Ryan Crocker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theInternational Broadcasting Advisory Board | |
| Assumed office August 1, 2013 | |
| President | Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Victor Ashe |
| 19thUnited States Ambassador to Afghanistan | |
| In office July 25, 2011 – July 23, 2012 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Karl Eikenberry |
| Succeeded by | James B. Cunningham |
| In office January 2, 2002 – April 3, 2002 Acting | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | James Dobbins (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Robert Finn |
| United States Ambassador to Iraq | |
| In office March 31, 2007 – February 13, 2009 | |
| President | George W. Bush Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Zalmay Khalilzad |
| Succeeded by | Christopher R. Hill |
| United States Ambassador to Pakistan | |
| In office November 25, 2004 – March 28, 2007 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Nancy Jo Powell |
| Succeeded by | Anne W. Patterson |
| United States Ambassador to Syria | |
| In office June 6, 1999 – June 30, 2001 | |
| President | Bill Clinton George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Christopher W.S. Ross |
| Succeeded by | Theodore H. Kattouf |
| United States Ambassador to Kuwait | |
| In office September 7, 1994 – December 4, 1997 | |
| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Edward Gnehm |
| Succeeded by | James Larocco |
| United States Ambassador to Lebanon | |
| In office November 29, 1990 – August 14, 1993 | |
| President | George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | John Thomas McCarthy |
| Succeeded by | Mark Gregory Hambley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ryan Clark Crocker (1949-06-19)June 19, 1949 (age 75) Spokane, Washington,U.S. |
| Spouse | Christine Barnes (deceased) |
| Children | 0 |
| Education | Whitman College (BA) |
| Awards | Presidential Medal of Freedom Sylvanus Thayer Award Hilal-e-Pakistan |
Ryan Clark Crocker (born June 19, 1949) is a retired American diplomat who served as acareer ambassador within theUnited States Foreign Service. A recipient of thePresidential Medal of Freedom, he served asUnited States ambassador to Afghanistan (2011–2012),Iraq (2007–2009),Pakistan (2004–2007),Syria (1998–2001),Kuwait (1994–1997), andLebanon (1990–1993). In January 2010, he became dean ofTexas A&M University'sGeorge Bush School of Government and Public Service.[1]
FormerSecretary of StateColin Powell called Crocker "one of our very best foreign service officers."[2] PresidentGeorge W. Bush called him "America'sLawrence of Arabia" and noted that GeneralDavid Petraeus had said that "it was a great honor for me to be his militarywingman."[3]
Crocker was born inSpokane, Washington.[4] Growing up, he had family members in the U.S. Air Force and in Turkey. He lived in Morocco, Canada and Turkey.[2] Crocker attendedUniversity College Dublin andWhitman College inWalla Walla, Washington, where he received abachelor of arts inEnglish literature in 1971 and is a member ofTau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
After graduating from college, he joined theUnited States Foreign Service, and afterPersian language training, was assigned to the American consulate inKhorramshahr,Iran, in 1972. His subsequent assignment was to the newly established embassy inDoha,Qatar, in 1974 as an economic-commercial officer, and in 1976, Crocker returned toWashington, D.C., for long-term Arabic training. He completed the 20-month program at the Foreign Service Institutes Arabic School inTunis in June 1978. Crocker was then assigned as chief of the economic-commercial section at the U.S. interests section inBaghdad, Iraq. Crocker served inBeirut,Lebanon, as chief of the political section from 1981 to 1984. On September 18, 1982, he reported back to the Department of State about theSabra and Shatila massacre.[5] He also survived the1983 United States Embassy bombing.[3]
He spent the 1984–85 academic year atPrinceton University as a State Department mid-career fellow in Near Eastern studies. He served as deputy director of the Office of Israel and Arab–Israeli affairs from 1985 to 1987 and was a political counselor at the American Embassy inCairo from 1987 to 1990. Following the Iraqiinvasion of Kuwait in August 1990, Crocker became the director of the Iraq–Kuwait Task Force.[citation needed]
In 1998, as the ambassador to Syria, his residence was plundered by an angry mob.[3]
In the days after the9/11 attacks, Crocker and other senior U.S. State Department officials flew toGeneva to meet secretly with representatives of the government ofIran. For several months, Crocker and his Iranian counterparts under Major GeneralQasem Soleimani cooperated on capturingAl Qaeda operatives in the region and fighting theTaliban government in Afghanistan. These meetings stopped after PresidentGeorge W. Bush's "axis of evil" speech hardened Iranian attitudes toward cooperating with the U.S.[6]
In January 2002, he was appointed interimchargé d'affaires to the new government ofAfghanistan, and was confirmed as the ambassador to Pakistan in October 2004. In September 2004, President Bush nominated for and appointed him to thediplomatic rank ofcareer ambassador, the highest rank in theForeign Service, equivalent to afour-star flag officer in the U.S. military.[7] On January 8, 2007, Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice announced that the Bush administration would nominate Crocker asU.S. ambassador to Iraq, replacingZalmay Khalilzad, once Khalilzad's confirmation asambassador to the UN was complete. Before leaving Islamabad, Crocker joined Pakistani journalistAhmed Quraishi in a farewell TV interview on state-runPTV, where he opened up about his experiences in Iraq and the Middle East.[8] Crocker used the occasion to share an incident involving then Vice PresidentDick Cheney during a short surprise visit to Pakistan in February 2007.[9]
On December 4, 2009, theBush School of Government and Public Service announced the appointment of Crocker as its next dean, effective January 25, 2010.
Although retired from the State Department and the Foreign Service, Crocker was called upon by the Obama administration and nominated by PresidentBarack Obama in April 2011 to serve as theU.S. ambassador to Afghanistan.[10][11][12] The appointment was confirmed by theUnited States Senate byunanimous consent on June 30, 2011.[13] In July 2012 he stepped down, as announced in May due to unspecified health reasons.[14][15] When he stepped down, Crocker was named anHonorary Marine by theUnited States Marine Corps.[16]
In 2013, he received an honorary doctorate degree from the American University of Afghanistan.[17]
On May 10, 2013, he was nominated to serve as a member of theBroadcasting Board of Governors.[18]
In December 2013, he voiced his opinion that America should quietly work with the Syrian government, despite its involvement in theSyrian Civil War, as a lesser of the evils.[19][20]
In October 2020, Crocker received theSylvanus Thayer Award presented by theUnited States Military Academy's Association of Graduates for exemplifying personal devotion West Point's motto, "duty, honor, country."[21]
In December 2024,Texas A&M awarded Crocker with an honorary doctoral degree for Public Service Excellence.[22]
According to the book,Soldier: The Life of Colin Powell byWashington Post reporterKaren DeYoung, as the Bush administration was preparing for war with Iraq in late 2002, then-Secretary of State,Colin Powell ordered Crocker and then–special assistant to the secretary of state,William J. Burns, to prepare a secret memo examining the risks associated with a U.S. invasion of Iraq.[23] The six-page memo, titled "The Perfect Storm", stated that topplingSaddam Hussein could unleash long-repressed sectarian and ethnic tensions, that theSunni minority would not easily relinquish power, and those powerful neighbors such as Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia would try to move in to influence events. It also cautioned that the United States would have to start from scratch in building a political and economic system because Iraq's infrastructure was in tatters.[23]
On September 10, 2007, Crocker and Commander of theMulti-National Forces in IraqDavid H. Petraeus testified before theU.S. House of Representatives about thestatus of the Iraq war.[24] Similar testimony was given on the following day to theU.S. Senate.[25] In their "Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq", Crocker stated that "It is no exaggeration to say that Iraq is, and will remain for some time, a traumatized society."[25]: 8
Regarding thepolitics of Iraq, he said, "In many respects, the debates currently occurring in Iraq--de-Baathification and provincial powers--are akin to those surrounding ourcivil rights movement or struggle overstates rights."[25]: 13 He also said, "I do believe that Iraq's leaders have the will to tackle the country's pressing problems, although it will take longer than we originally anticipated because of the environment and the gravity of the issues before them."[25]: 13 Crocker argued that "a secure, stable democratic Iraq at peace with its neighbors is attainable."[26][25]: 12
On August 14, 2012, he was arrested inSpokane Valley, Washington, for driving while intoxicated and leaving an automobile accident scene.[27] In November he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless driving.[28] During court proceedings, it was stated that Crocker had been administered two blood alcohol tests after the accident, with the results of .160 and .152 percent, both exceeding the legal limit of .08.[28] In addition, Crocker's attorney indicated that at the time of the accident, he had recently undergone brain surgery to treat asubdural hematoma, which might have negatively affected his cognitive abilities.[28] Crocker was sentenced to a thirty-day suspension of his driver's license, a $1,000 fine, and 24 months of probation.[28] In addition, he was required to make restitution for the damage he caused to the other vehicle involved in the accident.[28]
Crocker has received aPresidential Distinguished Service Award in 1994,[7] the State DepartmentSecretary's Distinguished Service Award[29] in 2008 and 2012, theDefense Distinguished Civilian Service Awards in 1997[7] and 2008, and theDefense Distinguished Public Service Award in 2012. He also holds the State DepartmentDistinguished Honor Award,Award for Valor, threeSuperior Honor Awards, and theAmerican Foreign Service Association Rivkin Award.
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| Presidential Medal of Freedom | President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service | Department of State Secretary's Distinguished Service Award with gold award star (2 awards) | Department of State Distinguished Honor Award |
| Department of State Award for Valor | Department of State Superior Honor Award with two gold award stars (3 awards) | Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award with bronze palm (2 awards) | Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award |
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| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Lebanon 1990–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Kuwait 1994–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Syria 1999–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Afghanistan Acting 2002 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Pakistan 2004–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Iraq 2007–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Afghanistan 2011–2012 | Succeeded by |
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary (1935–1948) |
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| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (1948–1979) | ||
| Chargés d'affaires (1979–1989) | ||
The embassy was closed from January 30, 1989, to January 17, 2002; the liaison office reopened on December 17, 2001. | ||
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (2001–2021) |
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The embassy transferred operations to Qatar on August 31, 2021. | ||
| Chargés d'affaires (2021–present) | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
