Leading National Security Strategist Patrick Cronin Joins CNAS

WASHINGTON, D.C., OCTOBER 26, 2009 - The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is pleased to announce Dr. Patrick Cronin as Senior Advisor and Senior Director of the CNAS Asia-Pacific Security Program. Cronin, who brings over 25 years of national security experience inside government and academic research centers, will help lead the Center’s work on Asia-Pacific affairs, national security strategy, and the Quadrennial Defense and Diplomacy Review (QDDR). 

“Patrick is one of the finest defense strategists of our time. His extraordinary breadth of knowledge and deep commitment to national security issues will make him a tremendous asset to CNAS. We’re thrilled to welcome him to our team,” said CNAS CEO Nathaniel Fick.

Prior to joining CNAS, Dr. Cronin served as the Director of the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) at National Defense University and co-authored the recently released report Global Strategic Assessment 2009: America's Security Role in a Changing World. He also served more than two years at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), where he was the Director of Studies, and also served as the Director of Research and Senior Vice President at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C.

In 2001, Cronin was confirmed by the Senate to the third-ranking position at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). While serving as Assistant Administrator for Policy and Program Coordination, Dr. Cronin led agency, interagency, and international policy deliberations, as well as the interagency task force that helped design the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). From 1998 until 2001, Dr. Cronin served as Director of Research at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Cronin was the founding Executive Editor of Joint Force Quarterly, and subsequently became both Deputy Director and Director of Research at the Institute. He has also been a senior analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses, a U.S. Naval Reserve Intelligence officer, and an analyst with the Congressional Research Service and SRI International.