Douglas Feith
A key architect of post-9/11 U.S. defense policy, his advocacy for preemptive action shaped the Iraq War and ignited lasting debate.
Born 1953 (age 73)·American political official·Birthday: July 16·Baby Boomers
Biography
Douglas Feith, a lawyer with a sharp intellect and firm convictions, navigated the upper echelons of Washington's defense establishment. His career, rooted in conservative think tanks and Reagan-era Pentagon roles, culminated in his appointment as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy just before the September 11 attacks. In that crucible, Feith became a central figure in formulating the Bush administration's response, championing the doctrine of preemption and establishing a controversial intelligence unit that bypassed traditional agencies to find links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda. His office's work provided much of the foundational argument for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. After leaving government in 2005, he remained a vocal defender of his decisions, teaching and writing while the wars he helped engineer continued to define American foreign policy for a generation.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Douglas was born in 1953, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Douglas Was Born
The biggest hits of 1953
#1 Movie
Peter Pan
Best Picture
From Here to Eternity
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Douglas's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1953Born
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1958Started school
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1966Became a teenager
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1969Could drive
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1971Could vote
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1974Turned 21
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1983Turned 30
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1993Turned 40
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 50
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 60
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2023Turned 70
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
2026Age 73 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, the Pentagon's third-ranking civilian, during the critical period from 2001 to 2005.
- Founded and oversaw the Policy Counterterrorism Evaluation Group, a Pentagon unit that produced controversial intelligence assessments on Iraq.
- Was a principal drafter of the Bush administration's key post-9/11 policy documents, including those outlining the strategy of preemptive action.
- Authored 'War and Decision,' a detailed memoir defending the internal deliberations and choices leading to the Iraq War.
Did You Know?
His father, Dalck Feith, was a Holocaust survivor who built a successful business in Philadelphia.
Feith is fluent in French and studied at the Sorbonne in Paris.
He began his government career as a Middle East specialist on the National Security Council staff under President Ronald Reagan.
“Weakness is provocative, and we must not project it.”
