James L. Jones
James Logan Jones Jr. (born December 19, 1943) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general and consultant who served as the 21st United States National Security Advisor from 2009 to 2010. During his military career, he served as the 32nd Commandant of the Marine Corps from July 1999 to January 2003, and Commander, United States European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe from 2003 to 2006. Jones retired from the Marine Corps on February 1, 2007, after 40 years of service.
For this person's father, see James L. Jones Sr.
James L. Jones
United States
1967–2007
After retiring from the Marine Corps, Jones remained involved in national security and foreign policy issues. In 2007, Jones served as chairman of the Congressional Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq,[1] which investigated the capabilities of the Iraqi police and armed forces. In November 2007, he was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of State as special envoy for Middle East security. He served as chairman of the Atlantic Council from June 2007 to January 2009, when he assumed the post of National Security Advisor which he held until November 2010.
Jones owns the consulting firms Ironhand Security LLC and Jones Group International LLC. He has worked as a paid adviser to the Saudi government.[2]
Early life and education[edit]
Jones was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on December 19, 1943. He is the son of Charlotte Ann (née Ground) and James L. Jones Sr.,[3] a decorated Marine in World War II who was an officer in the Observer Group and the commanding officer of its successor, the Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion. Having spent his formative years in France, where he attended the American School of Paris,[4][5] he returned to the United States, graduating from Groveton High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, then attended Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, from which he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1966. Jones, who is six feet four inches (1.93 m) tall, played forward on the 1963–64 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team.[6]
Post-military career[edit]
Business roles[edit]
Following his retirement from the military, Jones became president of the Institute for 21st Century Energy,[19] an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce;[19] he also served as chair of the board of directors of the Atlantic Council of the United States from June 2007[20] until January 2009, when he assumed the post of National Security Advisor.[21] Jones also served as a member of the guiding coalition for the Project on National Security Reform, as well as chairman of the Independent Commission on the Iraqi Security Forces.[22] He was a member of the board of directors of The Boeing Company from June 21, 2007, to December 15, 2008, serving on the company's Audit and Finance Committees.[23][24] Jones was also a member of the board of directors of Cross Match Technologies, a privately held biometric solutions company, from October 2007 to January 2009.[25][26]
Jones was employed on the board of trustees of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a bipartisan think-tank, from 2007 to 2008, and then began serving again in 2011.[27] He was a member of the board of directors of Chevron Corporation from May 28, 2008 to December 5, 2008, serving on the Board Nominating and Governance and Public Policy Committees.[28][29][30]
According to the first report since Jones re-entered government service in January 2009, Jones earned a salary and bonus of $900,000 from the US Chamber, as well as director fees of $330,000 from the Boeing Company and $290,000 from the Chevron Corporation.[31]
After leaving the Obama administration, Jones returned as a Fellow at the US Chamber in 2011.[32]
The board of directors of General Dynamics has elected Jones to be a director of the corporation, effective August 3, 2011. Also, on January 13, 2012, Jones joined Deloitte Consulting LLP as a senior adviser who will work with Federal and commercial consulting clients within Deloitte's Department of Defense and Intel segments. In early 2013, Jones joined OxiCool Inc's Advisory Board.[33]
Jones established the consulting firms Ironhand Security LLC and Jones Group International LLC. The firms have worked for foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia. After the murder of Jamal Khashoggi by the Saudi regime, Jones downplayed his firms' work with the Saudi government and said that the remaining contract with them was about to expire. However, Jones's firms subsequently expanded its partnership with the Saudi regime. By 2022, his firms had four contracts with the Saudi government and employed 53 Americans in Riyadh, eight of whom were retired generals and admirals.[2]
Diplomatic roles[edit]
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asked Jones twice to be Deputy Secretary of State after Robert Zoellick resigned. He declined.[34]
On May 25, 2007, Congress created an Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq to investigate for 120 days the capabilities of the Iraq armed forces and police.[35] Jones served as chairman of that commission and reported on Congress on September 6, 2007,[36] noting serious deficiencies in the Iraq Interior Ministry and in the Iraq National Police.
Rice appointed Jones as a special envoy for Middle East security on November 28, 2007, to work with both Israelis and Palestinians on security issues.[37][38]
Jones serves as a Senior Fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), where he works on a variety of national security and energy-related issues.[39] Jones is also a co-chair of BPC's Energy Project.
Jones is an Advisory Board Member of Spirit of America, a 501(c)(3) organization that supports the safety and success of Americans serving abroad and the local people and partners they seek to help.[40]
Personal life[edit]
Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, who hired Jones as his military assistant, said that Jones has a placid demeanor and a "methodical approach to problems—he's able to view issues at both the strategic and tactical level".[47]
Jones was also responsible for convincing country music artist Toby Keith that he should record and publish his popular concert hit "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue (The Angry American)".[48]