Armand V. Cucciniello III (born December 7, 1979) is a former American diplomat,[1] news reporter, military advisor, political commentator, and public relations executive.[2] Cucciniello was formerly spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.[3]
Armand Cucciniello | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 7, 1979 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Boston University (BA) Syracuse University (MA) |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, former diplomat |
Education
editCucciniello is a graduate of Boston University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2002. He later earned an M.A. from Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.[2] Cucciniello is also a graduate of the National War College at National Defense University, where he concentrated in Cyber Studies and Influence Warfare.[4]
Career
editIn 2006, Cucciniello moved to Baghdad, Iraq to work for Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I). Shortly after, he was hired by the U.S. Department of State to work in the Public Affairs Section at the U.S. embassy, located in the former Republican Palace (Arabic: القصر الجمهوري al-Qaṣr al-Ǧumhūriy) of Saddam Hussein.[2] As such, Cucciniello was made a non-career U.S. diplomat[2] and became a spokesperson for the U.S. embassy until 2010.[5] He subsequently served in Islamabad, Pakistan, and later worked for the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and United States Forces Korea in South Korea.[6] Cucciniello was vice president of Blue Force Communications, a public relations agency with offices in New York City and Washington, D.C.
Writing
editIn a 2016 article for USA Today, Cucciniello was the first person to describe then-U.S. presidential candidate Donald J. Trump's foreign policy as "America First," a moniker subsequently used by New York Times reporters David E. Sanger and Maggie Haberman in their interview with Trump who, "agreed with a suggestion that his ideas might be summed up as 'America First'."[7] The phrase became a cornerstone of Trump's campaign platform, and later that of the Trump Administration.[8] After Rex Tillerson was announced as Trump's nominee for United States Secretary of State, Cucciniello argued that Tillerson could perform well in the role given his depth of business experience.[9] While a student at National Defense University, Cucciniello wrote about and published essays on state-sponsored Chinese influence[10] and Russian propaganda.
References
edit- ^ Kowarski, Ilana (February 4, 2021). "How to Become a U.S. Diplomat". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Rothman, Evan. "Our Man in Iraq". New Jersey Monthly. Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
- ^ "U.S. State Dept helicopter crashes in Iraq, two dead". Reuters. 2009-07-18. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
- ^ "National Defense University: 2022 Graduation Program" (PDF). National Defense University. June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
- ^ "Iraqi Lawmaker Faces Prosecution For Visiting Israel, Advocating Peace". The Huffington Post. 2008-10-22. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
- ^ "Reaction to Al-Maliki". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
- ^ "Transcript: Donald Trump Expounds on His Foreign Policy Views". The New York Times. 2016-03-26. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
- ^ Cucciniello III, Armand V. "Don't dismiss Trump on foreign policy: Column". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
- ^ Cucciniello, Armand. "Tillerson could shine as secretary of State". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
- ^ "Academics vs. Aliens". ndupress.ndu.edu. Retrieved 2023-08-27.