Richard Baffa

Richard Baffa is the Deputy Director/Director of Analysis at Circinus-UAE, a defense company providing open source analysis in the UAE to multiple organizations. Prior to this, Mr. Baffa was a Senior International/Defense Policy Researcher at RAND focusing on national security, intelligence, military issues, the Middle East, Russia/Eurasia, and Europe/NATO. He came to RAND from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), where he served in a number of senior analytic and management positions over a 34-year career. His most recent position was as the Chief Analyst at the Army’s National Ground Intelligence Center. Previously, he served as the Senior Analyst at the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and as DIA’s senior Iran expert. He also served as the Senior Intelligence Officer for DIA’s Middle East/North Africa Office and Director of the Iraq Office. Following seven years active duty as a Naval Intelligence Officer, Mr. Baffa joined the Navy Reserves and retired at the rank of captain in December 2009 with more than 26 years of service. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Villanova University and a Master of International Public Policy degree from Johns Hopkins University, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He is a Distinguished Graduate of the National War College where he received an M.S. in National Security Strategy. In May 2015, he completed a seven-month Fellowship at Cambridge University where he authored two papers examining developments in Iran during the World War I time frame. Mr. Baffa was selected as a Defense Intelligence Senior Level Executive in 2008 and received the Presidential Award for his service at EUCOM in 2015.