{{Short description|American diplomat (born 1939)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Robert D. Blackwill | image = Robert Blackwill.gif | office = 20th [[United States Ambassador to India]] | term_start = September 14, 2001 | term_end = July 31, 2003 | president = [[George W. Bush]] | preceded = [[Dick Celeste]] | succeeded = [[David Mulford]] | party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1939|08|8}} | birth_place = [[Kellogg, Idaho]], U.S. }}
'''Robert Dean Blackwill''' (born August 8, 1939)<ref name=PCOLTEXAS>[http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1985/32985c.htm University of Texas. "Appointment of Robert Dean Blackwill as United States Representative to the Mutual and Balanced Force Reduction Negotiations, and Nomination for the Rank of Ambassador" March 29, 1985.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080304121254/http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1985/32985c.htm |date=March 4, 2008 }}</ref> is a retired [[United States|American]] [[diplomat]], author, senior fellow at the [[Council of Foreign Relations]],<ref name="CFR">[http://www.cfr.org/experts/india-europerussia-nato/robert-d-blackwill/b6 "Robert D. Blackwill Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523021419/http://www.cfr.org/experts/india-europerussia-nato/robert-d-blackwill/b6 |date=2013-05-23 }}</ref> and [[lobbyist]]. Blackwill served as the [[List of ambassadors of the United States to India|United States Ambassador to India]] under President [[George W. Bush]] from 2001 to 2003 and as [[United States National Security Council]] Deputy for [[Iraq]] from 2003 to 2004, where he was a liaison between [[Paul Bremer]] and [[Condoleezza Rice]].
==Early life, education, and Peace Corps service== Blackwill was born on August 8, 1939, in [[Kellogg, Idaho]]<ref name=PCOLTEXAS /> and grew up in [[Kansas]].<ref name=PCOLPOST/> In June 2001, at a Senate confirmation hearings to become ambassador to India, he said, "From my boyhood on the [[Great Plains]], I brought back east more than 30 years ago the values of [[Kansas]] and its people: honesty, candor, compassion, hard work, a dogged stamina in the face of challenge and adversity, a sense of humor, a recognition of one's own limitations, and a deep and abiding love of country."<ref name=PCOLPOST>[https://web.archive.org/web/20181107051641/https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A22763-2003Dec22/?language=printer Washington Post. "Foreign Policy Guru Tapped To Aid Rice, a Former Employee" by Robin Wright. December 23, 2003]</ref> He earned a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] from [[Wichita State University]].<ref name=PCOLPROJECT>{{Cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=16775 |title=Appointment of Robert D. Blackwill as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs |website=presidency.ucsb.edu |access-date=June 23, 2018}}</ref>
Blackwill served as a [[Peace Corps]] volunteer in [[Malawi]] from 1964 to 1966.<ref name=PCOLTEXAS /> While in the Peace Corps, he served with writer [[Paul Theroux]], who Blackwill later described as "the glorious American writer who was my friend in the Peace Corps in Africa more than thirty years ago".<ref name=PCOLINDIA>[http://www.financialexpress.com/news/story/88635/ Financial Express. "What India Means To Me." July 29, 2003.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927191951/http://www.financialexpress.com/news/story/88635/ |date=September 27, 2007 }}</ref> In an interview with [[Rediff News]] on June 27, 2006, Blackwill was asked if he was still in contact with Theroux, and he replied, "Not recently. But I just finished reading his new novel, ''Blinding Light''. It is terrific."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/jun/27bobdb.htm |title=I am honoured to be called a friend of India |website=in.rediff.com |access-date=June 23, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623125731/http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/jun/27bobdb.htm |archive-date=June 23, 2018 }}</ref>
==Diplomatic career==
===1960s=== In 1967, Blackwill was appointed as a [[Foreign Service Officer]].<ref name=PCOLTEXAS /> He served as a training officer in the Bureau of Personnel of the [[US State Department]] from 1968 to 1969<ref name=PCOLTEXAS /> and as an associate watch officer in the State Department's Operations Center from 1969 to 1970.<ref name=PCOLTEXAS />
===1970s=== Blackwill took [[Swahili language]] training in 1970 at the [[Foreign Service Institute]].<ref name=PCOLTEXAS /> He served as a [[Foreign Service Officer|political officer]] in [[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]] from 1970 to 1972<ref name=PCOLTEXAS /> and as a staff officer in the Executive Secretariat of the State Department from 1972 to 1973.<ref name=PCOLTEXAS /> In 1974, Blackwill was a special assistant to State Department counselor [[Helmut Sonnenfeldt]].<ref name=PCOLTEXAS /> While he was a special assistant, Blackwill worked closely with [[Paul Bremer]], who was then a chief aide to Secretary of State [[Henry Kissinger]]. Blackwill and Bremer forged a close relationship through mediating policy differences between their bosses. The two would come to work together again thirty years later in August 2003, when Bremer was named by President [[George W. Bush]] to lead the [[Coalition Provisional Authority]] in [[Iraq]] and Blackwill was named to the National Security Council staff to coordinate between [[Washington, D.C.]], and [[Baghdad]].<ref name=PCOLRAPPORT>[https://web.archive.org/web/20181106210922/https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A6905-2003Nov22/?language=printer Washington Post. "Rapport Between Bush, Bremer Grows." November 23, 2003]</ref> From 1975 to 1978, Blackwill served as a political-military officer in [[London|London, England]].<ref name=PCOLTEXAS /> He served as political counselor in [[Tel Aviv|Tel Aviv, Israel]] from 1978 to 1979.<ref name=PCOLTEXAS /> Blackwill became the Director of Western European Affairs on the National Security Council staff at the White House in 1979.<ref name=PCOLTEXAS />
===1980s=== Blackwill served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs in the State Department in 1981.<ref name=PCOLTEXAS /> Blackwill served as principal deputy assistant secretary for European Affairs from 1982 to 1983.<ref name=PCOLTEXAS /> After his return from a two-year sabbatical at Harvard University, President [[Ronald Reagan]] nominated him to Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor on March 29, 1985, and designated him to be the chief negotiator<ref name=PCOLPROJECT /> of the US with the [[Warsaw Pact]] for the [[Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions]] talks. Blackwill served in this position with the rank of Ambassador.<ref name=PCOLTEXAS /> On March 13, 1989, President [[George H. W. Bush]] appointed Blackwill as special assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and as senior director for European and Soviet Affairs.<ref name=PCOLPROJECT />
==Academic career== From 1983 to 1985, Blackwill took a sabbatical from the State Department and served as associate dean and faculty member<ref name=PCOLPROJECT /> at the [[John F. Kennedy School of Government]] at [[Harvard University]].<ref name=PCOLTEXAS />
After two years as representative to the Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions Negotiations, Blackwill rejoined the Harvard faculty in 1987. There, he served the Kennedy School as associate dean and the Belfer Lecturer in International Security<ref name=PCOLCFR /> for fourteen years until 2001.<ref name=PCOLPROJECT /><ref name=PCOLNNDB /> During his tenure, Blackwill taught foreign and defense policy and public policy analysis. He was also faculty chair for executive training programs for business and government leaders from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the Palestinian Authority, and Kazakhstan, as well as military General Officers from Russia and the People's Republic of China.<ref name=PCOLBARBOUR>[http://www.bgrdc.com/dsp_bios.asp?biosid=23 Barbour Griffith & Rogers International "Ambassador Robert D. Blackwill "] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928194605/http://www.bgrdc.com/dsp_bios.asp?biosid=23 |date=2007-09-28 }}</ref>
== Publications == In 2024, Blackwill released "Lost Decade: The U.S. Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power" with co-author [[Richard Fontaine]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 12, 2024 |title=Book Review: Lost Decade: The U.S. Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power |url=https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/book-review-lost-decade-the-u-s-pivot-to-asia-and-the-rise-of-chinese-power/ |access-date=November 26, 2024 |website=Australian Institute of International Affairs |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Daalder |first=Ivo H. |date=July 8, 2024 |title=Blackwill and Fontaine on the US Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power |url=https://globalaffairs.org/commentary-and-analysis/videos/blackwill-and-fontaine-us-pivot-asia-and-rise-chinese-power |access-date=November 26, 2024 |website=The Chicago Council on Global Affairs |language=en}}</ref>
===Articles===
*Policy Prescriptions for U.S.-China Relations, ''[[Council on Foreign Relations]]'', January 9, 2023<ref>{{Cite web |title=Policy Prescriptions for U.S.-China Relations |url=https://www.cfr.org/blog/policy-prescriptions-us-china-relations |access-date=2024-01-05 |website=Council on Foreign Relations |language=en}}</ref> *Ukraine War Should Slow But Not Stop the U.S. Pivot to Asia, [[Bloomberg L.P.|''Bloomberg Opinion'']], March 8, 2022 (co-authored with Richard Fontaine)<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-03-09 |title=Ukraine War Should Slow But Not Stop the U.S. Pivot to Asia |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-03-09/russia-s-ukraine-invasion-should-slow-not-stop-u-s-pivot-to-china |access-date=2024-01-05 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}</ref>
While at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Blackwill contributed to the following books and articles: * ''Conventional Arms Control and East-West Security'' (1989, nonfiction, co-editor)<ref name=PCOLNNDB>[http://www.nndb.com/people/073/000127689/ Notable Names Database. "Robert D. Blackwill"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930140236/http://www.nndb.com/people/073/000127689/ |date=2007-09-30 }}</ref> * ''A Primer for the Nuclear Age'' (1990, nonfiction, co-editor)<ref name=PCOLNNDB /> * ''New Nuclear Nations'' (1993, nonfiction, co-edited with Albert Carnesale)<ref name=PCOLNNDB /> * ''Damage Limitation or Crisis? Russia and the Outside World'' (1994, nonfiction, with Sergei Karaganov)<ref name=PCOLNNDB /> * "Engaging Russia: Arms Control and the U.S.-Russian Relationship", Report of an Independent Task Force (Council on Foreign Relations Press, with Rodric Braithwaite and Akihiko Tanaka, 1996)<ref name=PCOLCFR /><ref name=PCOLNNDB /> * ''Allies Divided: Transatlantic Policies for the Greater Middle East'' (1997, nonfiction, with [[Michael Stürmer]])<ref name=PCOLCFR /><ref name=PCOLNNDB /> * "The Future of Transatlantic Relations", Report of an Independent Task Force (Council on Foreign Relations Press, 1999)<ref name=PCOLCFR /><ref name=PCOLNNDB /> * ''America's Asian Alliances'' (2000, nonfiction, co-edited with Paul Dibb)<ref name=PCOLNNDB /> * ''Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World'' (2013, with [[Graham Allison]]).<ref name="MITPress">[http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/lee-kuan-yew "Lee Kuan Yew | The MIT Press"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522151112/http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/lee-kuan-yew |date=2013-05-22 }}</ref>
==US Ambassador to India==
===Advisor to Bush Campaign=== Blackwill, a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]],<ref name=PCOLNNDB /> was one of a group of foreign policy experts (along with [[Condoleezza Rice]]) who advised Bush during his Presidential campaign in 2000. After the election Blackwill was rewarded with the ambassadorship to India.<ref name=PCOLPOST /> Rice had previously worked for Blackwill during the first Bush administration when they dealt with the fall of the [[Berlin Wall]] and the end of the Soviet empire.<ref name=PCOLPOST /> He had never been to India before his appointment as ambassador, but he sought the assignment because of President Bush's designation of India as a "rising great power of the 21st century".<ref name=PCOLPOST />
===Stronger ties with India=== Blackwill was appointed US ambassador to India in June 2001.<ref name=PCOLNYT>New York Times. "U.S. Ambassador to India Resigning Post After 2 Years." April 22, 2003</ref> He was committed to taking India seriously as an American ally as a counterweight to China's growing power.<ref name=PCOLPOST /> Blackwill promoted perhaps the closest ties between India and the United States since India's independence in 1947.<ref name=PCOLPOST /> "The Bush administration perceives India as a strategic opportunity for the United States, not as an irritating recalcitrant", Blackwill said.<ref name=PCOLPOST /> Blackwill said that before he arrived, India was considered "a nuclear renegade whose policies threatened the entire nonproliferation regime".<ref name=PCOLPOST /> To promote closer ties, the United States lifted economic penalties applied against India after its 1998 nuclear tests.<ref name=PCOLNYT /> American military forces also conducted six major joint training exercises with India while Blackwill was the ambassador.<ref name=PCOLNYT />
====Protests by Muslim fundamentalists==== Muslims protestors belonging to Islamic fundamentalist organizations, [[Majlis Bachao Tehreek]] and Tahaffuz-e-Shayar-Islami attacked Blackwill's convoy when it was proceeding towards [[Falaknuma Palace]] in [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]]. The mob was protesting alleged American injustices in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine. [[Hyderabad Police]] cleared the mob and allowed the convoy to proceed safely.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2002-10-10/hyderabad/27300336_1_robert-blackwill-protesters-majlis-bachao-tehreek |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916063341/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2002-10-10/hyderabad/27300336_1_robert-blackwill-protesters-majlis-bachao-tehreek |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 16, 2011 |website=[[The Times of India]] |title=Blackwill faces Majlis Bachao Tehreek's ire |access-date=June 23, 2018}}</ref>
===Relations with Pakistan=== One of Blackwill's major concerns while ambassador was terrorism in India and relations between India and Pakistan.<ref name=PCOLINDIA /> After a series of terrorist attacks that India blamed on Pakistan, the two countries nearly went to war over [[Kashmir conflict|Kashmir]] in June 2002.<ref name=PCOLINDIA /> After Blackwill ordered the evacuation of embassy staff members, an event that was seen as a pressure tactic and partly credited for drawing India back from the war, Blackwill encouraged India to resume dialogue with Pakistan.<ref name=PCOLINDIA /> In a statement on his departure as ambassador, Blackwill said that the fight against international terrorism would not be won until terrorism against India ended.<ref name=PCOLINDIA /> "There can be no other legitimate stance by the United States, no American compromise whatever on this elemental geopolitical and moral truth."<ref name=PCOLINDIA /> Others thought that Blackwill damaged US relations with Pakistan.<ref name=PCOLPOST /> Pakistani analyst Ershad Mahmud of the [[Institute of Policy Studies (Pakistan)|Institute of Policy Studies]] called Blackwill "Delhi's front man rather than U.S. ambassador to India," and said that Blackwill "even encouraged India to take [a] hostile stance against Pakistan".<ref name=PCOLPOST />
===Appreciation of Indian civilization=== Blackwill had a very high-profile tenure as ambassador to [[India]]<ref name=PCOLNYT /> and displayed a strong appreciation for Indian civilization.<ref name=PCOLINDIA /> Upon his departure as ambassador, Blackwill wrote in an article for the ''Financial Times'' called "What India Means To Me" writing:
<blockquote>As has been said, the world is divided into two parts —those who have seen the [[Taj Mahal]], and those who have not. I am proud to be in the first, still too exclusive group. The [[Shatabdi Express]] transported me there and back in great comfort. A wonderful train. All of [[Rajasthan]] entrances me. The noble Rajput legacy. Jaipur. Udaipur. Jodhpur. And perhaps my favourite, the medieval walled city of [[Jaisalmer]], land of the Bhatti princes, born of the moon. Parapets into the sky. On some nights, there must be stars nowhere else above the planet because they all seem to be over Jaisalmer. I am surprised some city in northern Europe has not sued Jaisalmer for stealing all the stars. Be sure and take your sunglasses along when you go there —to deal with the starry nights. Standing in Jaisalmer, close your eyes for a moment and see the camel caravans coming through this desert town a thousand years ago, which I now realise by India's civilizational standards is only yesterday —a fellow on the street might have said to me, 'yes, they came through Jaisalmer, just a little while ago.'<ref name=PCOLINDIA /></blockquote>
Upon returning to the United States, the only item on Blackwill's desk at the National Security Council was a tiny figurine of [[Ganesh]], the [[Hindu]] elephant-headed god of wisdom and success while a huge map of "Mother India" adorned the walls of his office.<ref name=PCOLPOST />
Historian [[Ramachandra Guha]] quoted him saying, "India is a pluralist society that creates magic with democracy, rule of law and individual freedom, community relations and [cultural] diversity. What a place to be an intellectual!. I wouldn't mind being born ten times to rediscover India."<ref name="Guha2011">{{citation|last=Guha|first=Ramachandra|title=India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8FKepYC6wzwC&pg=PP4|year=2011|publisher=Pan Macmillan|isbn=978-0-330-54020-9|page=iv}}</ref>
===Controversy over management style=== On April 22, 2003, Blackwill announced that he was resigning as US ambassador to India to return to his academic career at Harvard University.<ref name=PCOLNYT /> The ''[[New York Times]]'' reported that there had been complaints about Blackwill's management style from embassy staff members that led to a review by the State Department's inspector general although after the review the complaints died down.<ref name=PCOLNYT /> "He's extremely bright. He has a very penetrating intellect that produces great ideas", said one official who worked with him. "He's also utterly charming and has more energy than anybody around him. He never sleeps. He's a double-A type. But he's also a prickly demanding personality who can become impatient with others who don't keep up with him. He's hard on people because he's smart. He wants things now."<ref name=PCOLPOST />
==National Security Council==
===Coordinator for Strategic Planning=== Upon completing his time as ambassador to India, Blackwill was originally planning to return to Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government until he got the call from National Security Advisor [[Condoleezza Rice]] asking him to come to Washington.<ref name=PCOLPOST /> On August 16, 2003, Blackwill was appointed deputy assistant to President [[George W. Bush]] as well as coordinator for strategic planning under Rice. Blackwill's assignment was to help develop and coordinate the direction of America's foreign policy.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9501E4DA1430F935A2575BC0A9659C8B63 New York Times. "New Job for Former Envoy." August 16, 2003.]</ref> In his new post on the National Security Council, Blackwill quickly became the alter ego to national security adviser Condoleezza Rice. He was given free rein to track global trends and predict [[unintended consequence]]s of US foreign policy decisions anywhere in the world by providing long-range planning for a foreign policy team under stress from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.<ref name=PCOLPOST />
===Envoy to Iraq=== One of Blackwill's jobs on the National Security Council in 2003 was to coordinate between Washington and Baghdad working with [[Paul Bremer]] to achieve a political handover to Iraq.<ref name=PCOLRAPPORT /> Blackwill and Bremer had worked together in the State Department in 1974 and shared a conservative view of the world.<ref name=PCOLRAPPORT /> "Both are basically conservatives", said one mutual friend.<ref name=PCOLRAPPORT /> "But it is a 19th-century conservatism -- focused on national interest and power -- not [[neoconservatism]]." He said Bremer and Blackwill "are focused on getting things done. They are not ideological dreamers."<ref name=PCOLRAPPORT /> [[Bob Woodward]] in his book ''[[State of Denial]]'' reports that in 2003 Blackwill sent a lengthy memorandum to National Security Advisor [[Condoleezza Rice]] warning that more ground troops, perhaps as many as 40,000, were desperately needed in Iraq.<ref name=PCOLNewwoodwardbook/> Woodward reports that Blackwill and Bremer later briefed Rice and her deputy [[Stephen J. Hadley]] about the pressing need for more troops during a secure teleconference from Iraq, but that the White House did nothing in response.<ref name=PCOLNewwoodwardbook/> President Bush is quoted as saying of the situation in Iraq at that time: "I don't want anyone in the cabinet to say it is an insurgency. I don't think we are there yet."<ref name=PCOLNewwoodwardbook>New York Times. "New Woodward Book Says Bush Ignored Urgent Warning on Iraq." September 29, 2006</ref>
===Alleged abuse of U.S. female staffer and abrupt departure from the Administration=== On November 5, 2004, Blackwill announced his resignation from the administration. He had been mentioned as a possible successor to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice in Bush's second term, but he told associates that he had spent six years working for Bush—two years as a foreign policy adviser to his first presidential campaign, two years as ambassador to India and two years at the White House—and that the presidential election seemed like a natural end to this cycle in his life.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29206-2004Nov5.html Washington Post. "Bush Adviser On Iraq Policy To Step Down" by Glenn Kessler. November 6, 2004.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320232231/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29206-2004Nov5.html |date=March 20, 2017 }}</ref>
On November 12, 2004, [[Glenn Kessler (journalist)|Glenn Kessler]] and [[Al Kamen]] reported in ''The Washington Post'' that Condoleezza Rice had interviewed Blackwill and taken action to ensure that he dealt with his colleagues and subordinates appropriately after reports in September 2004 that he appeared to have verbally abused and physically hurt a female embassy staffer during a visit to Kuwait.<ref name=PCOLPOST2 /> The incident took place when Blackwill was returning from a visit to Baghdad and arrived at the Air France counter at the Kuwait airport to learn he was not on the flight manifest.<ref name=PCOLPOST2 /> Blackwill turned in fury to an embassy secretary and demanded that he be given a seat on the flight, grabbing her arm at one point, an official said.<ref name=PCOLPOST2>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43756-2004Nov11.html "Ex-Adviser Reportedly Hurt Embassy Aide" November 12, 2004]</ref> Anger at the top of the State Department was palpable, according to ''The Washington Post''. "...Senior officials at the State Department took her concerns seriously. Deputy Secretary of State [[Richard Armitage (naval officer)|Richard L. Armitage]] called her on Powell's behalf and expressed regret for the incident. Armitage then visited her and her husband during a recent trip to Kuwait to assure her that her concerns were being addressed, the State Department official said." A spokesman for the National Security Council said the incident was not the reason Blackwill abruptly quit his job.<ref name=PCOLPOST2 /> "Ambassador Blackwill has served the country with great distinction, including intense and dangerous situations in Iraq", the NSC spokesman said.<ref name=PCOLPOST2 /> "The president and Dr. Rice hold Ambassador Blackwill in the highest regard, and the decision to leave was Ambassador Blackwill's own."<ref name=PCOLPOST2 />
==Lobbyist career== In November 2004, Blackwill joined the lobbying firm [[BGR Group|Barbour Griffith & Rogers]] (BGR).<ref name=PCOLBARBOUR /> On October 29, 2007, the ''New York Times'' disclosed that lobbying disclosure reports at the Justice Department show that Mr. Blackwill helped bring in more than $11 million in fees from foreign clients since late 2005.<ref name=PCOLNytoctober2007/>
===Lobbying for India=== On January 5, 2005, the ''Telegraph of India'' reported that Blackwill was traveling to India on a trip linked to India's $600,000-a-year contract with the Washington lobbying firm, [[Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld|Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld]] that had expired in April 2004.<ref>[http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050109/asp/frontpage/story_4231734.asp The Telegraph. "Blackwill back, on business" January 9, 2005.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930030348/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050109/asp/frontpage/story_4231734.asp |date=September 30, 2007 }}</ref> On March 23, 2005, the ''Deccan Herald'' reported that Blackwill had spoken to the Confederation of Indian Industry in Bangalore saying that the US should enter into a long-term program of space co-operation with India, and lift restrictions on the assistance given to civilian nuclear industry and hi-tech trade.<ref name=PCOLBlackwillmoots/> "We should sell India civil nuclear reactors, both to reduce its demand for Persian Gulf energy and to ease the environmental impact of India's vibrant economic growth."<ref name=PCOLBlackwillmoots>[http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/2030253.html Deccan Herald. "Blackwill moots Indo-US co-operation in space tech" March 23, 2005.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930013229/http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/2030253.html |date=September 30, 2007 }}</ref> On August 31, 2005, the ''Daily Times of Pakistan'' reported that Barbour, Griffith, and Rogers had won a contract to help get an Indo-US nuclear deal through Congress.<ref>[http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_31-8-2005_pg7_47 Daily Times. "India rewards faithful supporter Blackwill in US." August 31, 2005.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930153544/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_31-8-2005_pg7_47 |date=September 30, 2007 }}</ref>
On December 27, 2007, the ''[[Daily Times (Pakistan)|Daily Times]]'' of Pakistan published a story saying that Blackwill was on the payroll of [[Lockheed Martin]] and [[Northrop Grumman]] providing lobbying services for them for large defense contracts from the Indian government.<ref name=PCOLLockheedmartin/> Lockheed Martin was going after a $10 billion contract from the Indian Air Force, for the provision of 126 fighters while Northrop Grumman was trying to acquire contracts for selling high-end radars to India.<ref name=PCOLLockheedmartin/> "The government has no business appointing an agent of American arms companies as their own agent, especially when those companies are vying for Indian contracts," said Indian attorney Prashant Bhushan.<ref name=PCOLLockheedmartin>[http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C12%5C27%5Cstory_27-12-2007_pg7_33 Daily Times of Pakistan. "Indo-US N-deal headed for more political turmoil: Lobbyist hired by India on US arms dealers’ payroll" by Iftikhar Gilani. December 27, 2007.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606160511/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C12%5C27%5Cstory_27-12-2007_pg7_33 |date=June 6, 2011 }}</ref>
On April 20, 2008, ''The Times of India'' reported that Blackwill said that the next US President may not push the nuclear deal with India because he will not have the same sunk costs in the agreement as President Bush.<ref name=PCOLsunkcosts/> "If I may be characteristically blunt, the next American president will not have the same sunk costs in the US-India civil nuclear agreement that this president (George W Bush) and the top of the administration has," Blackwill said.<ref name=PCOLsunkcosts/> "India will pay a substantial price in its future energy policy, and its lack of civil nuclear assistance from the outside world."<ref name=PCOLsunkcosts>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Next_US_president_may_not_push_n-deal_Blackwill/articleshow/2966360.cms Times of India. "Next US president may not push n-deal: Blackwill" April 20, 2008.]</ref> Blackwill added that the next US President would not go back to lecturing India about its nuclear program.<ref name=PCOLsunkcosts/> "They (Indians) did not have much tolerance before, and they have none now. That would be a substantial irritant in the relationship if it were to occur," said Blackwill.<ref name=PCOLsunkcosts/>
===Contract with Ayad Allawi=== On August 28, 2007, ''[[Newsweek]]'' reported that Blackwill was handling the $300,000 lobbying contract at Barbour Griffith & Rogers International to destabilize Iraqi Prime Minister [[Nouri al-Maliki]], and replace him with the firm's new client, [[Ayad Allawi]].<ref name=PCOLNewsweekallawi/> The contract, filed with the Justice Department, states that "B.G.R. will provide strategic counsel and representation for and on behalf of Dr. Ayad Allawi before the U.S. government, Congress, media and others."<ref name=PCOLNytoctober2007/> Allawi disclosed that Blackwill—whom he described as a "dear friend"—had raised the idea that the former Iraqi prime minister hire his firm.<ref name=PCOLNewsweekallawi/> "He contacted me", Allawi said.<ref name=PCOLNewsweekallawi/> "We were having lunch ... He spoke to me and he said ... there is a vacuum in Washington, and we will be able to help and assist. We know your views. We know the views of your people and we are ready to help in getting your message across to the United States."<ref name=PCOLNewsweekallawi>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20502632 Newsweek. "Behind Allawi's Bid for Power." August 29, 2007]{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
===Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq=== The Regional Government has paid Barbour Griffith & Rogers $1.4 million since 2005.<ref name=PCOLNytoctober2007/> "We have had a long-term relationship with the firm", said Qubad Talabani, the Washington representative of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq.<ref name=PCOLNytoctober2007/> Kurdistan is pushing for Washington's support of its oil contracts with foreign companies.<ref name=PCOLNytoctober2007/>
===Thaksin Shinawatra=== Blackwill represents [[Thaksin Shinawatra]].<ref name=PCOLNytoctober2007/> Shinawatra was a billionaire communications tycoon who became prime minister of [[Thailand]] and was ousted in a coup in 2006.<ref name=PCOLNytoctober2007>[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/washington/29blackwill.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=login&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1194092186-oD/P7hK9sBgiXh7U96GOBA New York Times. "Backing an Iraqi Leader Again, This Time for a Fee" by Elisabeth Bumiller. October 29, 2007.]</ref> On the evening of 19 September 2006, while Thaksin was visiting [[New York City]], to attend a [[United Nations]] summit and to speak at the [[Council on Foreign Relations]], the army took control of [[Bangkok]].
===Other clients=== On October 29, 2007, ''The New York Times'' disclosed that Blackwill's other clients include Serbia, China, and the [[Alfa-Bank]] in Moscow.<ref name=PCOLNytoctober2007/>
Blackwill's firm previously had lobbying contracts, now expired, with the secular National Dialogue Party of Lebanon, the Confederation of Indian Industry, Dubai International Capital (the private equity firm of Dubai's ruler, Sheik Muhammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum), and [[Eritrea]], a nation the State Department has been threatening to designate a terrorist state.<ref name=PCOLNytoctober2007/>
===Departure from Barbour Griffiths Rogers=== On April 19, 2008, ''The Times of India'' reported that Blackwill was leaving the lobbying firm of Barbour Griffiths Rogers International to go to work as a senior fellow at [[RAND]] Corporation, one of the United States' premier think tanks.<ref name=PCOLLeaving/> "I will be leaving BGR to join Rand Corporation in California, as senior fellow," said Blackwill.<ref name=PCOLLeaving/> "I now feel the compelling need for sustained time to reflect and write about America's role in the world in this difficult and dangerous period."<ref name=PCOLLeaving>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121020133143/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-04-19/india/27746120_1_robert-blackwill-india-account-greater-role The Times of India. "India's N-deal lobbyist Blackwill says he's quitting" April 18, 2008.]</ref> In September 2010, Blackwill rejoined the Council on Foreign Relations as the Henry Kissinger Senior Fellow.<ref name="CFRrejoin">{{cite web |url=http://www.cfr.org/bios/6/robert_d_blackwill.html |title=CFR Bio: Robert D. Blackwill - Council on Foreign Relations |access-date=2005-12-13 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060717223557/http://www.cfr.org/bios/6/robert_d_blackwill.html |archive-date=2006-07-17 }}</ref>
==Punditry==
===Relations with Pakistan=== On October 21, 2007, the ''New York Times'' reported on the "nightmare scenario" in Pakistan in the aftermath of the carnage after bombs exploded killing and wounding hundreds of supporters of [[Benazir Bhutto]] after her arrival in Pakistan.<ref name=PCOLNightmare/> "We have to remember that the U.S. doesn't have much capability to affect internal developments" in Pakistan, said Robert Blackwill.<ref name=PCOLNightmare/> "What I am struck by are the trends we see today: the North-West Province is ungovernable and a sanctuary for terrorists. The politics are fractured and deeply unstable, [[Pervez Musharraf|Musharraf]] is weaker, and the army is uncertain which way it will go."<ref name=PCOLNightmare>[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/world/asia/21musharraf.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin New York Times. "Fearing Chaos, U.S. Officials Review Stance on Pakistan" by David Sanger and David Rohde. October 21, 2007.]</ref>
===2020 Election=== In 2020, Blackwill, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement that asserted that [[President Trump]] was unfit to serve another term, and "To that end, we are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.defendingdemocracytogether.org/national-security/ |title=Former Republican National Security Officials for Biden |date=20 August 2020 |website=Defending Democracy Together |access-date=26 August 2021}}</ref>
==Memberships, honors, and awards== * Member of Executive Committee<ref name=PCOLNNDB /> of the [[International Institute for Strategic Studies]].<ref name=PCOLPROJECT /> * Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy at the [[Council on Foreign Relations]].<ref name="CFR" /> * Member of the Aspen Strategy Group of the [[Aspen Institute]].<ref name="Aspen"/> * Senior Fellow at the [[RAND Corporation]]<ref name="Aspen">[http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/aspen-strategy-group/about-aspen-strategy-group/group-members/blackwill Robert D. Blackwill - The Aspen Institute] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524102438/http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/aspen-strategy-group/about-aspen-strategy-group/group-members/blackwill |date=2013-05-24 }}</ref> * Board member of the [[Nixon Center]].<ref name=PCOLNNDB /> * Awarded the Commander's Cross of the [[Federal Cross of Merit|Order of Merit, by the Federal Republic of Germany]] in 1990.<ref name=PCOLCFR>[http://www.cfr.org/bios/6/robert_d_blackwill.html Council on Foreign Relations. "Robert D. Blackwill"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060717223557/http://www.cfr.org/bios/6/robert_d_blackwill.html |date=2006-07-17 }}</ref> * Member of the guiding coalition of [[Project on National Security Reform]]. * Awarded India's third highest civilian award, [[Padma Bhushan]], in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/republic-day-2016-govt-announces-padma-bhushan-padma-vibhushan-padma-shri/ |title=Republic Day 2016: Dhirubhai Ambani, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Rajinikanth in Padma list |website=indianexpress.com |date=25 January 2016 |access-date=June 23, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227222400/http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/republic-day-2016-govt-announces-padma-bhushan-padma-vibhushan-padma-shri/ |archive-date=December 27, 2017 }}</ref>
==Personal life== Blackwill is married to Wera Hildebrand<ref name=parting_address>[http://www.financialexpress.com/news/The-IndoUS-Relationship-Has-A-Glittering-Future/78864/0 "The Indo-US Relationship Has A Glittering Future" April 22, 2003.]</ref> and has five grown children.<ref name=PCOLPOST /> His favorite book is ''[[Absalom, Absalom!]]'' by [[William Faulkner]] and he is a self-described jazz fanatic and classic-movie buff.<ref name=PCOLPOST />
{{s-start}} {{s-dip}} {{succession box | before=[[Richard Frank Celeste]] | after=[[David Mulford]] | title=[[United States Ambassador to India]] | years=2001 – 2003}} {{s-end}}
==Citations== {{reflist|2}}
==External links== *{{commons category-inline}} *{{C-SPAN|7453}}
{{US Ambassador to India}} {{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 2010–19}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackwill, Robert}} [[Category:1939 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from Kellogg, Idaho]] [[Category:Kansas Republicans]] [[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to India]] [[Category:Harvard Kennedy School faculty]] [[Category:American lobbyists]] [[Category:United States National Security Council staffers]] [[Category:Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]] [[Category:American expatriates in Malawi]] [[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in public affairs]]