Andrew J. Bacevich

Andrew Bacevich
Andrew Bacevich, from Boston University, speaks during a panel discussion of the 2012 Current Strategy Forum at the U.S. Naval War College.
Born	(1947-07-05) July 5, 1947 (age 69) Normal, Illinois, United States
Education	West Point (B.S., 1969) Princeton University (M.A., Ph.D.)
Occupation	Historian, writer, professor; Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired)
Employer	Boston University
Known for	Analysis of U.S. foreign policy
Spouse(s)	Nancy
Children	Andrew J. Bacevich, Jr. (1979–2007) Jennifer Bacevich Amy Bacevich Katy Bacevich
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1969–1992
Rank	Colonel
Battles/wars	Vietnam War Gulf War

Andrew J. Bacevich, Sr. (born July 5, 1947) is an American historian specializing in international relations, security studies, American foreign policy, and American diplomatic and military history. He is a Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History at the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. He is also a retired career officer in the Armor Branch of the United States Army, retiring with the rank of Colonel. He is a former director of Boston University's Center for International Relations (from 1998 to 2005), now part of the Pardee School of Global Studies.

Bacevich has been "a persistent, vocal critic of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, calling the conflict a catastrophic failure." In March 2007, he described George W. Bush's endorsement of such "preventive wars" as "immoral, illicit, and imprudent." His son, Andrew Bacevich Jr., also an Army officer, died fighting in the Iraq War in May 2007.

Bacevich was born in Normal, Illinois, the son of Martha Ellen (Bulfer) and Andrew Bacevich. His father was of Lithuanian descent and his mother was of Irish, German, and English ancestry. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1969 and served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War, serving in Vietnam from the summer of 1970 to the summer of 1971. Later he held posts in Germany, including the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment; the United States; and the Persian Gulf up to his retirement from the service with the rank of Colonel in the early 1990s. His early retirement is thought to be a result of his taking responsibility for the Camp Doha (Kuwait) explosion in 1991 while in command of the 11th ACR. He holds a Ph.D. in American Diplomatic History from Princeton University, and taught at West Point and Johns Hopkins University before joining the faculty at Boston University in 1998.