Profile | W. Robert Pearson

Mavi Boncuk |

Ambassador Pearson is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and of the University of Virginia School of Law. As Director General of the US Foreign Service from 2003 to 2006, Bob introduced critical changes in America’s diplomacy, twice earning national awards for innovation and management improvement and preparing the United States for the challenges of the 21st Century. He served as Ambassador to Turkey from 2000 to 2003 during a critical period and was previously posted in Paris, Brussels, Beijing, Taipei and Auckland, New Zealand, in addition to other senior positions at the Department of State. From 2006 to 2008, he headed the international business division of The Spectrum Group in Alexandria, Virginia.

Bob joined IREX ( Email: rpearson@irex.org ) as the fourth president in 2008, as the organization was broadening its programs and becoming an organization with global reach.

He speaks French, Turkish, and Chinese (mandarin) and brings a wide and deep understanding of the domestic and international foreign affairs scene.

Email: rpearson@irex.org

The triple threat of a divided Iraq | September 24, 2006|W. Robert Pearson | W. ROBERT PEARSON
PROMINENT EXPERTS have begun to argue that dividing Iraq into three parts -- Sunni, Shiite and Kurd -- is more viable than trying to build a single, central Iraqi state. They reason that the only solution to sectarian violence is for Sunnis and Shiites to live apart. The Kurds, they argue, have demonstrated their ability to live autonomously since 1990. Nothing else has worked, so why not let the pieces fall where they may? But this is not a plan; it is a destabilizing default strategy.

Thoughtful observers, such as Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) and Leslie Gelb, former president of the Council on Foreign Relations, have argued for a federated Iraqi with near-statehood status for the three regions and an agreement on dividing the oil money. If such a deal could be struck, and if the breakup could be halted there, Iraq might see greater stability. But the more likely outcome is a loose federation plagued by conflict, with one or more parties trying to win full independence. Confederation could prove a Pandora's box for the U.S. and the region.