Paul Hughes

Paul Hughes is the executive director of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States, having previously served as the director of Iraq programs in the Center for Post-Conflict Peace and Stability Operations. Prior to joining the Institute, he served as an active duty U.S. Army colonel and as the Army’s senior military fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, of the National Defense University. As the director of national security policy on the Army staff, he developed and provided policy guidance for the Army in numerous areas, such as arms control, weapons of mass destruction, missile defense, information operations, emerging nontraditional security issues and crisis prediction.

From January to August 2003, Hughes served as the chief of the Special Initiatives Office for the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance and as the director of the Strategic Policy Office for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. During that time he developed several policy initiatives, such as the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of the Iraqi military. From 1996 to 2000, he served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) as deputy director of the Office for Humanitarian Assistance and Anti-Personnel Landmine Policy, where he led the OSD response to Hurricane Mitch, the Turkish earthquakes and the Mozambique floods. His awards include two Defense Superior Service Medals, three Bronze Star Medals, four Meritorious Service Medals, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, four Army Commendation Medals and several campaign and service ribbons.

Hughes holds a B.A. in sociology from Colorado State University and two master’s of military arts and sciences degrees.

Publications

• Defeating the Insurgency in Iraq
  USIPeace Briefing (May 2005)

Available on usip.org

• A Third Way: Alternatives for Iraq?s Future
  Congressional Testimony, July 25, 2007
• Iraq: Beyond the Surge
  Congressional Testimony, January 26, 2007