Career
O'Sullivan was an aide to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and a fellow at the Brookings Institution under Richard N. Haass.
O'Sullivan has also served in the Office of Policy Planning at the State Department, where she assisted Colin Powell in developing the smart sanctions policy proposal; as an assistant to Paul Bremer in the Coalition Provisional Authority subsequent to the 2003 invasion of Iraq; and as Senior Director for Iraq at the National Security Council. O'Sullivan last position at the White House was as the Special Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan. During her time in Iraq, O'Sullivan was involved with many key decisions on the political front, including helping negotiate the early transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqis and assisting the Iraqis in writing their interim constitution. She is remembered for driving herself around Baghdad to meet with Iraqis, and endured some harrowing experiences while in Iraq, including escaping from a terrorist attack by scaling a building ledge ten stories up. With Stephen Hadley, she is also credited as being one of the original advocates in the White House of the "surge" strategy of 2007
In 2003 Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Jay Garner that he could not keep her on in Iraq, though Rumsfeld later relented. On May 31, 2007, President Bush announced that Meghan was returning to Baghdad "to serve with Ambassador Crocker, to help the Iraqis -- and to help the Embassy help the Iraqis -- meet the benchmarks that the Congress and the President expect to get passed." On September 15, Meghan left the White House and began teaching at Harvard three days later.
O'Sullivan was the point person in charge of the Afghan war for the White House.
Read more about this topic: Meghan O'Sullivan
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“I began my editorial career with the presidency of Mr. Adams, and my principal object was to render his administration all the assistance in my power. I flattered myself with the hope of accompanying him through [his] voyage, and of partaking in a trifling degree, of the glory of the enterprise; but he suddenly tacked about, and I could follow him no longer. I therefore waited for the first opportunity to haul down my sails.”
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