Ilan Berman

Berman has a BA in Politics from Brandeis University, an MA in International Politics from American University, and a JD from Washington College of Law.{{cite web |url=http://www.ndu.edu/cisa/index.cfm?secID=627&pageID=119&type=section |title=Welcome to CISA |publisher=Ndu.edu |access-date=May 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527175509/http://www.ndu.edu/cisa/index.cfm?secID=627&pageID=119&type=section |archive-date=May 27, 2010 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}

Berman is adjunct professor for International Law and Global Security at the National Defense University, and a member of the Associated Faculty at Missouri State University's Department of Defense and Strategic Studies. He also serves as a member of the Committee on the Present Danger, writes a monthly column for Forbes.com, and is an Editor of The Journal of International Security Affairs.{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/static_html/opinions/columnists.html |title=Columnists |work=Forbes.com |access-date=May 23, 2010}} He has also advised the United States Department of Defense, agencies of the U.S. government including the CIA, and offices of congressmen on matters of foreign policy and national security.{{cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/arena/bio/ilan_berman.html |title=The Arena: – Ilan Berman Bio |work=Politico |access-date=November 17, 2011}}{{cite news|url=https://blogs.forbes.com/people/ilanberman/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100921012052/http://blogs.forbes.com/people/ilanberman/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 21, 2010 |title=Forbes » Contributor Profile » Ilan Berman |work=Forbes |access-date=November 17, 2011}}

In November 2002, Al Ahram Weekly quoted him as remarking with regard to the U.S.'s targeted killing of al-Qaeda terrorists in Yemen,

It is too early to tell whether this event alone will precipitate a shift toward explicit support of such tactics as employed by Israel on Washington's part. What does seem clear, however, is that the United States and Israel are gravitating toward increasingly similar perceptions, and possibly strategies, in the war on terrorism.{{cite news|author=Nyier Abdou |url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/612/re5.htm |title=Region | Death by Predator |work=Al-Ahram Weekly |date=November 20, 2002 |access-date=May 23, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110123030641/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/612/re5.htm |archive-date=January 23, 2011 }}

He wrote in his 2005 book [https://books.google.com/books?id=ihhZ8K0dawwC Tehran Rising: Iran's Challenge to the United States] and has said in speeches that in displacing Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq which had been an enemy of Iran, and the Taliban in Afghanistan which had been a rival, the United States had unintentionally taken away two significant checks on the power of Iran in the Middle East.{{cite web|url=http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/04/27/1615733.htm |title=Iran flaunts options on striking back at West |publisher=Tmcnet.com |date=April 27, 2006 |access-date=May 23, 2010}}{{cite news|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2005/10/02/a-dire-threat/ |title=A Dire Threat; Author details the dangers Iran poses, including its nuclear program and how it finances terror with oil |author=Paul Owens |work=Orlando Sentinel |date=October 2, 2005 |access-date=November 17, 2011}}{{cite news|url=http://business.highbeam.com/435142/article-1G1-138963972/focus-iraq-helps-iran |title=Focus on Iraq helps Iran |author=Alexis Fabbri|publisher= UPI Security & Terrorism |date=November 21, 2005 |access-date=November 17, 2011}}{{dead link|date=February 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite news|url=http://www.newspaperarchive.com/SiteMap/FreePdfPreview.aspx?img=112008172 |title=War in Iraq has Opened Door for Iran |work=Indiana Gazette |date=October 2, 2005 |author= John Hall|access-date=November 17, 2011}}

In August 2006 he noted that to that point in time, the U.S. had had a lot of difficulty in convincing especially Russia and China, to support sanctions on Iran for its moving forward with its uranium enrichment program, and that "both Moscow and Beijing are major strategic partners of the Islamic republic and have a vested interest in protecting their investments in the Iranian regime."{{cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/U-N-unlikely-to-punish-Iran-experts-Some-2513162.php |title=U.N. unlikely to punish Iran – experts / Some say even light sanctions wrong way to curb nuclear drive |work=The San Francisco Chronicle|date=August 27, 2006 |access-date=May 23, 2010 | first=Matthew B. | last=Stannard}} In July 2008 he observed: ""The Iranians are playing a colossal game of chicken with us," and asked: "Does the international community have the will to take the short-term pain and disarm these guys, or accept the long-term pain of a region completely dominated by this regime? I think the world community has essentially come to grips with the fact that Iran is going to go nuclear."{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/464747 |title=Iran talks 'colossal game of chicken' |work=The Toronto Star |date=July 22, 2008 |access-date=May 23, 2010 |location=Toronto |first=Olivia |last=Ward}}

In October 2009, Berman noted: "The Iranian strategy has been pretty consistent all along; to keep the West talking while they work on their nuclear program."{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aYp.EUNWOqco |title=Iran Reply to UN Fuel Plan Falls Short of Acceptance (Update1) |author=Jonathan Tirone and Ali Sheikholeslami|publisher=Bloomberg.com |date=October 29, 2009 |access-date=May 23, 2010}} In March 2010, commenting on Iran's warning to Europe not to sanction it, he observed:

The Iranians have a pattern of warning anyone threatening to get tough with them, basically saying, 'Don't do this, because there will be consequences. What's notable here is that they are singling out Europe. It's a sure sign Europe is being more activist [about curtailing economic ties to Iran] than it normally is."{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2010/0301/Nuclear-weapons-worries-Is-threat-of-Iran-sanctions-making-Tehran-testy-with-Europe |title=Nuclear weapons worries: Is threat of Iran sanctions making Tehran testy with Europe? |work=The Christian Science Monitor |author= Howard LaFranchi |date=March 1, 2010 |access-date=May 23, 2010}}

Lou Dobbs of CNN in 2008 described him as "one of the [U.S.]'s leading experts on the Middle East and Iran."{{cite news|url=https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/ldt/date/2008-12-17/segment/01 |title=CNN.com – Transcripts |publisher=CNN |date=December 17, 2008 |access-date=May 23, 2010}}

In May 2020, Berman, a critic of the Iranian government, confirmed that several people had been contacted by hackers by e-mail using a fake e-mail address for him. Hackers, impersonating Berman, had contacted the World Health Organization (WHO) requesting an interview and sending a link to interview questions which linked to a malicious domain. The Cyberattack was thought to be from a group of state-sponsored Iranian hackers who were known to have targeted Iranian Dissidents, academics, journalists and Human rights defender in the past.{{cite web | url=https://www.claimsjournal.com/news/international/2020/05/07/296958.htm | title=Hackers Target WHO by Posing as Think Tank, Broadcaster | last=Gallagher | first=Ryan | date=7 May 2020 | website=Claims Journal | accessdate=3 December 2024 }}

In August 2020, Berman was quoted by The Christian Science Monitor as an "expert in Middle East security" when he commented on the developments of world politics with regards to the Iran nuclear deal framework. The American high-pressure program and especially the secondary sanctions, which punished foreign companies doing business with Iran, had been deeply counter-effective to European aims. In order to keep their economy going the Iranians had been pushed into the arms of China, who had been looking to increase their influence in the Middle East. Berman said, that if a deal, as it was described, was reached then this would lead to "a huge erosion of Iranian sovereignty and acknowledgment by the Iranians that the current economic situation has them in truly dire straits that can't keep going much longer," and that the regime may have decided they would rather remain in "charge of half the country than losing the whole thing."{{cite web | url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2020/0807/How-success-of-a-tough-US-policy-on-Iran-has-benefited-China | title=How ‘success’ of a tough US policy on Iran has benefited China | last=LaFranchi | first=Howard | date=7 August 2020 | website=The Christian Science Monitor | accessdate=3 December 2024 }}

In August 2020, Berman warned that providing loans to Iran would be a mistake as it would have an adverse effect on negotiations with Iran.{{cite web | url=https://www.voanews.com/a/middle-east_voa-news-iran_trump-talks-credit-line-iran-no-sign-imminent-policy-change/6174763.html | title=Trump Talks Up Credit Line for Iran, But No Sign of Imminent Policy Change | last=Lipin | first=Michael | date=28 August 2019 | website=Voice of America | access-date=3 December 2024 }}

On 4 September 2020 Berman was a speaker of the Middle East Forum. He pointed out the considerable changes of China's foreign policy from his predecessor Deng Xiaoping's low-profile and unassuming foreign policy to Xi Jinping's developing hardline power struggle between China and the United States which included a drive "to supplant the United States as the dominant strategic power in the Middle East." Berman also highlighted the security concerns regarding China's investment in Israel's high-tech sectors and its efforts "to become the single largest nation-state investor in the Jewish state in the next several years, eclipsing the United States." Furthermore, Berman pointed out that "China is slowly ... exporting its system of social control" to authoritarian and repressive regimes to "effectively monitor and surveil" their populations.{{cite web | url=https://www.meforum.org/61755/berman-on-chinas-disruption-of-the-middle-east | title=Ilan Berman on China's Disruption of the Middle East | last=Stern | first=Marilyn | date=8 November 2020 | website=Middle East Forum | accessdate=20 December 2024 }}

• [https://books.google.com/books?id=yGWwHcp23qAC Winning the Long War: Retaking the Offensive Against Radical Islam], (Rowman & Littlefield, 2009)
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=ihhZ8K0dawwC Tehran Rising: Iran's Challenge to the United States] (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005)
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=lOEOj0dNZVMC Dismantling Tyranny: Transitioning Beyond Totalitarian Regimes], co-editor, with J. Michael Waller (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005)
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=SYP_peErdIUC Taking on Tehran: Strategies for Confronting the Islamic Republic], editor (Rowman & Littlefield, 2007)

• "Joe Biden's Secret Weapon for Resetting Iran Policy" Politico, 17 February 2021{{cite web | url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/02/17/joe-bidens-secret-weapon-for-resetting-iran-policy-469122 | title=Joe Biden’s Secret Weapon for Resetting Iran Policy | last=Berman | first=Ilan | date=17 February 2021 | website=Politico | accessdate=10 January 2025 }}
• "What will Joe Biden do about the Iran-Al-Qaeda connection?" USA Today, 14 January 2021{{cite web | url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2021/01/14/biden-have-address-iran-al-qaida-relationship-column/6654150002/ | title=What will Joe Biden do about the Iran-al-Qaida connection? | last=Berman | first=Ilan | date= | website=USA Today | accessdate=10 January 2025 }}
• "The Israeli-Iranian cold war heats up" The Hill (newspaper), 27 August 2019{{cite web | url=https://thehill.com/opinion/international/458933-the-israeli-iranian-cold-war-heats-up | title=The Israeli-Iranian cold war heats up | last=Berman | first=Ilan | date=27 August 2019 | website=The Hill | accessdate=10 January 2025 }}
• [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/opinion/irans-nuclear-program-and-china.html "To Stop Iran, Lean On China"], The New York Times, Op-Ed, November 8, 2011
• [https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/04/01/the_islamist_flirtation "The Islamist Flirtation; Mohamed ElBaradei's growing ties to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood call into question his commitment to liberal reform"], Foreign Policy, April 2, 2010
• [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204518504574420790506939498 "Our Missile-Defense Race Against Iran; The Bush-era plan was the best of the realistic alternatives"], The Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2009
• [https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/09/08/how_to_engage_iran_if_you_must "How to Engage Iran (If You Must); Tehran has mastered the dark arts of deception and delay. Here's how Obama can cut through the diplomatic fog and get results"], Foreign Policy, September 8, 2009
• [http://www.meforum.org/2077/iran-and-the-bomb "Review of Iran and the Bomb"], Middle East Quarterly, 2009
• [http://d.wanfangdata.com.cn/NSTLQK_NSTL_QK18448893.aspx "Chill wind blows over claims to Arctic lands"], Jane's Defence Weekly, 2008
• [http://www.informaworld.com/index/791222387.pdf "Toward an Economic Strategy against Iran"], Comparative Strategy, 2008
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110719182753/http://www.theisraelproject.org/atf/cf/%7B84DC5887-741E-4056-8D91-A389164BC94E%7D/BERMANHCFAIRAN.PDF "The Iranian Nuclear Crisis: Latest Developments and Next Steps"], AFP Council, 2007
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110706231522/http://kms2.isn.ethz.ch/serviceengine/Files/RESSpecNet/31584/ichaptersection_singledocument/633A9FA7-029F-4A10-8B3F-742238560397/en/3_Logic_Behind_Sino_Iranian_Cooperation.pdf "The Logic Behind Sino-Iranian Cooperation"], The China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly, 2006
• [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/berman200502180741.asp "The Bear Is Back. Russia's Middle Eastern adventures"], National Review Online, February 18, 2005
• [http://www.ciaonet.org/olj/twq/win2005/twq_win2005e.pdf "The new battleground: Central Asia and the Caucasus"], The Washington Quarterly, 2004
• [http://www.meforum.org/504/israel-india-and-turkey-triple-entente "Israel, India, and Turkey: Triple Entente?"], Middle East Quarterly, 2002

• [http://www.house.gov/jec/hearings/testimony/109/07-25-06_iran_Berman.pdf "The Economics of Confronting Iran"], Statement Before the Joint Economic Committee of the United States Congress, July 25, 2006

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://www.afpc.org/about/experts/ilan-i-berman American Foreign Policy Council bio]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100527175509/http://www.ndu.edu/cisa/index.cfm?secID=627&pageID=119&type=section College of International Security Affairs bio]
• [http://spectator.org/people/ilan-berman/all The American Spectator bio]
• {{C-SPAN|1004103}}

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Category:Living people

Category:Brandeis University alumni

Category:American University School of International Service alumni

Category:Washington College of Law alumni

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Category:National Defense University faculty

Category:1975 births