Marc Thiessen
Encyclopedia
Marc A. Thiessen is an American author, columnist
and political commentator, who served as a speechwriter
for United States President
George W. Bush
(2004–2009) and Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld
(2001–2004). He wrote the 2010 New York Times bestselling book, Courting Disaster, in which he argues that the enhanced interrogation techniques
used by the CIA, which the Obama administration has characterized as torture
, are not torture by any reasonable legal or moral standard and "were not only effective, but lawful and morally just".
Thiessen's articles have appeared in the Los Angeles Times
, National Review
, The Wall Street Journal
, The Washington Post
, The Weekly Standard
, USA Today
and other publications. He has also appeared on Fox News
, CNN
, NPR
, and other media outlets. In its January 11, 2010 issue, The Daily Telegraph
named Thiessen number 97 of the "100 Most Influential Conservatives in America".
in Manhattan
, where both his parents were "liberal Democrat" doctors.
His mother grew up in Poland
and fought as a teenager in the Warsaw Uprising
, a military struggle in which his grandfather died.
Thiessen is a graduate of the Taft School (1985), a private prep school
in Connecticut. He graduated from Vassar College
(BA in 1989) and completed post-graduate studies at the Naval War College
.
He lives in Alexandria, Virginia
with his wife Pamela, who is currently the Staff Director of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, and their four children.
. He spent six years (1995–2001) on Capitol Hill as spokesman and senior policy advisor to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms
(R-NC).
He joined the Bush administration as Chief Speechwriter for Donald Rumsfeld in 2001, then moved to Bush's speechwriting team in 2004. In February 2008, he became chief speechwriter when William McGurn
resigned.
In March 2009, Thiessen and Peter Schweizer
opened Oval Office Writers LLC.
Thiessen is currently a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution
. He is also a columnist for The Washington Post
, starting March 2010.
in January 2010. The book is endorsed by the former Vice President
Dick Cheney
, former Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld
, and former Attorney General
Michael Mukasey. It reached the No. 9 spot on the New York Times Best Sellers list for hardcover nonfiction in February 2010.
Jane Mayer
, author of The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals
, a book which Thiessen says has fundamental errors of fact, heavily criticised Courting Disaster in a book review, claiming it is "based on a series of slipshod premises." In a long response, Thiessen defended the accuracy of his book and said Mayer's review contained many factual errors and omissions. For example, Mayer quoted the head of Scotland Yard's anti-terrorism branch in 2006 as saying that Thiessen's account of the Heathrow plot
is "completely and utterly wrong"; in reply Thiessen quoted a former senior CIA official as saying that the CIA liaises only with MI6 and MI5
, so the Scotland Yard official "would have no way of knowing what intelligence the CIA shared with MI6 or MI5, much less the ultimate source of that intelligence". Thiessen added, "The week her article appeared in The New Yorker, former CIA director Mike Hayden handed it out in his class at George Mason University
's School of Public Policy as an example of all that is wrong with intelligence journalism today." (Hayden had earlier written a positive review of Thiessen's book for The Daily Caller
.)
Matthew Alexander, a former military interrogator and author of How to Break a Terrorist
, characterises Thiessen's book as 'a literary defense of war criminals'.
Thiessen's promotional tour for Courting Disaster included confrontational interviews with CNN
's Christiane Amanpour
and MSNBC
's Lawrence O'Donnell, and an interview with Jon Stewart
on The Daily Show
, an uncut version of which was posted online.
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
and political commentator, who served as a speechwriter
Speechwriter
A speechwriter is a person who is hired to prepare and write speeches that will be delivered by another person. Speechwriters are used by many senior-level elected officials and executives in the government and private sectors.-Skills and training:...
for United States President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
(2004–2009) and Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
(2001–2004). He wrote the 2010 New York Times bestselling book, Courting Disaster, in which he argues that the enhanced interrogation techniques
Enhanced interrogation techniques
Enhanced interrogation techniques or alternative set of procedures are terms adopted by the George W. Bush administration in the United States to describe certain severe interrogation methods, often described as torture...
used by the CIA, which the Obama administration has characterized as torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
, are not torture by any reasonable legal or moral standard and "were not only effective, but lawful and morally just".
Thiessen's articles have appeared in the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
, The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, The Weekly Standard
The Weekly Standard
The Weekly Standard is an American neoconservative opinion magazine published 48 times per year. Its founding publisher, News Corporation, debuted the title September 18, 1995. Currently edited by founder William Kristol and Fred Barnes, the Standard has been described as a "redoubt of...
, USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
and other publications. He has also appeared on Fox News
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
, and other media outlets. In its January 11, 2010 issue, The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
named Thiessen number 97 of the "100 Most Influential Conservatives in America".
Personal life
Thiessen grew up in Upper East SideUpper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, where both his parents were "liberal Democrat" doctors.
His mother grew up in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and fought as a teenager in the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
, a military struggle in which his grandfather died.
Thiessen is a graduate of the Taft School (1985), a private prep school
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
in Connecticut. He graduated from Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
(BA in 1989) and completed post-graduate studies at the Naval War College
Naval War College
The Naval War College is an education and research institution of the United States Navy that specializes in developing ideas for naval warfare and passing them along to officers of the Navy. The college is located on the grounds of Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island...
.
He lives in Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
with his wife Pamela, who is currently the Staff Director of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, and their four children.
Career
Thiessen has worked in Washington for many years, starting with five years at Black, Manafort, Stone and KellyBlack, Manafort, Stone and Kelly
Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly was a lobbying firm based in Washington, D.C.. Formed in 1982, it merged with Gold & Liebengood to form BKSH & Associates in 1996.- History :...
. He spent six years (1995–2001) on Capitol Hill as spokesman and senior policy advisor to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms
Jesse Helms
Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
(R-NC).
He joined the Bush administration as Chief Speechwriter for Donald Rumsfeld in 2001, then moved to Bush's speechwriting team in 2004. In February 2008, he became chief speechwriter when William McGurn
William McGurn
William McGurn is an American writer. He was the chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush from June 2006 until February 2008, replacing Michael Gerson.-Early life:...
resigned.
In March 2009, Thiessen and Peter Schweizer
Peter Schweizer
Peter Schweizer is a conservative author and a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.Schweizer's book Do as I Say : Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy received praise from conservative political pundits including Bill O'Reilly. Schweizer's book Reagan's War was the basis of the...
opened Oval Office Writers LLC.
Thiessen is currently a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution
Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
. He is also a columnist for The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, starting March 2010.
Book
Thiessen's first book, Courting Disaster: How the CIA Kept America Safe and How Barack Obama Is Inviting the Next Attack (ISBN 1596986034), was published by Regnery PublishingRegnery Publishing
Regnery Publishing in Washington, D.C., is a publisher which specializes in conservative books characterized on their website as "contrary to those of 'mainstream' publishers in New York." Since 1993, Regnery Publishing has been a division of Eagle Publishing, which also owns the weekly magazine...
in January 2010. The book is endorsed by the former Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
, former Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
, and former Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
Michael Mukasey. It reached the No. 9 spot on the New York Times Best Sellers list for hardcover nonfiction in February 2010.
Jane Mayer
Jane Mayer
Jane Mayer is an American investigative journalist who has been a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine since 1995...
, author of The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals
The Dark Side (book)
The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals is a non-fiction book written by Jane Mayer concerning the War on Terrorism, Islamic radicalism, and the "closed-doors domestic struggle over whether" U.S. President George W. Bush should have "limitless...
, a book which Thiessen says has fundamental errors of fact, heavily criticised Courting Disaster in a book review, claiming it is "based on a series of slipshod premises." In a long response, Thiessen defended the accuracy of his book and said Mayer's review contained many factual errors and omissions. For example, Mayer quoted the head of Scotland Yard's anti-terrorism branch in 2006 as saying that Thiessen's account of the Heathrow plot
2006 transatlantic aircraft plot
The 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot was a terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives carried on board at least 10 airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada...
is "completely and utterly wrong"; in reply Thiessen quoted a former senior CIA official as saying that the CIA liaises only with MI6 and MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
, so the Scotland Yard official "would have no way of knowing what intelligence the CIA shared with MI6 or MI5, much less the ultimate source of that intelligence". Thiessen added, "The week her article appeared in The New Yorker, former CIA director Mike Hayden handed it out in his class at George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
's School of Public Policy as an example of all that is wrong with intelligence journalism today." (Hayden had earlier written a positive review of Thiessen's book for The Daily Caller
The Daily Caller
The Daily Caller is a news website based in Washington, D.C., United States, with a focus on politics, original reporting and breaking news, founded by journalist and political pundit Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel, former adviser to former Vice President Dick Cheney...
.)
Matthew Alexander, a former military interrogator and author of How to Break a Terrorist
How to Break a Terrorist
How to Break a Terrorist: The US Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, to Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq is a book written by an American soldier who played a key role in tracking down Abu Musab al-Zarqawi....
, characterises Thiessen's book as 'a literary defense of war criminals'.
Thiessen's promotional tour for Courting Disaster included confrontational interviews with CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
's Christiane Amanpour
Christiane Amanpour
Christiane Amanpour, CBE is anchor of ABC News's This Week and formerly chief international correspondent at CNN, where she worked for 27 years. She is a Board Member at the IWMF .-Early years:...
and MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
's Lawrence O'Donnell, and an interview with Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
on The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
, an uncut version of which was posted online.
External links
- Thiessen's personal website (also his website for Courting Disaster)
- Thiessen's blog
- Thiessen's op-eds for The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
- Thiessen's blog posts at The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
s website