Think Tankers Advise Obama Before ISIS Speech

Major think tank leaders and scholars have been quietly advising President Barack Obama on Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), and those foreign policy experts have helped shaped the tone for his major speech on ISIS tonight.  Among those that President Obama hosted for a White House dinner on Monday include:

• Richard Haass, President of Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
• Stephen Hadley, Chairman of the Board of Directors at US Institute of Peace (USIP)
• Zbigniew Brzezinski, Counselor and Trustee at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
• Tom Donilon, Distinguished fellow at CFR
• Michele Flournoy, Co-Founder and CEO of Center for a New American Security (CNAS)
• Strobe Talbott, President of the Brookings Institution
• Jane Harman, Director/President/CEO of the Wilson Center

Major think tankers often advise top-level government officials, including the President of the United States.  And various think tankers have the ear of the President.  One example is Center for American Progress (CAP) founder John Podesta, who is now Counselor to President Obama. 

Here is a list that Think Tank Watch compiled of what experts at some major think tanks are saying about Islamic State/ISIS/ISIL.