Will Philip Gordon Be President Harris’s National Security Adviser?
The prospects for foreign policy in a Harris administration.
![](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/harrisgordon.jpg)
What might President Kamala Harris’s foreign policy look like?
Speculation has understandably gone into overdrive in the days since President Joe Biden abandoned his reelection bid.
As is often the case in life, people see what they want to see: Some believe Harris could break with past practice, particularly with regard to the disastrous, immoral US policy toward Palestine. Others look at her record and see a standard liberal interventionist, one that will likely continue the policies she will inherit from Biden.
There are contradictory indicators, to be sure.
As a senator, Harris displayed sensible instincts by opposing Trump’s withdrawal from both the landmark nuclear agreement with Iran and the INF treaty with Russia. On the other hand, Harris has spoken of America’s “unbreakable bond” with Israel, mocked diplomatic engagement with Syria, and has emerged as a proponent of American war aims in Ukraine.
At this point in her candidacy, it feels a little like the early stages of the Obama campaign circa 2007: Much hope has been invested, but what exactly the return will be remains an open question.
Since the beginning of the administration, Harris has surrounded herself with a team of experienced foreign policy hands, including, prominently, former Obama White House and State Department official Philip Gordon, who currently serves as Harris’s national security adviser. Gordon is one of only a small group of national security officials, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan and deputy national security adviser Jon Finer, to take part in the president’s daily intelligence briefing.
Gordon has long been a highly regarded member of the foreign policy establishment. He holds a PhD from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and was one of the main proponents of President Obama’s policy of constructive engagement with Iran—a policy that ultimately bore fruit in the form of the landmark JCPOA agreement. Another of those proponents, Ivo Daalder, who went on to become US permanent representative to NATO under Obama and now serves as CEO of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, described Gordon to me as “totally prepared, a true expert on European and Middle East policy, and, importantly, Phil has been by the vice president’s side from the beginning.” Gordon was an early opponent of George W. Bush’s Iraq War and played a key role in carrying out Obama’s well-timed but ultimately ill-fated “reset” policy with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. Gordon is also the author of the well-received Losing the Long Game, which cast a critical eye on recent American efforts to transform the Middle East by force.
Gordon, Daalder and others, including the current deputy secretary of state, Kurt Campbell, have long been part of a core group of Democratic foreign policy experts—one that inspired some of President Obama’s more successful foreign policy initiatives. According to the noted foreign affairs journalist and author James Mann they “represented the generation of Democrats who learned how to run foreign policy during the 1990s. They were eager to show that the Democrats were not a bunch of pacifists, that they understood national security issues and were willing to use American force where necessary.”
For a card-carrying member of the Washington establishment (he has, after all, worked at both Brookings and the Council on Foreign Relations), Gordon has displayed that rarest of traits, an ability to grow. According to Dr. Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, “Phil left the Obama administration with a much clearer understanding of the limits of American power and the need for a much more humble foreign policy than most of those in Biden’s inner circle. It’s difficult for me to envision how the last nine months may have rebooted his confidence in America’s ability to shape outcomes in the Middle East.”
“Perhaps more important,” says Parsi, “is the question of whether Phil shares the Biden team’s obsession with extending Trump’s Abraham Accords to Israel and Saudi and offering the Saudis both a war obligation and the nuclear fuel cycle.”
According to Parsi, if a Harris administration continues down that same path, “it will likely repeat Biden’s many failures and missteps in the Middle East.”
On NATO and Russia policy, Gordon’s positions place him in the mainstream of the Democratic party. On January 2018, he coauthored a CFR report with the hawkish Republican Robert Blackwill that called for Washington “to impose real costs on Moscow, while also enhancing defenses against future attacks and bolstering its military commitment to European allies most threatened by Moscow’s aggressive posture.” They continued, “If this package of measures sounds like a prescription for a new Cold War with Russia, it is.”
So as with his boss, there are mixed signals. While someone of Gordon’s experience and stature would be a marked improvement over the current national security adviser, there is little reason to expect that his appointment would signal that real change is on the horizon.
Popular
“swipe left below to view more authors”Swipe →We need your support
What’s at stake this November is the future of our democracy. Yet Nation readers know the fight for justice, equity, and peace doesn’t stop in November. Change doesn’t happen overnight. We need sustained, fearless journalism to advocate for bold ideas, expose corruption, defend our democracy, secure our bodily rights, promote peace, and protect the environment.
This month, we’re calling on you to give a monthly donation to support The Nation’s independent journalism. If you’ve read this far, I know you value our journalism that speaks truth to power in a way corporate-owned media never can. The most effective way to support The Nation is by becoming a monthly donor; this will provide us with a reliable funding base.
In the coming months, our writers will be working to bring you what you need to know—from John Nichols on the election, Elie Mystal on justice and injustice, Chris Lehmann’s reporting from inside the beltway, Joan Walsh with insightful political analysis, Jeet Heer’s crackling wit, and Amy Littlefield on the front lines of the fight for abortion access. For as little as $10 a month, you can empower our dedicated writers, editors, and fact checkers to report deeply on the most critical issues of our day.
Set up a monthly recurring donation today and join the committed community of readers who make our journalism possible for the long haul. For nearly 160 years, The Nation has stood for truth and justice—can you help us thrive for 160 more?
Onwards,
Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation
More from The Nation
![A mother holds her son as he receives his daily injection while being treated for mpox at the Kavumu health center in Kabare territory, South Kivu region, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024.](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GettyImages-2169643545.jpg)
The Mpox Outbreak Is a Damning Indictment of the Global Health System The Mpox Outbreak Is a Damning Indictment of the Global Health System
The inequalities and injustices in our medical infrastructure have made the outbreak so much worse than it could have been.
![An anti-government Israeli protest in Tel Aviv on September 4, 2024.](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GettyImages-2169578164.jpg)
Israeli Protesters Have Chosen a Side Israeli Protesters Have Chosen a Side
Fearing for the remaining captives, the mass rallies that erupted across Israel were essentially demanding an end to the war—and Netanyahu knows it.
![Lessons of a Weimar Anti-Fascist in Palestine](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Yourgau-WeimarPalestine-ftrimg.jpg)
Lessons of a Weimar Anti-Fascist in Palestine Lessons of a Weimar Anti-Fascist in Palestine
After my father fled Nazi Germany in 1933, he witnessed a toxic new nationalism rising among Jews in Palestine—and was silenced for trying to warn of its dangers.
![Riot police hold back anti-immigrant protesters near a burning police vehicle in Southport, England.](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GettyImages-2164489011.jpg)
The Recent Riots in the UK Should Be a Warning to Kamala Harris The Recent Riots in the UK Should Be a Warning to Kamala Harris
Like the Tories, the new Labour government wants to blame immigration for Britain’s current troubles, but these have less to do with immigration than with deprivation.
![Displaced From Sudan, Young Refugees Find Solace at School](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Egypt-Sudan-story_PIC02-scaled-1.jpg)
Displaced From Sudan, Young Refugees Find Solace at School Displaced From Sudan, Young Refugees Find Solace at School
After fleeing war-torn nightmares, refugees in neighboring Egypt are finding a way to dream again.
![Locals carry out search and rescue efforts after an Israeli attack on the Ridwan family home in Rafah, Gaza, on April 20, 2024.](https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GettyImages-2147936978.jpg)
“I Couldn’t Ask if She Was Still Alive”: A Girl, Her Mother, and a Bloody Night In Gaza “I Couldn’t Ask if She Was Still Alive”: A Girl, Her Mother, and a Bloody Night In Gaza
"I felt something warm on my hand. I couldn’t see what it was in the darkness. Then I realized it was blood."