Guide to Specialists

Michael Gordon
Senior Fellow, Jennings Randolph Fellowship Program
October 1, 2008 – July 31, 2009

Project Focus:
American Military, Diplomatic and Political Efforts to Stabilize Iraq, 2006–2009

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Phone: (202) 429-3867

E-mail: mgordon@usip.org

Languages: Russian

Chief military correspondent for The New York Times Michael Gordon proposes to write a history of the U.S. effort to stabilize Iraq from 2006–2009. He will cover the military’s counterinsurgency campaign, efforts to contain and tamp down sectarian violence, diplomatic initiatives with neighboring states, engagement with host government and local groups and nation-building and reconstruction programs.

Gordon has worked for The New York Times since 1985. During his Times career, he has also served as the national security correspondent, as the bureau chief in Moscow (1996–2000) and as a London reporter (2000–2001). He has reported on military conflicts, defense policy, the proliferation of nuclear and chemical weapons and other national security issues. He has covered the Iraq War, the war in Afghanistan, the Kosovo conflict, the Russian intervention in Chechnya, the 1991 Persian Gulf War and the American invasion of Panama, among other conflicts. In 1989, Gordon was awarded the George Polk Award for International Reporting for his joint work with Times Correspondent Stephen Engelberg on the proliferation of chemical weapons.

In addition to his work for the Times, Gordon has written for Survival and Foreign Policy magazines. In 2002, he organized and reported an award winning documentary on the conflict in Chechnya, "Deadlock: Russia's Forgotten War," which was broadcast internationally by CNN Presents. Before joining the Times, Gordon worked for five years as a correspondent for National Journal, where he covered defense and security issues. From 1976 to 1979, he covered the U.N. for a monthly publication of the United Nations Association.

Gordon received a B.A. from Colgate University, an M.A. in philosophy from the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and an M.S. degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Publications:

• Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq (Pantheon, 2006).
• The Generals' War: The Inside Story of the Conflict in the Gulf (Little Brown, 1995).
• "The Last Battle: The Fight among Iraq's Shiites," The New York Times Magazine (August 3, 2008).
• "The Former Insurgent Counterinsurgency," The New York Times Magazine (September 2, 2007).