Early Life and Education
Brennan, the son of Irish immigrants from Roscommon, Ireland, was raised in North Bergen, New Jersey. He attended the Immaculate Heart of Mary elementary school, and graduated from Saint Joseph of the Palisades High School in West New York, New Jersey.
While riding a bus to class at Fordham University, he saw an ad in The New York Times that said the CIA was recruiting, and felt a CIA career would be a good match for his "wanderlust" and his desire to do public service. He received a B.A. in political science from Fordham in 1977. His studies included a junior year abroad learning Arabic and taking Middle Eastern studies courses at the American University in Cairo. He also received a Master of Arts in government with a concentration in Middle Eastern studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 1980. He speaks Arabic fluently.
Read more about this topic: John O. Brennan
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