David M. Denehy

David M. Denehy is listed as the Director of Office of Strategic and External Affairs (DRL/SEA) in the U.S. Department of State Organizational Directory. 

Office of the VP
"Another Iran war sign," Wayne Madsen reported August 16, 2006, comes from State Department sources who "report that the recent transfer of David Denehy from his job as Senior Adviser to the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes to the Office of the Vice President is another sign that the Bush administration is gearing up to attack Iran. Denehy also headed up the State Department's new Office of Iran Affairs, which was carved out of the Office of Arabian Peninsular Affairs for the sole purpose of creating the environment for a U.S. military attack on Iran. Denehy coordinated his activities with Farsi-speaking Iran Affairs Office personnel in Europe and Dubai, Iranian expatriates in Europe and Washington, DC, as well as with U.S. and Israeli intelligence officers.

"Denehy, who once worked for the International Republican Institute (IRI) and is a committed neo-con, was closely associated with the Iraq invasion. Denehy's promotional climb at State was quick. He joined the department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research as an Iraq and Iran intern-analyst shortly after George W. Bush's inauguration in 2001. In 2003, Denehy was promoted to be Jerry Bremer's Deputy Director of Democracy and Governance in the Coalition Provisional Authority. In 2004, he became Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and was again promoted to be Director of the Office of Strategic and External Affairs&mdash;a State Department version of the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans. Denehy was a close associate of Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Elizabeth Cheney, the daughter of Vice President Cheney," Madsen wrote.

Office of Iranian Affairs
Denehy was "put in charge" of the Office of Iranian Affairs set up within the Department of State, Justin Raimondo reported in May 2006.

Background
In January 2001, Denehy was working at the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), according to research posted in May 2006 by Patricia H. Kushlis on WhirledView. "It is my understanding that he joined INR as an analyst on the Middle East including Iran and Iraq where he was a presidential (management) intern after receiving an MA in International Affairs from Columbia," Kushlis wrote.

"In 2003, Denehy went to Iraq to work for Jerry Bremer as the deputy director of the CPA's Office of Democracy and Governance. He then returned to INR as an analyst on Middle East projects until December 2004 when he joined the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. He soon became an Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary. Denehy is now listed as Director of the Office of Strategic and External Affairs (whatever that means) in that same bureau with a 7th floor office but what looks like - on paper - a tiny staff," Kushlis wrote. "At some point as he moved up State’s bureaucratic ladder, he also switched from being a career civil servant to a political appointee."

"Maybe, Kushlis wrote, "Denehy was 'a longtime democracy specialist at IRI,' but you couldn’t prove it by Google except that at some point he apparently managed three democracy building projects in the former Soviet Union under a USAID contract."

On an Iraqi Free Press
"David Denehy, the deputy directory of the CPA’s Office of Democracy and Governance shared his opinion in a December 2003 e-mail.

"'While I certainly do not support media censorship, Al-Arabia and other gulf-based media outlets have for some time been fanning the flames of conflict,' he said.

"In his job as a political transition advisor to Bremer, Denehy has worked with focus groups of Iraqi professionals, most of whom watch Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabia, but not without skepticism.

"'The problem is that there is nothing to compete with these powerhouses, so most [Iraqi's] with dishes or access to satellite TV watch these stations,' Denehy said." 

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Coalition Information Center
 * Combined Press Information Center
 * information operations
 * Information Operations Roadmap
 * Information Operations Task Force
 * information warfare
 * Iraqi Media Engagement Team
 * Office of Global Communications
 * war in Iran / war in Iran: External Links