Douglas Feith

Douglas Feith is an influential Republican policymaker, as well as an attorney and academic. As Undersecretary of Defense for Policy between 2001 and 2005, Feith was instrumental in the Iraq policy of the George W. Bush administration, particularly in the decision to go to war. He has also defended the use of torture and—working for the Pentagon in the 1980s—is believed to have helped lay the groundwork for the exemption of foreign combatants from the Geneva accords. Feith's book, War and Decision, to be released April 16, 2008, portrays the decision to attack Iraq as an act of "anticipatory self-defense." In a 60 Minutes interview aired April 6, 2008, Feith admitted that one of the administration's key mistakes was having made its case for the invasion hinge upon the expectation that stockpiles of WMDs would be discovered in Iraq. Fast Facts:

1. Born July 16, 1953, in Philadelphia
2. Considered a "war hawk"
3. Often referred to as a neoconservative
4. Began work at Pentagon in 1982
5. Co-authored Project for the New American Century

Categories