William F. Wechsler has joined the Middle East Institute as a senior fellow on national security and counterterrorism. Wechsler previously served at the U.S. Department of Defense as deputy assistant secretary for special operations and combating terrorism, and before that as deputy assistant secretary for counternarcotics and global threats. More recently he was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, where his work focused on counterterrorism and U.S. national security policy in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa.
Mr. Wechsler served as special advisor to the secretary of the Treasury during the Clinton administration, during which time he helped establish the legal and policy framework for imposing foreign sanctions and combating money laundering. Prior to that, he was director for transnational threats on the staff of the National Security Council at the White House and special assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon.
“Will brings years of knowledge and counterterrorism policy experience to the MEI at a critical time for U.S. security interests in the region,” said Wendy Chamberlin, president of the Middle East Institute.
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