft was a member of the Honorary Council of Advisors for U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC).[26] Critics have suggested that Scowcroft was unethical in his lobbying for the Turkish and Azeri governments because of his ties to Lockheed Martin and other defense contractors that do significant business with Turkey.[27] He was also a member of the board of directors of the International Republican Institute,[28] and served on the Advisory Board for Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs[29] and for America Abroad Media.[30]
Scowcroft endorsed Hillary Clinton in the run-up for the 2016 United States presidential election.[31]
Evaluation
Scholarly evaluations of Scowcroft's performance have been generally favorable. For example Ivo Daalder and I. M. Destler quoting other scholars, conclude:
"Brent Scowcroft was in many ways the ideal national security adviser—indeed, he offers a model for how the job should be done." His "winning formula" consisted of gaining the trust of the key principals of U.S. foreign policymaking, establishing "a cooperative policy process at all levels," one both transparent and collegial, and keeping an "unbreakable relationship with the president," thanks to their close friendship and mutual respect. The result was that Scowcroft "proved to be an extraordinarily effective national security adviser" in comparison with others who have held the office, particularly in light of the difficult and transformative period in which he held office.[32]
Other evaluations from colleagues and national security veterans in both parties echo similar points.
In a largely laudatory obituary, The New York Times noted "his appeal for public service was a classic reminder of a less partisan age, when presidents often reached out to experienced talent, regardless of party loyalties."
The Atlantic Council provided an assessment, with quotes from several experts after Scowcroft's death, that noted "Looking back on his time working with Scowcroft in the Nixon administration, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger explained that 'in a period when America was tearing itself apart,' Scowcroft’s 'steadiness had a calming influence then as did his faith in his country’s ultimate purposes.' Former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates argued that what 'set Brent apart as National Security Advisor was that he played fair…he did not take advantage of his close relationship with the president to disadvantage others.' John Deutch, former Director of Central Intelligence, recalled that “Brent had the ideal temperament to lead the country. He was smart, deceptively articulate with a calm demeanor that often masked his strategic thinking.'"[33]
Scowcroft award
Scowcroft was the inspiration and namesake for a special presidential award begun under the George H. W. Bush administration. According to Gates, the award is given to the official "who most ostentatiously falls asleep in a meeting with the president". According to Gates, the president "evaluated candidates on three criteria. First, duration—how long did they sleep? Second, the depth of the sleep. Snoring always got you extra points. And third, the quality of recovery. Did one just quietly open one's eyes and return to the meeting, or did you jolt awake and maybe spill something hot in the process?"[34] According to Bush himself, the award "gives extra points for he/she who totally craters, eyes tightly closed, in the midst of meetings, but in fairness a lot of credit is given for sleeping soundly while all about you are doing their thing."[35] Scowcroft had gained a reputation for doing such things to the extent that it became a running gag.[36]
Personal life
Scowcroft married Marian Horner in 1951. His wife, a Pennsylvania native, trained as a nurse at St. Francis School of Nursing in Pittsburgh and graduated from Columbia University. They had one daughter, Karen Scowcroft. Marian Horner Scowcroft, a diabetic, died on July 17, 1995, at George Washington University Hospital.[37]
In March 1993, when Scowcroft was given an honorary KBE by Queen Elizabeth II, his daughter was also received by the Queen.[38]
Death
On August 6, 2020, Scowcroft died at his home in Falls Church, Virginia, at age 95.[39][40] On January 29, 2021, Scowcroft was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[41]
Honors
- Air Force Pilot Badge[42]
- Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge[42]
- Presidential Service Badge[42]
- Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with three bronze oak leaf cluster[43]
- Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster[43]
- Presidential Medal of Freedom (1991)[44]
- Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service (2016)[45]
- Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Military version (KBE) (1993)[44]
- Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 3rd Class (2006)[46]
- Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2009)[44]
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (2016)[47]
Honorary degrees
| Location | Date | School | Degree |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 1989 | George Washington University | Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[48] |
| Utah | April 24, 1992 | Brigham Young University | Doctor of Public Service (DPS)[49] |
| Virginia | 2000 | College of William & Mary | Doctor of Humane Letters (DHL)[50] |
| New York | May 18, 2005 | Columbia University | Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[51] |
| Utah | December 10, 2010 | Weber State University | Doctor of Humane Letters (DHL)[52] |
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (March 2018) |
See also
References
- ^ "Brent Scowcroft". Center for Strategic and International Studies. 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
- ^ "Brent Scowcroft Oral History". Miller Center of Public Affairs. October 27, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ "Brent Scowcroft". Aspen Institute. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ a b c McFadden, Robert D. (August 6, 2020). "Brent Scowcroft, a Force on Foreign Policy for 40 Years, Dies at 95". The New York Times. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ "LIEUTENANT GENERAL BRENT SCOWCROFT". www.af.mil.
- ^ Charlton, Linda (November 4, 1975). "Deputy in Kissinger's Place". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
- ^ Gelb, Leslie H. (November 4, 1975). "Ford's Timetable Upset in Shakeup". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
- ^ a b Weaver, Dustin (March 7, 2017). "Senate panel approves Trump adviser keeping his military rank". TheHill.
- ^ . Af.mil. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
- ^ "Kissinger Becomes Secretary of State". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ Scowcroft, Brent; Hamilton, Lee (December 12, 2011). "[Letter from Lee H. Hamilton and Brent Scowcroft of the Blue Ribbon Commission for America's Nuclear Future to President Barack Obama Regarding Nuclear Waste Disposal and the Fiscal Year 2013 Budget]". Homeland Security Digital Library.
- ^ Brzezinski, Zbigniew; Scowcroft, Brent (2008). America and The World: Conversations on the future of American Foreign Policy. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-01501-6.
- ^ [1] August 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ . Commondreams.org. August 5, 2002. Archived from the original on September 21, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
- ^ "Interviews – Brent Scowcroft | Gunning For Saddam | FRONTLINE". PBS. November 20, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
- ^ Kessler, Glenn (October 16, 2004). "Scowcroft Is Critical of Bush". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
- ^ Priest, Dana; Wright, Robin (January 7, 2005). "Scowcroft Skeptical Vote Will Stabilize Iraq". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
- ^ Rice, Andrew (September 6, 2004). "Brent Scowcroft Calls Iraq War "overreaction"". The New York Observer. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
- ^ Scowcroft, Brent (January 4, 2007). "Getting the Middle East Back on Our Side". The New York Times. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
- ^ Goldberg, Jeffrey (October 24, 2005). "Breaking Ranks". The New Yorker. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
- ^ "William Oliver Baker Award Recipients – INSA".
- ^ vanden Heuvel, Katrina (October 19, 2004). "Scowcroft Blasts W." The Nation. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ Cha, Victor D. (2013). The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future. Internet Archive. New York: Ecco. p. 287. ISBN 978-0-06-199850-8. LCCN 2012009517. OCLC 1244862785.
- ^ Kakutani, Michiko (September 22, 2008). "A Dialogue and a Discourse on America's Global Role". The New York Times.
- ^ . Archived from the original on April 11, 2009. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
- ^ "Kissinger, Iraq, BNL". Pinknoiz.com. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
- ^ . Archived from the original on April 28, 2010.
- ^ . Sipa.columbia.edu. Archived from the original on December 21, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
- ^ . Archived from the original on July 16, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- ^ Blake, A. 78 Republican politicians, donors and officials who are supporting Hillary Clinton.. The Washington Post. December 7, 2016.
- ^ Ivo Daalder and I. M. Destler, In the Shadow of the Oval Office: Profiles of the National Security Advisers and the Presidents They Served—From JFK to George W. Bush (2009), p. 170.
- ^ "Celebrating the 'impeccable integrity and unbounded courage' of Brent Scowcroft". Atlantic Council. September 10, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
- ^ Wilkie, Christina (May 12, 2010). "Fall asleep in the Oval Office? You could win a 'Scowcroft award'". The Hill. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
- ^ "The Boss Lauds a Champion Sleeper". The New York Times. January 18, 1990. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
- ^ Roberts, Argetsinger, Roxanne, Amy (December 14, 2011). "Brent Scowcroft and the art of sleeping through the meeting". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
- ^ "Marian Horner Scowcroft – St. Francis Hospital (Pittsburgh) School of Nursing Memorial Site". Lindapages.com. July 18, 1995. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
- ^ "Court Circular – People – News". The Independent. March 18, 1993. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
- ^ "Longtime presidential adviser Brent Scowcroft dies at 95". NBC News. Associated Press. August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ McFadden, Robert D. (August 7, 2020). "Brent Scowcroft, a Force on Foreign Policy for 40 Years, Dies at 95". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ Source - https://www.nationalguard.mil/coronavirus/videoid/782086/, Video - https://www.dvidshub.net/video/embed/782086, caption - Lt Gen Brent Scowcroft Arlington National Cemetery Internment, Air Force Television Pentagon (SAF/PAI), Jan. 29, 2021, 2:36, text - Lt Gen Brent Scowcroft was a United States Air Force officer who was a two-time United States National Security Advisor under presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush. He was given military funeral honors at Arlington National Cemetery on 29 Jan, 2021.
- ^ a b c Sparrow, Bartholomew (January 27, 2015). The Strategist: Brent Scowcroft and the Call of National Security. PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1586489632.
- ^ a b "Longtime Public Servant Brent Scowcroft Dies". Texas A&M Today. August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ a b c Brent Scowcroft | The Scowcroft Group, biography
- ^ "Remarks Honoring Brent Scowcroft with the DOD Distinguished Public Service Award". U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.
- ^ "Vabariigi President". www.president.ee. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ "General Scowcroft awarded Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun – The Scowcroft Group". www.scowcroft.com. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ "Honorary Degree Recipients – GW Libraries". library.gwu.edu. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ "SCOWCROFT SAYS NOW IS TIME TO HELP SHAPE WORLD
". Deseret News. April 24, 1992. Retrieved December 4, 2018. - ^ "Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft". Bush School of Government and Public Service. Texas A&M University. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ "Complete List of Recipients (1945–Present) – Office of the Secretary of the University". secretary.columbia.edu. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ "Former National Security Advisor to Receive Honorary Degree". www.weber.edu. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
Further reading
- Daalder, Ivo H., and I. M. Destler. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009. ISBN 978-1416553199.
- Sparrow, Bartholomew H. "Realism's Practitioner: Brent Scowcroft and the Making of the New World Order, 1989–1993." Diplomatic History, Vol. 34, No. 1, 2010, pp. 141–175. JSTOR 24916037.
- Sparrow, Bartholomew. The Strategist: Brent Scowcroft and the Call of National Security (2015)
Primary sources
- Brzezinski, Zbigniew, and Brent Scowcroft. America and the World: Conversations on the Future of American Foreign Policy. New York: Basic Books, 2008. ISBN 0465015018 / ISBN 978-0465015016.
- Bush, George H.W., and Brent Scowcroft. A World Transformed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998. ISBN 0679432485.
- Deutch, John, and Arnold Kanter, Brent Scowcroft. "Saving NATO's Foundation." Foreign Affairs, Vol. 78, No. 6, November/December 1999, pp. 54–67. doi:10.2307/20049532.
- Perry, William James, and Brent Scowcroft, Charles D. Ferguson. U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy. Independent Task Force Report, No. 62. Council on Foreign Relations, April 2009. ISBN 978-0876094204.
- Scowcroft, Brent. "A World in Transformation." The National Interest, No. 119, Special Issue: Crisis of the Old Order, May/June 2012, pp. 7–9. JSTOR 42896448.
- Scowcroft, Brent. "Don't Attack Saddam." Wall Street Journal, August 15, 2002, p. A12.
- Scowcroft, Brent. "Foreword." Burrows, Mathew J. Global Risks 2035: The Search for a New Normal. Atlantic Council, September 2016. JSTOR resrep03678.
- Scowcroft, Brent. "Getting the Middle East Back on Our Side." New York Times, January 4, 2007.
External links
Brent Scowcroft
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Brent Scowcroft at IMDb
- Brent Scowcroft on Charlie Rose
- at the Wayback Machine (archived April 30, 2008)
- Arlington National Cemetery
- Brent Scowcroft at The West Point Center for Oral History at archive.today (archived April 16, 2013)
- Brent Scowcroft collected news and commentary at The New York Times