Antony J. Blinken

National Security Adviser to Vice President Joseph Biden (since January 2009)

(Claudio Santana/
AFP/Getty Images)

Why He Matters

Blinken's boss Joseph Biden described his right-hand man on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations as "one of the smartest guys I've ever worked with."

In the room during the dramatic operation that nabbed al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden, Blinken was Biden's top staffer on the key committee until 2002, helping to craft policy on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Pakistan and the nuclear program in Iran, among other issues. He also served on the National Security Council during Bill Clinton 's presidency and was a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a left-leaning foreign policy think tank.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Member, Obama-Biden Presidential Transition team (Nov. 2008 to Jan. 2009); Democratic Staff Director, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (2002 to 2008); Senior Fellow, Center for a New American Security (2001 to 2002)
Birthday: April 16, 1962
Hometown: New York City, N.Y.

Alma Mater: Harvard College, B.A., 1984; Columbia Law School, J.D. 1988
Spouse: Evan Ryan
Web site

Path to Power

Blinken was born in New York City to a political family. His father was a diplomat to Hungary, and his stepfather Samuel Pisar is the youngest known survivor of the Nazi concentration camp in Auschwitz. Pisar moved his family to Paris when Blinken was nine years old.

Blinken earned his undergraduate degree at Harvard University in 1984 and his J.D. from Columbia Law School. After graduating in 1988, he spent two years with the Dukakis for president campaign before joining law firms in New York and Paris. During that time, he also reported for the New Republic , the New York Times and Foreign Affairs magazine.

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In 1993, Blinken was named as special assistant secretary of state for European affairs by then-Secretary of State Warren Christopher. He entered President Clinton 's White House in 1994 as a member of the National Security Council staff. Blinken directed the NSC's Strategic Planning Office and wrote speeches until 1999, when he was promoted to senior director for European affairs.

Veteran Biden Aide

After Clinton left office, Blinken worked as a senior fellow at CSIS. In 2002, he was appointed staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In that position, he developed legislation that addressed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Darfur genocide, relations with Pakistan as well as nuclear disarmament.

As soon as Biden announced his intentions to run in 2007, Blinken joined Biden's presidential campaign as a foreign policy adviser. As a new addition to Biden's experienced team (many aides participated in Biden's 1988 presidential run, and some had even played a role in his 1972 Senate election), Blinken was initially treated as an outsider.

But he quickly proved to be a capable campaigner and surrogate. In one memorable exchange, Blinken sparred with a surrogate of then-Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson , who said Biden would be an excellent secretary of state. "Secretary of State Bill Richardson might sound good to President Biden," Blinken replied.

Blinken stuck with Biden until he dropped out of the 2008 race after the Iowa caucuses. He began advising Barack Obama . He was invited on Obama's trip to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Europe in July 2008. Blinken told Biden he was impressed with Obama's understanding of the region. He was also asked by Obama adviser Susan E. Rice to help craft the Democratic Party's foreign policy platform.

Blinken continued to work on the Obama-Biden campaign. When the pair won the presidency, he was a member of the Obama-Biden transition team, where he evaluated the structure of the executive office of the president .

Blinken was named Biden's national security adviser in December 2008 and works closely with Obama National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon. Blinken and Biden have pledged to play an active role in shaping decisions, particularly regarding international relations. However, Blinken has said that the vice president will not rule from the shadows, instead making clear his positions.

In his spare time, Blinken rocks out with his amateur band.

The Issues

From Iraq and Afghanistan to Kosovo, Blinken has helped Biden respond to some of the most pressing issues of the day. The pair share a belief in liberal interventionism, and Blinken is not afraid to use force when necessary. However, he believes that military engagement should be a last resort. He told the Chicago Tribune "we maximize our power by acting in concert with others and using the totality of our strength, including non-military tools."

The willingness to use force is a key difference between Blinken and many of Obama's staffers, an aide told Politico .

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Blinken's management style has been widely praised by his employees, who say he is good at trusting his team to do their jobs while also ensuring a quality finished product. He describes his job as finding "the smartest people I can and letting them loose."

Afghanistan

But a major rift developed between Biden and Obama's foreign-policy team, as well as the military, during fall 2009 over how to approach the Afghan conflict, with Biden emerging as a chief skeptic over sending in additional forces. Instead, he championed a narrower counterinsurgency strategy centered on al-Qaeda and increased aide to Pakistan.

A temporary surge followed by withdrawal of some U.S. troops in June 2011 was considered Biden's doing, according to reports, though Blinken denied warring factions.

"There aren't camps; there is a policy," said Blinken in June 2010 about President Obama's Afghan strategy. "It's a crystal clear policy set by the president that everyone is following. He said at the West Point speech that after 18 months troops will begin to come home."

Iraq

Blinken was central in shaping Biden 's vision of a post-war Iraq divided into Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish states, a plan that was supported by three-quarters of the Senate in a largely- symbolic vote. The "federalism strategy" seemed like the only viable alternative in Iraq, Blinken told Gannett News Service . "Putting all their chips in a strong central government is not going to happen, but what could happen is a policy that tries to build up Iraq locally and regionally," he said.

The proposal was widely panned in the press. The Economist called the plan "harebrained."

Blinken also supported a phased withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Diplomacy

In a 2002 paper for the Washington Quarterly , Blinken wrote "many currents of anti-Americanism develop not because the United States is misguided, but because it is misunderstood." He has called for a sustained effort to cultivate a positive image of America abroad through several means, including a more robust public diplomacy, a stronger relationship with opinion-makers abroad, a clearer assessment of international public opinion, and a sustained goodwill campaign.

The Network

Blinken has a cadre of friends in high places, thanks in part to his work with the Clinton administration. He has worked with diplomat Richard D. Holbrooke and former White House Counsel Gregory B. Craig.

He is also old friends with U.N. Ambassador Susan E. Rice, who ran Obama's foreign policy shop during the 2008 presidential campaign.

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