Biography
Col. (ret.) Lawrence Wilkerson's last positions in government were as Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff (2002-05), Associate Director of the State Department's Policy Planning staff under the directorship of Ambassador Richard N. Haass, and member of that staff responsible for East Asia and the Pacific, political-military and legislative affairs (2001-02).
Before serving at the State Department, Wilkerson served 31 years in the U.S. Army. During that time, he was a member of the faculty of the U.S. Naval War College (1987 to 1989), Special Assistant to General Powell when he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-93), and Director and Deputy Director of the U.S. Marine Corps War College at Quantico, Virginia (1993-97). Wilkerson retired in 1997 and began work as an advisor to General Powell. He has also taught national security affairs at the George Washington University and is currently working on a book about the first George W. Bush administration.
Areas of Expertise
- Vietnam War
- Diplomacy / National security process
- Iraq wars
- China / Russia “new” Cold War
- U.S. Nuclear policy
- Defense budgetary process
- U.S.-Iranian relations
Recent News
- Col. Lawrence Wilkerson’s Statement on the Supplemental Defense BillNone of this spending makes any sense at all except to feed the defense complex and satiate domestic politics.
- Lawrence Wilkerson: We learned no lessons from Vietnam“Post-1945, Americans, by and large, do not learn lessons; and most certainly not American presidents or the Congress.”
- Laich & Wilkerson: America’s Armed Forces Need a Lottery-Based Draft for Men and WomenOne might also wonder whether we could have remained in Afghanistan for 20 years, to no avail, if we had a conscripted force.