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Colonel Robert Killebrew, USA (Ret.)

Robert Killebrew

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Related Topics: Iraq, Terrorism, Irregular Warfare and Crime, WMD and Nuclear Proliferation
Non-Resident Senior Fellow

Colonel (USA ret) Bob Killebrew writes and consults on national defense issues as a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security.  Prior to his retirement from active duty he served for thirty years in a variety of Special Forces, infantry and staff duties.  His assignments ranged included duty in Vietnam with MACVSOG, the Vietnamese Airborne Division, command in mechanized, air assault and airborne units, and staff positions in the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force, as director of plans, XVIII Airborne Corps, special assistant to the Chief of Staff of the Army, command of a deployed joint task force and as an instructor in strategy and policy at the Army War College.

Since retirement, Bob has served as a consultant to a variety of Defense Department and defense-related organizations, including the Department of Defense, US Army and Air Force, the Defense Research Projects Agency, US Joint Forces Command, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment, the Project for a New American Century, Toffler Associates and as a consultant for a number of defense industries and public television.  In 1999 he was appointed to the staff of the Hart-Rudman Commission on American defense needs for the 21st Century.  In addition to consulting on strategic and operational matters, Bob as also directed or written a number of defense-related studies, including the State/DoD Study The Country Team in American Strategy and The Left-Hand Side of the Spectrum for the Center for a New American Security.  Most recent writings include The Crossover of Urban Gang Warfare and Terrorism (National Strategy Forum, Fall 2008) and Terror at the Border for Armed Forces Journal, December, 2008.  With Jennifer Bernal he authored the CNAS study Crime Wars; Gangs, Cartels and U.S. National Security, published in 2010.  He is currently working with Matthew Irvine on U.S. – Colombian security policy.

Bob is a graduate of The Citadel and holds masters' degrees in history and international relations.  While on active duty, he served as American Defense Fellow at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario.  He is the author of a book on the relationship of nuclear and non-nuclear warfare, and has provided expert witness testimony before Congressional committees and other governmental agencies.  He has also served as a paid consultant to National Public Radio and advises and comments on national security issues for other public media.  He and his first trophy wife, Pixie, live in Newport News, Virginia. 

Related Content

  • The New Threat: Transnational Crime
    Type: News Item
    Source: Foreign Policy Research Institute

    April 29, 2011 — Transnational crime "has become a significant factor in geopolitics and a threat to the future of civil government worldwide," argues COL Bob Killebrew, USA (Ret.) in a recent journal article.

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  • CNAS Policy Brief: Growing Western Hemisphere Violence Demands Regional Response
    Type: Press Release

    Washington, D.C., March 21, 2011 — The most dangerous threat to the United States and its allies in the Western Hemisphere is the growth of powerful transnational criminal organizations in Mexico and Central America, according to the authors of a new policy brief released today by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).

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  • CNAS Report: U.S. and Mexico Should Embrace Regional Cooperation to Combat Drug Cartels
    Type: Press Release

    Washington, D.C., March 4, 2011 — As Presidents Obama and Calderón continue to discuss the United States and Mexico's efforts to combat growing drug-related violence, the leaders should look to embrace regional cooperation to combat the cartels, according to a recent report authored by Center for a New American Security (CNAS) Non-Resident Senior Fellow Bob Killebrew. 
     

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  • At Risk in Egypt's Turmoil: U.S. Military Access to the Middle East
    Type: News Item
    Source: Politics Daily

    February 5, 2011 — "My guess is that friendly relations between the [U.S. and Egyptian] services will continue,'' comments CNAS Senior Fellow Robert Killebrew in an article about the future of the U.S.-Egypt military alliance.

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  • Central And South America Are A Toxic Brew
    Type: News Item
    Source: Aviation Weekly

    January 18, 2011 — CNAS Senior Fellow Colonel Robert Killebrew, USA (Ret.), comments on the role the United States should play to fight the drug trade in Central and South America.

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  • Mexico, Call in the Marines
    Type: News Item
    Source: The Washington Post

    November 29, 2010 — The CNAS report Crime Wars, written by CNAS Senior Fellow Robert Killebrew and Researcher Jennifer Bernal, is featured in a Washington Post op-ed calling for greater military cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico in the fight against drug cartels.

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  • Goodbye, JFCOM
    Type: News Item
    Source: Armed Forces Journal

    November 16, 2010 — CNAS Senior Fellow Robert Killebrew writes in the Armed Forces Journal about the decision to close down Joint Forces Command and what needs to be preserved after its absence.

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  • Crime Wars: Gangs, Cartels and U.S. National Security
    CNAS Releases New Report - Crime Wars: Gangs, Cartels and U.S. National Security
    Type: Press Release

    Washington, D.C., September 28, 2010 — Washington, D.C., September 28, 2010 - As illustrated by the unprecedented violence in Mexico, drug trafficking groups have evolved to not only pose significant challenges to that country, but to governments and societies across the Western Hemisphere, including the United States.

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  • Mexican Politicians Resist Comparisons to Colombia
    Type: News Item
    Source: The Washington Independent

    September 9, 2010 — The Washington Independent quoted CNAS Senior Fellow Bob Killebrew in response to the recent controversy over Secretary Clinton comparing Mexican drug cartels to an insurgency and suggesting similar tactics to fighting the cartels as were employed in Colombia.

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  • Drug Cartels Carry Millions Over Border, Despite Increased Enforcement
    Type: News Item
    Source: The Washington Independent

    August 26, 2010 — August 26, 2010 - CNAS Senior Fellow Bob Killebrew comments to The Washington Independent about the issue of massive cash flow from drug trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border.

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  • Terrorism, Irregular Warfare and Crime
    Terrorism, Irregular Warfare and Crime

    This project examines the nexus of terrorism, irregular warfare and crime.  

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  • mexico, drugs, drug war
    Transnational Crime

    The close relationship between crime and terrorist activities is well-documented. Criminal ventures have long financed organized violence against nation states. As globalization facilitates the increased flow of people, capital, and information, we see a concomitant increase in these activities across the world. 

    This project examines the nexus of terrorism, irregular warfare and crime, and has included work on the implications of drug cartels, crime and gangs in Mexico and South America for U.S. national security, counter-threat finance, and other types of irregular warfare. The project is led by COL Robert Killebrew, USA (Ret.).

    CNAS research on transnational crime includes the 2010 report Crime Wars: Gangs, Cartels and U.S. National Security. In the report, authors COL Robert Killebrew, USA (Ret.) and Jennifer Bernal survey organized crime throughout the Western Hemisphere, analyze the challenges it poses for the region and recommend the United States replace the "war on drugs" paradigm with comprehensive domestic and foreign policies to confront the interrelated challenges of drug trafficking and violence ranging from the Andean Ridge to American streets.

    In 2011, CNAS released the policy brief Security Through Partnership: Fighting Transnational Cartels in the Western Hemisphere, written by Killebrew and Matthew Irvine. According to the authors, increased regional cooperation – which has been a topic of President Obama’s Latin America tour – is needed to combat the growing violence and instability in the Western Hemisphere.

    CNAS continues to research the growing crime-terror-insurgency nexus and the threat posed by transnational crime in the Western Hemisphere. 

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  • america, united states
    Twenty First Century Strategic Environment

    CNAS studies the ever changing global security environment and its implications for the United States.  Key topics of interest include the rapidly evolving challenges of cyber security and cyber warfare; the future of strategic competition in the global commons; national security implications of changes to the world economy; the nexus between transnational crime and national security; and “natural security,” the geo-strategic and policy implications of rising global consumption of resources including energy, minerals, water, and climate change.

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  • Should We Get Militarily Involved in the Libyan Conflict?
    Date: 03/08/2011
    Media: Audio

    CNAS Senior Fellow Colonel Robert Killebrew, USA (Ret.) contributes to the debate over establishment of a no-fly zone in Libya on Southern Californa Public Radio's AirTalk.

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  • CNAS Hosts Discussion on Drug Cartels and U.S. National Security
    Date: 10/05/2010
    Media: Video

    October 5, 2010 - In the midst of a drug war in Mexico that has claimed and estimated 28,000 lives, CNAS launched Crime Wars: Gangs, Cartels, and U.S. National Security, a comprehensive report on the threat posed by organized crime to the entire Western Hemisphere. Moderated by Senior CNAS Fellow Tom Ricks, a diverse panel of experts discussed the domestic and foreign policies the U.S. should enact to mitigate the threat of drug-related crime and violence.

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