Walid Phares Biography
Walid Phares is a Lebanese American political scientist, advisor, and author. He worked for the Republican presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney in 2012 and Donald Trump in 2016.
He has as well served as a commentator on terrorism and the Middle East for Fox News since 2007, and for NBC from 2003 to 2006. A Maronite Christian, he has gained notoriety for his association with Lebanese Christian militias in the 1980s during the Lebanese Civil War, and also for his anti-Islam views.
Phares holds undergraduate degrees in law, political science, and sociology from Saint Joseph University and the Lebanese University in Beirut. Following his undergraduate studies, Walid practiced law in Beirut for a period of time, then went on to obtain a master’s degree in international law from the Jean Moulin University Law school in France. He then earned a Ph.D. in international relations and strategic studies from the University of Miami.
Walid taught at the Department of International Relations at Florida International University (FIU) in 1992. From 1993 to 1994, he was a visiting professor of comparative politics at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Palm Beach County. In 1995, he was then hired as a full-time professor of Middle East studies and international relations in the Department of Political Science at FAU. While at FAU, he sponsored the student organization Haiti Watch. In 2008, Phares became the Coordinator of the Trans-Atlantic Parliamentary Group on Counter Jihadi-Terrorism.
Since 2008, Phares has lectured at the National Intelligence University in Washington DC, at the Center for Counterintelligence and Security Studies (CI Center) in Virginia, and also at the Daniel Morgan Academy, a Graduate School of National Security in Washington DC. Walid teaches at BAU International University in Washington, D.C. He also serves as a university provost and as Director of Graduate Studies at the university.
His resume says that he “taught Global Strategies at the National Defense University in Washington DC since 2006”. A spokesperson for the National Defense University noted that Phares was employed as an “expert/consultant” from April 2011 to April 2012.
Walid Phares Age
Walid Phares was born on December 24, 1957, in Batroun, Lebanon. He is 60 years as of 2018. He is a Christian-Maronite, Lebanese and American citizen. Walid emigrated to the United States in 1990.
Walid Phares Family
Walid was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon and emigrated to the U.S. in 1990. Phares speaks Arabic, French, and English fluently.
Walid Phares Wife | Is Walid Phares Married?
Phares keeps his personal life very private, he has not yet revealed about his family.
Walid Phares Fox News
Phares joined Fox News in January 2007 and serves as National Security and Foreign Affairs expert as of 2017. He was previously Fox News’ Terrorism and Middle East analyst.
Walid Phares Trump
Walid worked as an advisor to presidential candidate Donald Trump; he was paid $13,000 per month by the campaign. Donald’s choice of Phares renewed scrutiny and speculations about Phares’ past alleged role as an ideologue to Lebanese Christian fighters during the Lebanese Civil War and his perceived far-right views as an academic and also analyst of the Middle East region. Walid supporters argued that Phares had presciently discerned the threat of jihadist ideology and that he was also eminently qualified for a senior post, and pointed to his strong pro-Israel track record.
Walid Phares Political activism
Phares adhered to a small Lebanese political party of the center-left, the “Social Democratic Christian Union” – Union Sociale Démocratique Chrétienne (USDC) in 1984. He has served as secretary-general of the World Maronite Union, and secretary-general of the World Lebanese Cultural Union.
He has testified before committees of the U.S. State, Justice, Defense and Homeland Security and the United States Congress. Phares briefed and testified to international bodies like the European Parliament and the United Nations Security Council on matters related to international security and the Middle East conflict. Walid serves as an adviser to the Anti-Terrorism Caucus since 2007 in the U.S. House of Representatives.
He is also a co-secretary general of the Transatlantic Legislative Group on Counter-Terrorism, a Euro-American Caucus, since 2009. Phares has served on the Advisory Board of the Task Force on Future Terrorism of the Department of Homeland Security in 2006-2007 as well as on the Advisory Taskforce on Nuclear Terrorism in 2007. He lectures at defense and national security institutions and also serves as a consultant on international affairs in the private sector.
Walid Phares Advisor to Mitt Romney
He was appointed as a foreign policy adviser to Mitt Romney for his 2012 presidential campaign. Phares appointment was met with criticism from the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR). It described him as “an associate to war crimes” (due to his ties to the Lebanese Forces) and a “conspiracy theorist”.
His appointment also provoked negative reactions from Islamic studies academics Ebrahim Moosa and Omid Safi. However, both scholars were described as militant Islamists by several pieces, including “Walid Phares vs the Middle East Studies” and the Center for a New American Security’s Andrew Exum, who said that Phares was “widely viewed as an extremist”.
Walid Phares Controversy
He has drawn controversy over his association with Lebanese militant groups in the 1980s during the Lebanese Civil War. According to the Washington Post, he “was a political adviser to Lebanese militants during their war against Muslim factions during the 1980s”. He has said that he was only involved with the militants in a political capacity and that he has not been directly implicated in any acts of violence.
Walid Phares Iran
Walid has asserted that the Barack Obama administration supported the Muslim Brotherhood. In October 2016, he asserted that “the triangle Clintonmachine-Iranregime-MuslimBrotherhood has unleashed a coordinated propaganda offensive” against Donald Trump.
Walid Phares Israel
Walid has said that “(Israel’s) only rational and historical choice is to link up once more with the Christian community of Lebanon. It may represent a choice which may not be appreciated among many Israelis, for various reasons. It remains one which cannot be avoided… Christians of Lebanon are the only potential ally against the advance of the northern Arabo-Islamic threat against Israel.
Walid Phares Net Worth
The American scholar has an estimated net worth of $4 million.
Walid Phares Books
| Year | Book | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Pluralism in Lebanon | Holy Spirit University of Kaslik |
| 1980 | The Lebanese Thought and the Thesis of Arabization | Dar el-Sharq Press |
| 1981 | Democratic Dialogue | Manshurat el-Tagammoh |
| 1985 | Thirteen Centuries of Struggle | Mashreq Editions (Beirut) |
| 1986 | The Iranian Islamic Revolution | Dar el-Sharq Press |
| 1995 | Lebanese Christian Nationalism: The Rise and Fall of an Ethnic Resistance | L. Rienner Publishers |
| 1998, 2001 | History of the Middle East: Trends and Benchmarks | IRP University of Miami Press |
| 2005 | Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies Against America | Palgrave Macmillan |
| 2007 | The War of Ideas: Jihadism against Democracy | Palgrave Macmillan |
| 2008 | The Confrontation: Winning the War against Future Jihad | Palgrave Macmillan |
| 2010 | The Coming Revolution: Struggle for Freedom in the Middle East | Simon & Schuster |
| 2014 | The Lost Spring. U.S. Policy in the Middle East and Catastrophes to Avoid | Palgrave Macmillan |
Walid Phares Email
Phares@cmep.com
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