home > the cfr think tank > experts > thomas w. lippman
Adjunct Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies
Contact Info:
Phone: +1.202.363.6796
E-mail: tlippman@cfr.org
Location:
Washington, DC
Media downloads:
High-resolution photo (JPG, 1.5 MB)
One-page bio (PDF, 56K)
Author and journalist specializing in Middle East affairs and Islam. Currently working on a book about the future of Saudi Arabia and its implications for the United States.
Expertise:Middle East history and politics; U.S. relations with Arab world; history and economy of Saudi Arabia; nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.
Experience:Middle East correspondent, The Washington Post; Oil correspondent, The Washington Post; Diplomatic and National Security correspondent, The Washington Post; Journalism instructor, American University in Cairo; Adjunct scholar, The Middle East Institute.
Languages:French (proficient).
Honors:Edward R. Murrow fellowship, Council on Foreign Relations (1979-1980).
Selected Publications:Understanding Islam (1982); Egypt After Nasser (1989); Madeleine Albright and the New American Diplomacy (2000); Inside the Mirage: America’s Fragile Partnership With Saudi Arabia (2004); Arabian Knight: Col. Bill Eddy USMC and the Rise of American Power in the Middle East (2008).
Current Research Project
November 15, 2009
Op-Ed
Washington Post
Najwa and Omar bin Laden--first wife and fourth son of Osama bin Laden--paint a "horrifying portrait" of one of the greatest criminals of our time, writes Thomas Lippman in his review of their book, "Growing Up Bin Laden." Written with Jean Sasson, the book provides intimate details about the bin Ladens' family life but does not add much to our understanding of al-Qaeda, says Lippman.
See more in Society and Culture, Terrorism, Terrorist Leaders
September 10, 2009
Interview
As part of the Edward R. Murrow Press Fellowship 60th Anniversary initiative current and former fellows discuss the stories that have had the most impact and present ideas for sustaining serious international journalism. Former fellow Thomas Lippman discusses his time in Egypt during President Anwar Sadat's historic trip to Israel in 1977. For more on the initiative, visit cfr.org/murrow.
See more in Information & Communication, Media and Foreign Policy
January 2008
Must Read
This Middle East Institute Policy Brief examines Saudi strategy and response if Iran acquired nuclear weapons, concluding that the Saudis would much prefer an accommodation with Iran and progress toward its long-stated goal of making the entire region a zone free of nuclear weapons.
See more in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Proliferation
July 27, 2009
Interview
Thomas W. Lippman, a specialist on Persian Gulf security, says U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's warning about a U.S. "defense umbrella" to protect regional states from any Iranian nuclear arms program makes sense as a form of deterrence.
See more in Iran, U.S. Strategy and Politics
May 26, 2009
Op-Ed
Washington Times
Thomas W. Lippman argues that Cairo's Al Azhar mosque would be the ideal location for President Obama's speech in Egypt.
See more in Egypt, U.S. Strategy and Politics
May 20, 2009
Interview
Thomas W. Lippman, an expert on Gulf security, says the latest Iranian missile test won't have any military impact, because it is just an incremental step forward. But he says the timing of the announcement, made at a campaign stop by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was not accidental.
See more in Middle East, Iran
Explore the international finance regime with a new interactive from CFR's program on International Institutions and Global Governance.
Identifying international threats and acting on them may be the most difficult job for U.S. policymakers. This report
provides an actionable road map for managing international threats before they erupt into crises and makes a strong case that preventive action is not a luxury but a necessity.
For more than a decade, the United States has mostly watched from the sidelines as Asian countries organize themselves into an alphabet soup of new multilateral groups. In this report, the authors review the relationship between pan-Asian and trans-Pacific institutions and suggest policy guidelines for a new U.S. approach to this new Asian landscape.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
Complete list of CFR Books
For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:
James M. Lindsay
Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
+1.212.434.9626 (NY); +1.202.509.8405 (DC)
jlindsay@cfr.org
Janine Hill
Deputy Director of Studies Administration
+1.212.434.9753
jhill@cfr.org
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