And after he idolized Kissinger and Rumsfeld spoke highly of him....
"from 2001 to 2007, Mr. Rodman coordinated Pentagon policies and operations in regions around the world."
.... did he know something, readers?
"Peter Rodman, 64, of Boston; advised American presidents on foreign policy" by Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb, Washington Post | August 7, 2008
WASHINGTON - Peter W. Rodman, a foreign policy specialist who helped shape major government initiatives in the areas of national security and defense while holding key posts in the administrations of five presidents, died of complications of leukemia Saturday at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The Boston native was 64.
Over years of service in government and the private sector, Mr. Rodman brought his vigorous intellect to bear on many of the nation's most sensitive diplomatic negotiations and undertakings, such as bringing an end to the Vietnam War and reopening relations with China. He advised on the Middle East during the Reagan administration and was involved in aspects of the Iraq war under President George W. Bush.
Mr. Rodman was known as a force of intellect in the national security and defense arenas. He employed his expertise on issues from the Cold War to beyond the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Of particular interest to him were US policies relating to Europe and Russia, East Asia and South Asia, and the Middle East and Persian Gulf. Since 2007, he was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, where he researched, wrote, and gave speeches on presidential policy-making in national security.
Mr. Rodman graduated in 1964 at the top of his class in three years [at] Harvard University. For his senior thesis on the Cuban missile crisis, he was allowed to pick his own mentor. He chose Henry Kissinger, then a Harvard professor.
Rodman started his government career with the National Security Council in 1969 with his mentor from college, Kissinger. He was an assistant to the former national security adviser and secretary of state during the early days of China diplomacy.
As assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs from 2001 to 2007, Mr. Rodman coordinated Pentagon policies and operations in regions around the world.
Donald H. Rumsfeld, the former defense secretary, said Mr. Rodman had an understated manner. But he "worked energetically over many decades finding bipartisan support for our nation's foreign policy at home and a consensus among diplomats abroad," Rumsfeld said in a statement.
"Unlike so many in the field of foreign policy, Peter was neither a partisan nor an advocate," he added.
--more--"
That's enough for me.
