Odom, William E. 1932–

(William Eldridge Odom)

PERSONAL: Born June 23, 1932, in Cookeville, TN; son of John Albert (an agricultural researcher) and Callie Frances (an elementary school teacher; maiden name, Everhart) Odom; married Anne Weld Curtis (a museum curator), June 9, 1962; children: Mark Weld. Education: U.S. Military Academy, B.S., 1954; Columbia University, M.A., 1962, Ph.D., 1970. Religion: Protestant.

ADDRESSES: Office—Hudson Institute, 1015 18th St. NW, Ste. 300, Washington, DC 20036-5215.

CAREER: Writer, educator, Army officer, public speaker, and security consultant. U.S. Army, career officer, 1954–85, became lieutenant general; platoon leader, company executive, and company commander, in Germany and Fort Knox, 1955–60; member of U.S. Military Liaison Mission to the Commander of Soviet Forces in Germany, Potsdam, East Germany, 1964–66; U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY, instructor, 1966–67, assistant professor of social science, 1967–69; plans officer, assisting the officer to prime minister of South Vietnam, Saigon, 1970–71; assistant army attaché at American Embassy in Moscow, U.S.S.R., 1972–74; associate professor of social sciences, U.S. Military Academy, 1974–77; National Security Council, Washington, DC, military assistant to Zbigniew Brzezinski, 1977–81; assistant chief of staff for intelligence, Department of the Army, 1981–85; National Security Agency, Fort Meade, MD, director, 1985–88; Hudson Institute, Washington, DC, senior fellow and director of national security studies, 1988–; Yale University, New Haven, CT, professor of political science, 1989–. Senior research associate at Columbia University, Institute on International Change, 1974–77. Frequent guest and commentator on television news programs on networks, including PBS, CNN, ABC, NBC, BBC, and C-Span. Trustee, Middlebury College Board, 1987–; member of board of directors, V-One Corporation, 1996–.

MEMBER: American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, American Political Science Association, Academy of Political Science, Council on Foreign Relations, International Institute for Strategic Studies.

AWARDS, HONORS: Grand Cross Order of Merit with Star, Federal Republic of Germany; Order of National Security Merit, Republic of Korea; officer of National Order of Merit, France; Defense Distinguished Medal with oak leaf cluster; Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster; Legion of Merit; National Security Medal; National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal; D.Sc., Middlebury College, 1987; Marshall Shulman Prize, 1999, for The Collapse of the Soviet Military.

WRITINGS:

The Soviet Volunteers: Modernization and Bureaucracy in a Public Mass Organization, Princeton University Press (Princeton, NJ), 1973.

On Internal War: American and Soviet Approaches to Third World Clients and Insurgents, Duke University Press (Durham, NC), 1992.

Trial after Triumph: East Asia after the Cold War, Hudson Institute (Indianapolis, IN), 1992.

America's Military Revolution: Strategy and Structure after the Cold War, American University Press (Washington, DC), 1993.

Commonwealth or Empire: Russia, Central Asia, and the Transcaucasus, Hudson Institute (Indianapolis, IN), 1995.

(Editor, with Gerald Frost) The Congress of Prague: Revitalizing the Atlantic Alliance, AEI Press (Washington, DC), 1997.

The Collapse of the Soviet Military, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 1998.

Fixing Intelligence: For a More Secure America, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 2003, 2nd edition, 2004.

(With Robert Dujaric) America's Inadvertent Empire, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 2004.

Contributor of chapters to books, including Security Studies for the 21st Century, edited by Shultz, Godson, and Quester, Brassey's, 1997; and The Legacy of the Soviet Bloc, edited by Zacek and Kim, University Press of Florida, 1997. Contributor to periodicals, including Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Orbis, World Politics, National Interest, Problems of Communism, Washington Quarterly, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, and Military Review.

A collection of Odom's papers is housed at the Library of Congress.

SIDELIGHTS: William E. Odom is a distinguished retired military officer and scholar who held advisory positions with both Presidents Carter and Reagan and served as head of the National Security Agency. A career army officer, he retired in 1985 at the rank of lieutenant (three-star) general. He has written a number of studies about the Soviet Union. One of his more prominent works, and the first of its kind to appear, is The Collapse of the Soviet Military, which Political Science Quarterly critic Kimberly Marten Zisk declared "a definitive history of the final years of the Soviet military organization." Similarly, Eliot A. Cohen, writing in Foreign Affairs, called Odom's study "a superb account of how one of the most powerful militaries in the world collapsed within a decade, like a dinosaur struck by a strange and mortal disease."

Tracing the role of the military throughout Soviet history, Odom argues in his book that the Soviet military played a far stronger role in politics and the economy than Western observers had believed. Citing Lenin's dictum that diplomacy was merely war by other means, Odom presents his case that the Soviet economy had always been on a war footing and the military elite were granted great power and privileges. He notes that the Soviet military had far more generals than did comparable armies throughout the world, and that the military elite were allowed to use rank-and-file soldiers as virtual slaves to build extravagant estates for themselves. This self-indulgence and corruption led to a system far weaker and more top-heavy than outsiders believed. Gorbachev's attempts at reform resulted not in a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy but in the immediate collapse of a rotting governmental structure. "The history of the last years of the U.S.S.R.," wrote Ralph Peters in the Washington Monthly, "is one of bewildered men rushing to keep up with events that constantly outpaced them."

Drawing upon interviews with many of the Soviet military leaders who served during the Soviet collapse, Odom also turns to newly opened Soviet archives for further material. "Both the clarity and comprehensiveness of Odom's research and analysis make this book an outstanding reference source," according to Zisk. Cohen concluded that The Collapse of the Soviet Military is "a remarkable synthesis of history and political science." Peters called Odom's study "an unexpectedly interesting and readable book" and concluded that "Odom has risen above his environment to crown his career with a book that is true in detail, clear in expression—and worthwhile." Anatol Lieven, writing in National Interest, commented: "Both Odom's narrative and his conclusions on most of the themes of his book are eminently sound." Donald P. Steury concluded in History: Review of New Books that Odom's work is a "thoughtful and compelling book, one that will inspire and inform even those who disagree with Odom's perspective."

As a national security expert, Odom has been consistently critical of the failed American security apparatus that allowed the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to happen. In Fixing Intelligence: For a More Secure America he "presents a clear and concise plan for intelligence reform, built around a 'national manager ' concept for the intelligence community as a whole, as well as its major disciplines," explained Gary Pounder in Air & Space Power Journal. Working from proposals originally suggested in 1997, Odom "argues that substantial structural and managerial reforms are necessary to improve the functioning of the United States's burgeoning intelligence bureaucracy," related Stephen Marrin in Political Science Quarterly. Odom would begin his reforms from the top down, making the director of Central Intelligence (DCI) the single national office that coordinates and advocates for the other intelligence agencies. Odom would also split off directorship of the CIA from the DCI position. Other suggestions by Odom include centralizing intelligence gathering authority into single agencies closely aligned with the type of intelligence gathered, such as human intelligence, signals intelligence, and imagery intelligence. Under Odom's plan, directors of these agencies would become national-level managers of each discipline, with greater expertise, budgetary control, and technological access. In addition, each of these intelligence methodologies would be gathered under the general control single national agency. Pounder observed that "use of this model would eliminate much of the wasteful redundancy that has long permeated our intelligence community." James L. Waite, writing in Perspectives on Political Science, noted: "The book is provocative and clearly written, and it provides a fresh statement of current structure and process in intelligence." Odom "has written a provocative book, producing a useful template for genuine intelligence reform," Pounder stated. "This book represents some of the best thinking on this topic today," asserted Mark H. Beaudry in Security Management.

Odom has also been a sharp but considered critic of the government's actions in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, in particular America's war in Iraq. "It was not in our interest to enter Iraq in the first place," he said in an interview with Bernard Gwertzman on the Council on Foreign Relations Web site. "It was, however, in the interest of Osama bin Laden for us to destroy a secular Arab leader; it was very much in the interest of the Iranians because they wanted revenge against Saddam Hussein for Iraq's invasion in 1980." Odom further observed: "Our presence in Iraq risks turning it into a country that could become the base for terrorist operations and organizations like al Qaeda." Odom also encourages a rapid pullout from Iraq and predicts that the longer the U.S. stays in Iraq, the more costly such a pullout will be.

In America's Inadvertent Empire Odom and coauthor Robert Dujarric consider the United States' position as a formidable worldwide superpower, a nation so mighty that "no other nation or even alliance of nations can counterbalance its power," commented a Publishers Weekly reviewer. The United States stands as a "benign international empire" whose benevolence is based on the fact that America did not deliberately set out to create an empire, but instead rose into one from widespread American dominance in the post-World War II years, observed Steven P. Millies in the National Catholic Reporter. The authors see considerable prospects for continuing America's supremacy into the long-term. They support preserving liberal institutions that help spread American values; the authors also urge political leaders to remain aware of terrorism, but not to overreact to it. "The most useful chapters of Dujarric and Odom's book document the awesome scale of America's predominance—military, economic, scientific, educational, and cultural," commented Karl E. Mayer in the American Prospect. "They rightly caution that acts of folly could bring the structure crashing down," and that American military power should be used with caution.

Odom once told CA: "My first tour in Europe gave me a strong sense of the political and military tensions between NATO and the Warsaw Pact and set my career interests in the USSR and Germany." Odom's first extensive exposure to a communist state system and to the Soviet Armed Forces came in 1964–66, while he was posted in Potsdam. At this time, he was one of the few Americans allowed to travel freely in East Germany.

Recalling his post in Saigon, Odom said: "Many of the themes I had developed in my book manuscript—which was essentially complete before I went to Vietnam—seemed vindicated by what I witnessed in an entirely different culture. Political development and military force structure and policy issues, although different for South Vietnam, shared similar conceptual bases with the issues faced in the USSR during the 1920s. The means and decisions, however, were quite different."

A great highlight in Odom's career was the two years spent in Moscow. It was, he said, "a chance to enrich with first-hand observations my knowledge of a society which I had studied for years."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Aerospace Power Journal, winter, 2000, Peter W. Huggins, review of The Collapse of the Soviet Military, p. 107.

Air & Space Power Journal, winter, 2004, Gary Pounder, review of Fixing Intelligence: For a More Secure America, p. 121.

American Prospect, April, 2004, Karl E. Meyer, review of America's Inadvertent Empire, p. 54.

Armed Forces & Society: An Interdisciplinary Journal, spring, 2000, James Noren, review of The Collapse of the Soviet Military, 489.

Europe-Asia Studies, January, 2000, Evan Mawdsley, review of The Collapse of the Soviet Military, p. 165.

Europe Intelligence Wire, May 17, 2004, "General Odom Says U.S. Should Withdraw from Iraq."

Foreign Affairs, March-April, 1994, Eliot A. Cohen, review of America's Military Revolution: Strategy and Structure after the Cold War, p. 151; November, 1998, Eliot A. Cohen, review of The Collapse of the Soviet Military, p. 149.

Guardian (London, England), September 16, 2004, Sidney Blumenthal, "Far Graver than Vietnam."

History: Review of New Books, winter, 2001, Donald P. Steury, review of The Collapse of the Soviet Military, p. 80.

Investor's Business Daily, July 8, 2002, Peter Benesh, "Former Spy Chief Odom Sees Need for Espionage Reforms," interview with William E. Odom, p. A17.

Library Journal, February 1, 1999, Harry V. Willems, review of The Collapse of the Soviet Military, p. 106; March 15, 2003, Daniel K. Blewett, review of Fixing Intelligence: For a More Secure America, p. 102.

National Catholic Reporter, September 2, 2005, Steven P. Millies, "Empire Is on Its Way Out," review of America's Inadvertent Empire, p. 16.

National Interest, spring, 1999, Anatol Lieven, review of The Collapse of the Soviet Military, p. 98.

New Republic, January 25, 1999, Stephen Kotkin, "Russia, the Soviet Union, and the Presentness of the Past. The Rubble," review of The Collapse of the Soviet Military, p. 28.

Parameters, autumn, 2004, Andrew J. Bacevich, review of America's Inadvertent Empire, p. 144.

Perspectives on Political Science, fall, 2003, James L. Waite, review of Fixing Intelligence, p. 236.

Political Science Quarterly, spring, 1994, Raymond L. Garthoff, review of America's Military Revolution, p. 177; summer, 1999, Kimberly Marten Zisk, review of The Collapse of the Soviet Military, p. 313; summer, 2004, Stephen Marrin, review of Fixing Intelligence, p. 352.

Publishers Weekly, May 10, 1993, review of America's Military Revolution, p. 66; October 5, 1998, review of The Collapse of the Soviet Military, p. 69; February 10, 2003, review of Fixing Intelligence, p. 176; January 5, 2004, review of America's Inadvertent Empire, p. 53.

Security Management, August, 2003, Mark H. Beaudry, review of Fixing Intelligence, p. 128.

Washington Monthly, October, 1998, Ralph Peters, review of The Collapse of the Soviet Military, p. 39.

ONLINE

Common Dreams Web site, http://www.commondreams.org/ (June 29, 2005), Ray McGovern, "Stay the Crooked Course."

Council on Foreign Relations Web site, http://www.cfr.org/ (December 6, 2005), Bernard Gwertzman, "Bush Should 'Eat a Little Humble Pie,'" interview with William E. Odom.

Hudson Institute Web site, http://www.hudson.org/ (December 6, 2005), biography of William E. Odom.

Stopdubya.com, http://www.stopdubya.com/ (December 6, 2005), author profile.