In Memoriam
Albert Wohlstetter

(Washington, D.C.): The Center for
Security Policy mourns the passing today
of Dr. Albert Wohlstetter at his home in
Los Angeles. The Nation has lost one of
its greatest intellects and, arguably,
the most accomplished conceptualizer and
practitioner of U.S. strategic policy of
the post-war era.

Dr. Wohlstetter’s imprint is to be
seen in virtually every aspect of
national security — from the earliest
evolutions of U.S. nuclear policy and
programs to the ongoing travesty of
President Clinton’s handling of the
genocidal conflict in Bosnia. His unique
grasp of the principles of power in the
international arena and the technology of
modern warfare made his counsel
invaluable to policy-makers for fifty
years. As Richard Perle, a former
Assistant Secretary of Defense and
founding member of the Center for
Security Policy’s Board of Advisors, put
it at a 1993 event at which Dr.
Wohlstetter received the Center’s
“Freedom Flame” award:

“Albert Wohlstetter has
compiled a record of prophesy of
such accuracy and such depth that
those of us who pay attention can
only marvel at. But it must also
leave hundreds of his
interlocutors over the years
wishing that they had acted more
consistently on his advice.”

Even when in his eighties, Dr.
Wohlstetter exhibited all the energy,
brilliance and righteous indignation that
was the hallmark of a man who, throughout
his career, strove to maximize the
security of this country and its
interests around the world — and who
refused to conceal his disdain for those
whose naïvétè, ignorance or
incompetence jeopardized that objective.
His critiques were not partisan but
substantive. For example, he was no less
sparing of President Bush for his failure
to make the destruction of Saddam
Hussein’s regime an objective and result
of Operation Desert Storm than he was of
President Clinton’s refusal to bring
American power to bear effectively
against the precipitator of the Balkan
tragedy, Slobodan Milosevic.

Throughout
his distinguished career, Dr. Wohlstetter
acted as mentor and teacher to those at
the highest ranks of government — both
in the United States and abroad — and
many of those who will come to hold such
positions. The long-time University of
Chicago professor exercised a profound
influence on millions more who never had
the privilege of being in his presence,
through his innumerable op.ed. columns,
essays, analyses and books. And literally
every American owes Dr.
Wohlstetter a unpayable debt for the
contribution he made during a lifetime of
service to the Nation to their safety and
well-being.

Albert Wohlstetter’s was a voice of
reason and integrity, of principle and
genius. His mind was ever engaged in
discerning the shape of future threats
and opportunities — and defining
constructive approaches for dealing with
them. He was a leader who operated
generally behind the scenes and largely
without seeking or receiving the credit
he was so often due. He and his beloved
wife, Roberta — a remarkable woman whose
pioneering work in the field of
intelligence and defense analysis
complemented and inspired that of her
husband — can only be described as national
treasures, a fact recognized by
President Reagan’s awarding them the
Presidential Medal of Freedom. Albert
Wohlstetter will be sorely missed in the
difficult days to come by the Center for
Security Policy and all who share his
passionate commitment to freedom.

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