Dov S. Zakheim

Dr. Dov S. Zakheim left his position as Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller and Chief Financial Officer) in the Office of the Secretary of Defense in April 2004. 

Dov S. Zakheim, when nominated to the Department of Defense by President George W. Bush, was CEO of SPC International (System Planning Corporation International) and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

Affiliations

 * Director, Search for Common Ground
 * National Board Member, World Affairs Councils of America
 * Leadership Group, U.S.-Muslim Engagement Project
 * Director, Defense Business Board

-- Caryn Litt writes: "A Republican, Zakheim joined the Department of Defense in 1981, under then President Ronald Reagan. He was responsible for such tasks as preparing defense planning guidance for nuclear war.

"Zakheim, known as a conservative thinker on defense and national security issues, was invited, in 1999, to serve on the 'Vulcans', a volunteer team of foreign policy experts that advised then Texas Governor George W. Bush on international affairs.

"Zakheim was sworn in as the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Defense on May 4, 2001. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, impressed with Zakheim's experience with ballistic missile proliferation and his recognition of the importance of space in military affairs, had asked Zakheim to take on the position.

"As Chief Financial Officer, Zakheim's priority has been financial management. Because of the war in Afghanistan, his office has been forced to prepare five budgets in less than a year, including the recent $20 billion supplemental war package.

"Zakheim's regions of expertise are Western Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia, and he is considered an expert on domestic Israeli politics. He is frequently called on to provide Israeli political commentary as well as commentary on national defense and foreign policy issues. He has appeared on numerous television networks and programs, such as Larry King Live and the Mcneil-Lehrer Newshour.

"A graduate of Columbia University with a bachelor's in government, Zakheim earned his doctorate in economics and politics at Oxford."

In 1998, the Committee for Peace and Security in the Gulf sent an "open letter to then president Bill Clinton for Washington to adopt a 'comprehensive political and military strategy for bringing down Saddam and his regime', centred on support for the INC (Iraqi National Congress) and US air power.

"That 1998 letter was signed by many of the charter members of PNAC (Project for the New American Century), including Donald H. Rumsfeld, and four of his top deputies at the Pentagon, Paul Dundes Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, Dov S. Zakheim, and Peter W. Rodman." -