" I now feel the compelling need for sustained time to reflect and write about America ’ s role in the world in this difficult and dangerous period .” In September 2010, Blackwill rejoined the Council on Foreign Relations as the Henry Kissinger Senior Fellow.

" We have to remember that the U. S. doesn ’ t have very much capability to affect internal developments " in Pakistan, said Robert Blackwill.

In November 2004, Blackwill joined the lobbying firm Barbour Griffith & Rogers ( BGR ).

On January 5, 2005, the Telegraph of India reported that Blackwill was traveling to India on a trip linked to India's $ 600, 000-a-year contract with the Washington lobbying firm, Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld that had expired in April, 2004.

" Allawi disclosed that Blackwill — whom he described as a " dear friend " — had raised the idea that the former Iraqi prime minister hire his firm.

On April 19, 2008 the Times of India reported that Blackwill is leaving the lobbying firm of Barbour Griffiths Rogers International to go to work as a senior fellow at Rand Corporation, one of the United States ' premier think tanks.

Rice had previously worked for Blackwill during the first Bush administration when they dealt with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Soviet empire.

Blackwill had never been to India prior to his appointment as ambassador but he sought the assignment because of President Bush's designation of India as a " rising great power of the 21st century.

Blackwill had a very high-profile tenure as ambassador to India and displayed a strong appreciation for Indian civilization.

Blackwill and Bremer had worked together in the State Department in 1974 and shared a conservative view of the world.

Blackwill had been mentioned as a possible successor to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice in Bush's second term but Blackwill told associates that he had spent six years working for Bush — two years as a foreign policy adviser to his first presidential campaign, two years as ambassador to India and two years at the White House — and that the presidential election seemed like a natural end to this cycle in his life.

On November 12, 2004, Glenn Kessler and Al Kamen reported in the Washington Post that Condoleezza Rice had interviewed Blackwill and taken action to ensure that Blackwill dealt with his colleagues and subordinates appropriately after reports in September 2004 that Blackwill appeared to have verbally abused and physically hurt a female embassy staffer during a visit to Kuwait.

On March 23, 2005, the Deccan Herald reported that Blackwill had spoken to the Confederation of Indian Industry in Bangalore saying that the US should enter into a long-term program of space co-operation with India and lift restrictions on the assistance given to civilian nuclear industry and hi-tech trade.

On October 29, 2007, the New York Times disclosed that lobbying disclosure reports at the Justice Department show that Mr. Blackwill helped bring more than $ 11 million in fees from foreign clients since late 2005.

On December 27, 2007 the Daily Times of Pakistan published a story saying that Blackwill is on the payroll of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman providing lobbying services for them for large defense contracts from the Indian government.

On August 28, 2007, Newsweek reported that Blackwill is handling the $ 300, 000 lobbying contract at Barbour Griffith & Rogers International to destabilize Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and replace him with the firm's new client, Ayad Allawi.

While in the Peace Corps Blackwill served with writer Paul Theroux who Blackwill later described as " the glorious American writer who was my friend in the Peace Corps in Africa more than thirty years ago.

" In an interview with Rediff News on June 27, 2006 Blackwill was asked if he was still in contact with Theroux and replied " Not recently.

While serving as special assistant Blackwill worked closely with Paul Bremer, then chief aide to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Blackwill and Bremer forged a close relationship mediating policy differences between their bosses.

After returning from a two year sabbatical at Harvard University, on March 29, 1985, President Ronald Reagan nominated Blackwill to Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be the chief negotiator of the United States of America with the Warsaw Pact for the Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions talks.

Blackwill served in this position with the rank of Ambassador.

Blackwill, a Republican, along with Condoleezza Rice, was part of a group of foreign policy experts who advised Bush during his Presidential campaign in 2000 and Blackwill was rewarded after the election with the ambassadorship to India.

American military forces also conducted six major joint training exercises with India while Blackwill was ambassador.

After Blackwill ordered the evacuation of embassy staff members, an event that was seen as a pressure tactic and partly credited for drawing India back from war, Blackwill encouraged India to resume dialogue with Pakistan.

" Others thought that Blackwill damaged US relations with Pakistan.

" Ambassador Blackwill has served the country with great distinction, including in tense and dangerous situations in Iraq ," the NSC spokesman said.

On April 20, 2008 the Times of India reported that Blackwill said that the next US President may not push the nuclear deal with India because he will not have the same sunk costs in the agreement as President Bush.

Blackwill was the United States Ambassador to India ( 2001 – 2003 ), and United States National Security Council Deputy for Iraq ( 2003 – 2004 ), where he was a liaison between Paul Bremer and Condoleezza Rice.

Bremer and Blackwill would come to work together again thirty years later when Bremer was President George W. Bush's top envoy to Iraq and Blackwill was named to the National Security Council staff in August 2003 to coordinate between Washington and Baghdad.

Blackwill became Director, Western European Affairs, on the National Security Council staff at the White House in 1979.

On March 13, 1989, President George H. W. Bush appointed Blackwill Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director for European and Soviet Affairs.

Upon his return as ambassador to India, Blackwill was originally planning to return to Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government until he got the call from National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice asking him to come to Washington.

In his new post on the National Security Council, Blackwill quickly became the alter ego to national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and was given free rein to track global trends and predict unintended consequences of U. S. foreign policy decisions anywhere in the world by providing long-range planning for a foreign policy team under stress from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

" Bob Woodward in his book State of Denial reports that in 2003 Blackwill sent a lengthy memorandum to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice warning that more ground troops, perhaps as many as 40, 000, were desperately needed in Iraq.

Armitage then visited her and her husband during a recent trip to Kuwait to assure her that her concerns were being addressed, the State Department official said .” A spokesman for the National Security Council said the incident was not the reason Blackwill quit his job.

Blackwill is a member of the guiding coalition of Project on National Security Reform.

* Robert Blackwill, former member of the United States National Security Council.

* Robert Blackwill was appointed U. S. Ambassador to India and later to the United States National Security Council.

In 1987 Blackwill rejoined the faculty after two years as Representative to the Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions Negotiations and served the Kennedy School as Associate Dean and the Belfer Lecturer in International Security for fourteen years until 2001.

Blackwill is a member of Executive Committee of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Blackwill served as a training officer in the Bureau of Personnel of the US State Department from 1968 to 1969.

Blackwill served an associate watch officer in the State Department's Operations Center from 1969 to 1970.

Blackwill served as a staff officer in the Executive Secretariat of the State Department from 1972 to 1973.

Blackwill served as a special assistant to State Department counselor Helmut Sonnenfeldt in 1974.

Blackwill served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs in the State Department in 1981.

From 1983 to 1985, Blackwill was on sabbatical from the State Department and served as associate dean and faculty member at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

* Biography of Robert Blackwill, U. S. Department of State, January 14, 2002.

* State Dept Mum on Blackwill ; morale hits rock bottom at U. S. Embassy, Times of India, May 16, 2002.