Former U.S. government officials and defense experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the man advising Vice President Kamala Harris on national security held policy views on Iran and the Middle East that actually harmed U.S. interests in the region.

Philip Gordon now Serve Gordon was appointed national security and foreign policy adviser to Harris, who is campaigning against former President Donald Trump in the November presidential election. While Harris appears to lack expertise in foreign policy and national security, Gordon has decades of experience, particularly in Middle East affairs. However, Gordon's past stance in negotiations with Iran, including his role in crafting the Iran nuclear deal, has not softened Tehran's hostility toward the United States, and experts told DCNF that Gordon's views and predictions about the Middle East region as a whole appear to have been inaccurate or misguided. (Related article: “She controlled a lot of our border policy”: Vance debates with ABC host over Harris' role in illegal immigration)

“Gordon has extensive diplomatic experience and knows how government works, how decisions are made and how to navigate bureaucracy, but that doesn't mean he's going to be able to provide the right policy advice to strengthen US global leadership,” Morgan Viña, a former senior Defense Department official and adviser to Ambassador Nikki Haley, told DCNF.

“If you look at his policies, his recommendations, his analysis, he's consistently been wrong,” Gabriel Noronha, a former State Department official and now executive director of Polaris National Security, told DCNF.

Gordon's team has defended his record and policies, with US officials telling the DCNF that he has had a “decade-long career as a national security professional and public servant respected by both sides of Congress”.

Gordon's Role in Obama's World

After years of experience in the public and private sectors, Gordon joined the Obama Administration in 2009 and served on the White House National Security Council in 2013, serving as “the highest White House official focused on the Middle East region” until 2015. According to To the Council on Foreign Relations.

Gordon helped craft the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the Iran nuclear deal, in 2015 and remained a vocal supporter of the accord after leaving the White House. According to NPR and multiple Gordon wrote the op-ed: The nuclear deal was a multilateral agreement led by the Obama administration that limited Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Former President Donald Trump Withdrew President Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018, claiming that it had failed to stop Iran from advancing its nuclear program and that Iran was enriching itself with sanctions relief. After withdrawing, President Trump implemented “maximum pressure” on Iran and reimposed tough sanctions to prevent Iran from earning revenue.

In various editorials, Gordon Condemned President Trump's decision Urged The administration lifted the sanctions. Before Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement, Gordon mistakenly Predicted In an editorial, he said the move “could lead to war” with Iran. (Related: Kamala Harris unveils first major economic policy plan)

“[Gordon] “We have advocated for the reduction of US power in the region, defended various Iranian interests and opposed measures that would strengthen US deterrence,” Noronha told DCNF.

US Assistant to the President and Vice President for National Security Affairs Philip Gordon speaks at the Herzliya Conference at Reichman University in Herzliya on June 24, 2024. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Working with Harris

Gordon left the White House in 2015. Participated A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, he focuses on U.S. policy in the Middle East and Europe. Between 2016 and 2020, he published numerous commentaries on world affairs and the Trump Administration's foreign and national security policies, appearing in a variety of media outlets. According to According to a biography provided by the Council on Foreign Relations, Gordon has written several books, most recently 2021's “Losing the Long Game: The False Promise of Regime Change in the Middle East.”

When President Joe Biden takes office in 2021, Gordon work He became an adviser to Harris and later became national security adviser. Advisor The Biden administration's policy toward Iran has aimed to use diplomatic means to coerce Iran back into the nuclear deal, allowing Iran to earn billions of dollars through sanctions relief and the unfreezing of funds it would not have had access to otherwise.

“Since President Biden took office, U.S. deterrence has weakened and we have been unable to stop Iran from harming the region or going nuclear. There is no indication that Gordon's foreign policy approach will deviate from its current trajectory,” Vigna told DCNF.

Experts and lawmakers recently number Editorial Written Gordon's book was co-authored with Arian Tabatabai, a senior Defense Department official, scholar and member of the Iran Experts Initiative, an influence network created to bolster Tehran's public image. Gordon also spoke at a 2016 conference of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), an organization that has been accused of acting as a lobbying arm for the Islamic regime in the United States. According to A watch that makes an impact.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton and Representative Elise Stefanik letter In late July, they sent a letter to Harris' office expressing concerns about Gordon's ties to the Tabatabai Police and NIAC, demanding that he explain whether he was aware of Gordon's connections and whether Gordon went through the vetting process to receive a security clearance.

Cotton and Stefanik asked Harris to respond by Aug. 9. An aide to Cotton told the DCNF he has not yet received a response. (RELATED: Prominent pollster says Democrats “probably” made a mistake in attacking RFK Jr., who is “currently stealing more votes from Trump.”)

During a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, @VP She expressed her unwavering support for Israel's security and her concern over the humanitarian crisis and civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip, as well as destabilizing activities in the West Bank. https://t.co/DLVEZWrZ47 pic.twitter.com/at21lRX1sH

— Phil Gordon (@PhilGordon46) July 26, 2024

“Kamala Harris needs to answer questions about the national security advisor's ties to pro-Iranian groups,” Cotton told the DCNF.

A U.S. official told the DCNF that the letter was “baseless and absurd.”[Gordon] “We have spoken out against malign activities by Iran and its terrorist proxies, including those undertaken by this Administration, and have strongly advocated for concrete efforts to support Israel and its security.”

Harris, who advises Gordon, has largely maintained the Biden administration's stance on the conflict, urging an immediate ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, but has taken a tougher line on the issue than Biden. After pro-Palestinian protests that have swept the country since Oct. 7, some of which have turned violent, Harris said: said She said the protesters were “exactly what human emotions should be,” adding that while she disagreed with some of what they said, she understood “the emotion behind it.”

Harris has reportedly personally lobbied the administration to be more sympathetic on the Palestinian issue, to get “tougher” on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to work “stronger” on achieving a two-state solution. According to To Politico.

“Anyone who cares about the U.S.-Israel relationship should be concerned about what kind of policies a Harris Administration would have implemented through someone like Philip Gordon,” Victoria Coates, a senior defense official at the Heritage Foundation and a former White House national security adviser, told DCNF.

In places like Afghanistan, Harris has supported Biden's decision to withdraw U.S. troops in 2021, which many saw as a chaotic and abrupt operation. Harris will attend policy briefings ahead of the withdrawal and discuss the issue with Biden. According to According to The Washington Post, she said When Biden made the decision to evacuate in early 2021, she was “the last person in the room.”

Gordon will serve as Harris' national security adviser in 2022. stated The government said,Not allowed Afghanistan It will become a haven for terrorists.” Although al-Qaida's capabilities have been greatly diminished, it has begun to return to Afghanistan and operates several bases across the country with the Taliban's permission.

Busy “I will always defend Israel's right to self-defense,” Harris told supporters at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, adding that the ongoing war in Gaza must end given its impact on the region. She also said at the convention that she “will not hesitate to take any action necessary to protect our troops and interests from Iran and Iran-backed terrorists.”

If Harris wins

It was not immediately clear whether Ms Harris, if elected president, would keep Gordon as national security adviser or appoint him to a cabinet post such as secretary of state, but Gordon has been mentioned in recent weeks as a possible senior position. multiple media Outlet Since Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Some progressive national security experts are reportedly already rushing to put their names forward for the job during Harris' term. According to To Politico.

Noronha told the DCNF that if Harris keeps Gordon in her fold, she will likely rely on him for most foreign and national security policy because she doesn't have the same experience in those areas.

“He's the guy that's going to bring the decisions to the president and provide the intellectual framework and the bureaucratic framework,” Noronha told DCNF. “I would say he's the guy that has the most influence on the president's thinking and his policies.”

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