U.S. Policy in Afghanistan: A Conversation with Amb. Daniel Feldman (A’90, EPIIC’88)

Ambassador Feldman previously served as deputy and then Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (SRAP) at the U.S. Department of State, where he was accorded the personal rank of Ambassador by President Obama. He was a principal advisor to Secretaries of State John Kerry and Hillary Rodham Clinton regarding Afghanistan, Pakistan, and broader South, Central, and East Asian issues. In over six years at the State Department spearheading the Afghanistan and Pakistan portfolio, he oversaw all economic development initiatives, international engagement, strategic communications, Congressional outreach, and external stakeholder efforts. He frequently testified before Senate and House Committees, briefed Members and staff, engaged with dozens of Foreign and Finance Ministries in launching the International Contact Group, and served as principal interlocutor with international and regional media outlets, NGOs, and think-tanks.

His distinguished government career also includes serving as Director of Multilateral and Humanitarian Affairs at the National Security Council in the Clinton Administration and as counsel and communications adviser to the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He also was senior foreign policy and national security advisor to the Hillary Clinton, Obama, Kerry, and Gore presidential campaigns, as well as a senior campaign advisor to Sen. Mark Warner. Ambassador Feldman has been awarded a White House Fellowship and a Henry Luce Scholarship, and served as a clerk on both the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the South African Supreme (Constitutional) Court.