James Phillips

Research Fellow, Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies

James Phillips’ knowledge of the unsettled history of the Middle East and the development of international terrorism stretches back to the late 1970s, and frequently puts him in the position of making accurate predictions.

Back in 1979, shortly after Saddam Hussein was elevated to President and began his military build-up in Iraq, Phillips predicted in a media interview that Hussein had Kuwait in his sights: “If Iraq should decide to revive its on-again, off-again territorial disputes with Kuwait, Saudi Arabia or perhaps even Iran, it would be in a position to achieve its aims by force of arms.” Writing on the issue again in 1990, after Iraq invaded Kuwait, Phillips bluntly noted that an embargo would not get Hussein’s attention: “Saddam Hussein responds better to force than he does to economics.”

After the 1993 bombing at the World Trade Center, Phillips penned a 37-page description of what he called “the changing face of Middle Eastern terrorism.” In it, he encouraged the Clinton Administration to make counter-terrorism a top priority of American foreign policy by upgrading counter-terrorism intelligence, punishing state sponsors of terrorism, and streamlining immigration procedures, among other things.

A little more than a year before the September 11 attacks, Phillips warned Washington policy makers that “neglect of Afghanistan’s festering problems has allowed the Taliban to dominate Afghanistan and export terrorism, revolution, and opium. Through disengagement, the U.S. left itself with few options besides hurling cruise missiles at Osama bin Laden’s easily replaceable training camps and bracing for further terrorist attacks.”

And since the September 11 attacks, Phillips has analyzed what the U.S. role in Afghanistan should be after U.S. troops depart, where other terror cells associated with al Qaeda may be located, what association Iraq may have with international terror groups, and how Palestinian extremist groups fit in to the picture.

In addition to his extensive writings, Phillips has also testified before Congress on numerous occasions and appeared on news programs on all the major television networks and cable news channels, as well as nationally syndicated radio programs.

Phillips currently serves on the Board of Editors of the Middle East Quarterly. A former research fellow at the Congressional Research Service and the East-West Center, Mr. Phillips earned his B.A. from Brown University and his M.A. and M.A.L.D. in International Security Studies from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.