Lawrence Korb Lawrence J . Korb ( born July 9 , 1939 , in New York City ) , is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and a Senior Adviser to the Center for Defense Information . He was formerly Director of National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York . Education and Naval Service . Lawrence Korb attended the Athenaeum of Ohio , where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1961 . Going on to St . John ' s University , he obtained his Master ' s Degree in 1962 , before joining the U . S . Navy in 1962 . Korb served on active duty for four years as a Naval Flight Officer , and retired from the Naval Reserve with the rank of Captain . On completing his active duty , Korb returned to graduate school , where he received his PhD at the State University of New York Albany in 1969 . Korb served as Associate Professor of Government at the U . S . Coast Guard Academy 1971 - 1975 and later Professor of Management at the Naval War College in 1975 - 1980 . Government career . Korb served as advisor to the Reagan - Bush election committee in 1980 and was then appointed Assistant Secretary of Defense ( Manpower , Reserve Affairs , Installations and Logistics ) from 1981 to 1985 . In that position , he administered about seventy percent of the Defense budget . For his service he was awarded the Department of Defense ’ s medal for Distinguished Public Service . Career in Academic Administration , on Boards , and in Advisory Work . Korb was a Senior Fellow and Director of National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations . From July 1998 to October 2002 , he was Council Vice President , Director of Studies , and holder of the Maurice Greenberg Chair . Prior to joining the Council , Korb served as Director of the Center for Public Policy Education and Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at the Brookings Institution , Dean of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh , and Vice President of Corporate Operations at the Raytheon Company . In 2005 Korb , Robert O . Boorstin , and the National Security Staff of the Center for American Progress published a position paper called " Integrated Power : A National Security Strategy for the 21st Century " . In it they criticized President George W . Bush for invading Iraq and for devoting inadequate resources to the fight against Islamic fundamentalism . The authors also detailed plans to increase the manpower of the United States Army , to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction , to spread liberal democratic values throughout the Middle East , and to reduce American dependence on foreign oil . Korb is also a member of the Honorary Board of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network , an organization dedicated to ending discrimination against gay and lesbian people serving in the U . S . military , and to repealing the " Don ' t ask , don ' t tell " policy . Korb also serves on Military Advisor Committee for Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities , whose aim is to redirect 15 % of the military ' s budget to social programs like education , healthcare , job training , humanitarian relief , renewable energies and reducing the deficit . Published works . Korb ’ s twenty books on national security issues include : Lawrence Korb ' s more than 100 articles have appeared in such journals as " Foreign Affairs " , " Public Administration Review " , the " New York Times Sunday Magazine " , " Naval Institute Proceedings " , and " International Security " . His more than 100 " op - ed " pieces have appeared in such major newspapers as the " Washington Post " , " New York Times " , " Wall Street Journal " , " Washington Times " , " Los Angeles Times " , " Boston Globe " , " Baltimore Sun " , " Philadelphia Inquirer " , and " Christian Science Monitor " . Television Commentator . Over the past decade , Korb has made over 1 , 000 appearances as a commentator on such shows as " Countdown with Keith Olbermann " , " The Today Show " , " The Early Show " , " Good Morning America " , " Face the Nation " , " This Week with David Brinkley " , the " MacNeil - Lehrer News Hour " , " News Hour with Jim Lehrer " , " Nightline " , " 60 Minutes " , Frontline , " Larry King Live " , the " O ’ Reilly Factor " , and " Crossfire " .