Mara Rudman discusses her contributions to the foreign policy of the Obama administration, in which she served as deputy assistant to the president and executive secretary of the National Security Council (NSC) in 2009, deputy special envoy for Middle East peace at the Department of State from 2009 to 2011, and assistant administrator for the Middle East at the U.S. Agency for International Develop ment (USAID) in 2011. Rudman recounts her role in the Obama transition project, and outlines the administration's review of the bureaucratic organization of the executive branch's homeland security and national security staffs. She speaks widely about the administration's approach to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and considers issues and initiatives with which she was closely involved, including the coordination of interagency activities; the proceedings of Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meetings; the merits and limitations of the administration's appointment of special envoys for specific policy assignments; controversies surrounding Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank; and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's investment in the development of Palestinian state institutions. Rudman also describes her role at USAID, providing details about the vetting and Senate confirmation process, notable regional issues, and the impact of the Arab Spring on agency activities. Also discussed are the prospects for the peace process during the Obama years; George Mitchell's approach to his service as special envoy; Rudman's management of congressional relations; and Obama's June 2009 speech to the Muslim world in Cairo
Presidents--United States; Arab-Israeli conflict--Peace; Arab Spring, 2010-; Rudman, Mara; Obama, Barack; National Security Council (U.S.); United States. Department of State; United States. Agency for International Development
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2021
Physical Description
49 pages
Note (Biographical)
Mara Rudman is an American public servant, lawyer, and foreign policy expert. In the Obama administration, she served as deputy assistant to the president and executive secretary of the National Security Council (NSC) in 2009, deputy special envoy for Middle East peace at the Department of State from 2009 to 2011, and assistant administrator for the Middle East at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2011. She also served in a variety of roles in the the Clinton administration, including deputy assistant to the president. At the time of the interview, Rudman was executive vice president for policy at the Center for American Progress and faculty fellow at Georgetown University
Note
Interviewed by Nicole R. Hemmer on May 7, 2021. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Mara E. Rudman, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023