Jonathan Morgenstein is a Senior National Security Policy Fellow at Third Way, a progressive think tank in Washington, DC. Prior to Third Way, he served as Senior Program Officer at the United States Institute of Peace. As Senior Program Officer, he conducted conflict resolution trainings around the world, including in Bosnia, Colombia, Darfur, and Iraq. Before USIP, he assessed the African Union's peacekeeping force in Darfur, Sudan, for Refugees International. Jonathan has served 18 years in the Marine Corps Reserves, currently holding the rank of Captain. (He does not speak for the US Marine Corps.) For the Marines, he has served, among other places: in the Hit-Haditha Euphrates corridor as an embedded Military Transition Team advisor to the Iraqi Army; in Ramadi, Iraq, as a Civil Affairs Officer; in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and at the Pentagon as an analyst for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Jonathan graduated from Cornell University and earned two Master's degrees; in Teaching from the University of New Hampshire, and in International Policy Studies from Stanford University.

Blog Entries by Jonathan Morgenstein

Eight Weeks of America's War, Not Eight Years of "Obama's War"

2 Comments | Posted September 9, 2009 | 03:30 PM (EST)


Many of those advocating drawing down from Afghanistan argue that we have been fighting in Afghanistan for eight years, and if we haven't won the war by now, we never will. The reality is that the White House has only really dedicated the effort to win for just over eight...

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Not Building the Afghan State, Protecting the United States

2 Comments | Posted August 20, 2009 | 12:43 PM (EST)


President Hamid Karzai is the favorite in this Thursday's Afghan elections, but his reelection is no sure thing. It is quite possible that Karzai's main challenger, the former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, will force a run-off and even pull off an upset victory. No matter who wins, the imperative of...

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An Endstate Strategy in Afghanistan, Not Exit Strategy

2 Comments | Posted July 14, 2009 | 06:30 PM (EST)


On June 25th, 131 Democrats, and 7 Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to require the Obama administration provide Congress "a report outlining the United States exit strategy for United States military forces in Afghanistan." It is entirely appropriate that many members want to ensure the new administration has...

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Korea's Missiles, Obama's Maneuvers and Neocons' Mad-libs

23 Comments | Posted July 3, 2009 | 10:53 AM (EST)


On Saturday, while the rest of the country is celebrating the 4th of July, the President's national security team will be camped out in the White House situation room. President Obama and his team will be monitoring a North Korean missile test, launched in the direction of Hawaii. We...

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