Richard L. Russell is Professor of National Security Affairs at the Near East and South Asia Center for Strategic Studies. He also is Non-Resident Senior Fellow for Strategic Studies at the Center for the National Interest and Lecturer, Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University.

Russell’s career blends scholarship with national security practice. He holds a Ph.D. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. He previously held research appointments with the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia and the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University. Russell taught for nearly ten years graduate courses on international security, grand strategy, and military operations for Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program. He also served for seventeen years as a political-military analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Russell’s research, analysis, and teaching focuses on international relations, American foreign and defense policy, strategic studies, intelligence, weapons of mass destruction, and security in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. He is the author of three books: Sharpening Strategic Intelligence: Why the CIA Gets It Wrong and What Needs to be Done to Get It Right (Cambridge University Press, 2007); Weapons Proliferation and War in the Greater Middle East (Routledge, 2005); and, George F. Kennan’s Strategic Thought (Praeger, 1999). Russell also has published more than forty journal and magazine articles and sixteen chapters in edited books.

Areas of Expertise

American National Security Policy

Strategy and Military Operations

Civil-Military Relations

Nuclear Weapons Proliferation

Intelligence

Publications

Books

Russell, R. L. (2007). Sharpening Strategic Intelligence: Why the CIA Gets it Wrong and What Needs to be Done to Get it Right. New York and Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Russell, R. L. (2005). Weapons Proliferation and War in the Greater Middle East. New York and London: Routledge.

Book Reviews

Russell, R. L. (2009). Faysal: Saudi Arabia’s King for All Seasons – by Joesph A. Kechichian. Middle East Policy, 16(2), 174.

Russell, R. L. (2009). George Kennan: A Study in Character – by John Lukacs. Historian, 71(2), 372.

Russell, R. L. (2009). James Jesus Angleton, the CIA, and the Craft of Counterintelligence – by Michael Holzman. Choice, 46(7), 1405.

Russell, R. L. (2008). Enemies of Intelligence: Knowledge & Power in American National Security – by Richard K. Betts, H-Diplo, 9(15), 18.

Russell, R. L. (2008). The Security Dilemma: Fear, Cooperation and Trust in World Politics – by Ken Booth and Nicholas J. Wheeler. Choice, 46(1), 188-189.

Russell, R. L. (2008). The Quest for Absolute Security: The Failed Relations Among U.S. Intelligence Agencies – by Athan Theoharis. Political Science Quarterly, 123(3), 506.

Articles

Russell, R. L. (2010). Off and Running: The Middle East Nuclear Arms Race. Joint Forces Quarterly 58.3.

Russell, R. L. (2009). Future Gulf War: Arab and American Forces Against Iranian Capabilities. Joint Force Quarterly : JFQ, 58(3), 35-40.

Russell, R. L. (2008). Assessing the Nuclear Threat. Harvard International Review 29.4.

Russell, R. L. (2008, Fall). Israel’s Survival Instincts and the Dangers of Nuclear Weapons in Iranian Hands. Joint Force Quarterly, 50(3), 85-91. [download]

Russell, R. L. (2007). Low-Pressure System: A Review Essay. The American Interest 2.6.

Russell, R. L. (2006, November/December). Military Planning for a Middle East Stockpiled with Nuclear Weapons. Military Review, 86(4), 97-101.

Russell, R. L. (2005, Winter). The Persian Gulf’s Collective Security Mirage. Middle East Policy, 12(4), 77-88. [download]

Russell, R. L. (2005, September). A Weak Pillar for American National Security: The CIA’s Dismal Performance Against WMD Threats. Intelligence and National Security, 20(3), 466-485.

Russell, R. L. (2005, September). China’s WMD Foot in the Greater Middle East’s Door. Middle East Review of International Affairs, 9(3), 108-124. [download]

Russell, R. (2005, Spring). Iraq’s Chemical Weapons Legacy: What Others Might Learn from Saddam. The Middle East Journal, 59(2), 187-208. [download]

Russell, R. L. (2004, Fall). Spies Like Them. The National Interest, 77, 59-62.

Russell, R. L. (2004, Autumn). Iran in Iraq’s Shadow: Dealing with Tehran’s Nuclear Weapons Bid. Parameters, 34(3), 31-45. [download]

Russell, R. L. (2002, Autumn). War and the Iraq Dilemma: Facing Harsh Realities. Parameters, 32(3), 46-61. [download]

Russell, R. L. (2002, Summer). Swords and Shields: Ballistic Missiles and Defenses in the Middle East and South Asia. Orbis, 46(3).

Book Chapters

Russell, R. L. (2010). Competitive Analysis: Techniques for Better Gauging Enemy Political Intentions and Military Capabilities. In Loch K. Johnson (Ed.), The Oxford University Handbook of National Security Intelligence. New York: Oxford University Press.

Russell, R. L. (2007). Achieving All-Source Fusion in the Intelligence Community. in L. Johnson (Ed.), Handbook of Intelligence Studies. London and New York: Routledge.

Russell, R. L. (2007). CIA’s Strategic Intelligence in Iraq. in L. Johnson and J. Wirtz (Eds.), Intelligence and National Security: The Secret World of Spies, (pp. 65-92). New York: Oxford University Press.

Russell, R. L. (2007). The Intelligence War Against Global Terrorism. in L. Johnson (Ed.), Strategic Intelligence: Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism – Defending the Nation Against Hostile Forces. Westport: Praeger Security International.

Russell, R. L. (2006). Saudi Arabia’s Conundrum and the al-Qaeda Insurgency. in A. Aldis and G. P. Herd(Eds.) The Ideological War on Terror: Worldwide Strategies for Counter-Terrorism. New York and London: Routledge.

Russell, R. L. (2005). The Weakest Link: Intelligence for Pre-emptive and Preventive Military Action. in A. McIvor (Ed.), Rethinking the Principles of War, (pp. 207-224). Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.

Russell, R. L. (2005). Arab Security Responses to a Nuclear-Ready Iran. in H. Sokolski and P. Clawson (Eds.), Getting Ready for a Nuclear-Ready Iran, (pp. 23-50). Carlisle: US Army War College Press. [download]

Russell, R. L. (2004). Tug of War: The CIA’s Uneasy Relationship with the Military. In R. George and R. Kline (Eds.), Intelligence and the National Security Strategist: Enduring Issues & Challenges. Washington, DC: National Defense University Press.

Op-Eds and Commentaries

Russell, R. L. (2010, May 13). Working Toward Peace, Letter to the Editor. The Economist.

Russell, R. L. (2007, November). Intelligence. Commentary Magazine, 124(4), 18.

Russell, R. L. (2007, September/October). Missing Intelligence. Foreign Affairs, 86(5), 162.

Russell, R. L. (2007, August 11). Higher Risks [Letter to the editor]. The Economist, 384(8541).

Russell, R. L. (2006, January 25). Oil for Missiles: Our Friends the Saudis Make Friends with the Chinese. The Wall Street Journal, p. A12.

Russell, R. L. (2005, November 15). Saudi Arabia’s Insurgency in Waiting. Foreign Policy, web-only. [download]

Russell, R. L. (2004, July 14). Don’t Count on NATO in Iraq. The National Interest, 3(28). [download]

Russell, R. L. (2004, July 07). Coalition Warfare in Iraq: Then and Now. The National Interest, 3(27). [download]

Russell, R. L. (2004, February 03). Time to Vet CIA Spies: Directorate of Operations Needs Reform. The Washington Times.

Russell, R. L. (2004, January 05). Saudi Nukes: A Looming Intelligence Failure. The Washington Times.

Monographs

Russell, R. L. (2010, September). Military Options: Useless or Indispensable?” in J. Krause (Ed.) The Strategic Implications of the Iranian Nuclear Problem. Berlin, Germany: Aspen Institute, 93-112.

Russell, R. L. (2007). Iran’s Nuclear Program: Security Implications for the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf Region. Emirates Lecture Series, no. 70. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, 2007.

Education

Ph.D. Foreign Affairs, University of Virginia

M.A. International Affairs, American University

B.A. Economics, cum laude, Union Colleg