Last modified on January 6, 2026, at 21:16

Michael Ledeen

Michael Arthur Ledeen (Born Aug 1, 1941 in Los Angeles, California) is a journalist, author, neoconservative activist, American Enterprise Institute resident scholar, one of the funders of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs and a national security adviser to former president Ronald Reagan.

Education

Michael Ledeen received his B.A. in 1963 from Pomona College in Claremont, California; his M.S. and Ph.D. in History and Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin. He served as a professor at the University of Rome from 1975 to 1977, and as a Professor at Washington University from 1967 to 1974.

Writings

In 1992 Ledeen reportedly said: "Every 10 years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business."[1]

Ledeen is the author of several books.

The War Against the Terror Masters: Why It Happened. Where We Are Now. How We’ll Win
Tocqueville on American Character: Why Tocqueville’s Brilliant Exploration of the American Spirit is as Vital and Important Today as it was Nearly Two Hundred Years Ago
Machiavelli on Modern Leadership: Why Machiavelli’s Iron Rules are as Timely and Important Today as Five Centuries Ago
Freedom Betrayed: How America led a Global Democratic Revolution, Won the Cold War and Walked Away

References

NNDB profile of Michael Ledeen

See also

Faster, Please!, Michael Ledeen's blog.
  1. https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026/01/05/trump-attacked-venezuela-to-show-that-america-means-business/