Eric S . Edelman Eric Steven Edelman ( born 1951 ) is a former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy , former U . S . Ambassador to Turkey ( 2003 – 2005 ) , former U . S . Ambassador to the Republic of Finland ( 1998 – 2001 ) , and former Principal Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs ( 2001 – 2003 ) . A career Foreign Service Officer , Edelman entered the Senior Foreign Service in 1992 . He is a recipient of the Secretary of Defense ’ s award for Distinguished Civilian Service ( 1993 ) and the State Department ’ s Superior Honor Award ( 1990 and 1996 ) . He retired from the U . S . Foreign Service in May 2009 and is a visiting scholar at the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies at the Paul H . Nitze School of Advanced International Studies ( SAIS ) , and Distinguished Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments . He was also an advisor for the 2012 Mitt Romney presidential campaign . Education . Edelman received a B . A . in history and government from Cornell University in 1972 , and a Ph . D . in U . S . diplomatic history from Yale University in 1981 . U . S . government service . His diplomatic career began in 1980 when he was a member of the U . S . Middle East Delegation to the West Bank / Gaza Autonomy Talks Delegations ( 1980 – 1981 ) . He was later a Watch Officer in the State Department Operations Center ( 1981 – 1982 ) and a Staff Officer on the Secretariat Staff ( 1982 ) . From 1982 to 1984 he acted as Special Assistant to Secretary of State George P . Shultz . Then , from 1984 to 1986 , he served as Director of Soviet Policies at the Office of Soviet Affairs at the Department of State . From 1987 to 1989 , he was Head of the External Political Section at the U . S . Embassy in Moscow . This was followed by an appointtment as Special Assistant to the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs ( April 1989 - April 1990 ) . In April 1990 Edelman became the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Soviet and East European Affairs . He held this position until April 1993 , at which point he became Deputy to the Ambassador - at - Large and Special Advisor to the Secretary of State on the New Independent States ( April 1993 - July 1993 ) . He moved to the Czech Republic in June 1994 where he took on the role of Deputy Chief of Mission at the U . S . Embassy in Prague . He held this position until June 1996 , at which time he became Executive Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of State ( June 1996 - July 1998 ) . His first ambassadorial appointment came in 1998 when he was made Ambassador to the Republic of Finland . This three - year position ( 1998 – 2001 ) was followed by his appointment as Principal Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs ( February 2001 - July 2003 ) — in which he became a member of Dick Cheney ' s staff working under Scooter Libby . His second term as ambassador was from July 2003 to June 2005 as Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey . Edelman took on this role after the second Iraq invasion , during which anti - American tensions within Turkey were high . He was next appointed to the position of Undersecretary of Defense for Policy on August 9 , 2005 , via recess appointment by George W . Bush , after his nomination was stalled in the Senate . Edelman replaced Douglas Feith , who had resigned . The appointment since his confirmation by the senate would have been impossible to achieve , set to expire in January 2007 when a new Congress convened , was confirmed by the Senate on February 9 , 2006 . Criticism of Senator Hillary Clinton . In July 2007 , Edelman attracted media attention for criticizing Senator Hillary Clinton , a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee . In a private letter to Senator Clinton in response to a request made to the Pentagon in May 2007 for an outline plans for withdrawing troops from combat in Iraq , Edelman rebuffed her request and wrote : " Premature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U . S . forces from Iraq reinforces enemy propaganda that the United States will abandon its allies in Iraq , much as we are perceived to have done in Vietnam , Lebanon and Somalia . " The Associated Press described his criticisms as " stinging " . According to the " Associated Press " , Edelman ' s comments were : “ unusual , particularly because it was directed at a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee ” . The " Associated Press " pointed out that fellow committee member Republican Senator Richard Lugar had also called for discussions of withdrawing U . S . troops from Iraq , but had escaped Edelman ' s criticism . Clinton has said she is " shocked by the timeworn tactic of once again impugning the patriotism of any of us who raise serious questions about the Iraq war " . In a letter to Secretary of Defense Gates , Senator Clinton reiterated her request for plans on troop redeployment and protested Edelman ' s criticism and asked if Edelman ' s letter accuratedly reflected Gates ' views as Secretary of Defense . In reference to Clinton ' s comments , Secretary of Defense Gates has said " I believe that congressional debate on Iraq has been constructive and appropriate . "