The list of foreign policy experts Bernie Sanders should be consulting

Last night Hillary Clinton criticized Bernie Sanders for not having foreign policy advisers. She thereby echoed the conventional wisdom in the corporate media that Bernie Sanders is lacking in foreign policy smarts, and evidence of the deficit is his absence of a braintrust. By contrast, Hillary Clinton has an extensive establishment braintrust of centrist-right careerists/thinktankers who all don’t want to miss this chance to put Foggy Bottom on the resume. Like, Tamara Cofman Wittes of the Saban Forum.

Clinton’s list includes former supporters of the Iraq war and opponents too, but no one who is critical of Israel in any outspoken way. Last night, in one flourish, Sanders used Clinton’s supposed strength against her to make the point that her ties to the foreign policy establishment are possibly as suspect as her ties to Wall Street:

Clinton: “Well, I know journalists have asked who you do listen to on foreign policy, and we have yet to know who that is.”

Sanders: “Well, it ain’t Henry Kissinger. That’s for sure.”

We decided to put forward our own list of names Bernie Sanders might want to consult on Middle East foreign policy. We’ll update this as more lightbulbs go on. Our list merges lib-left thinkers and realist ones too. And though we lean towards those whose views we share, we are trying to be plausible, too.

Rashid Khalidi, Center for Palestine Studies, Columbia University.

Shireen Hunter, center for Muslim Christian understanding, at Georgetown

Yousef Munayyer, director of the US Campaign to End the Occupation

Marsha Cohen, longtime writer and analyst of Middle East

Rob Malley, Now in the Obama administration.

William Quandt, author, scholar, former State Department official.

Sarah Leah Whitson, Human Rights Watch

Ken Roth, Human Rights Watch

Richard Falk, professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University and former United Nations Special Rapporteur

Rula Jebreal, author of Miral, journalist/broadcaster, knows the issue intimately.

Jessica Matthews, former president Carnegie Endowment

Diana Buttu, Former spokesperson for the Palestine Liberation Organization

Sanam Naraghi Anderlini. An expert on Iran and extremism issues, and has worked at the UN, with long experience of working with women in peace activism.

Helena Cobban, publisher of Just World Books, journalist, longtime observer of the Middle East.

Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies.

Rebecca Vilkomerson, director of Jewish Voice for Peace

John Mearsheimer, Realist at University of Chicago, co-author of The Israel Lobby.

Chas Freeman. Former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, translator on Nixon’s China trip, and former Obama nominee to head an intelligence agency. Realist.

Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett. Co authors of Going to Tehran. Extensive foreign policy experience, including high in US government.

Noura Erakat, human rights attorney and assistant professor at George Mason University.

Jim Lobe, longtime foreign-policy journalist

Katherine Franke, Columbia law school professor, expert on gender studies and on boycott movement

Chase Madar, author on national security

Gordon Adams, professor of foreign policy at American University

Michael Brenner, author and scholar of Israel studies, American University

Scott McConnell, American Conservative, former neoconservative, now a neocon critic

Zbig Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor

Ali Abunimah, Electronic Intifada

Brent Scowcroft, former National Security Advisor

Paul Pillar, former CIA official, leading realist writer.

Todd Pierce. Former army lawyer, has served as attorney for Guantanamo plaintiffs.

Hooman Majd, Iranian American author.

Mohammad Ali Shabani, editor at Al Monitor.

John Judis, historian, journalist

Eli Clifton, investigative journalist, Lobelog

Ali Gharib, Iranian-American journalist

Muhammad Sahimi, Iran News and Middle East Reports

Marsha Cohen, LobeLog

Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of the Nation, expertise on Russia

Kevan Harris, sociologist of development at UCLA

Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council, author of Treacherous Alliance

Reza Marashi, National Iranian American Council

Tyler Cullis, National Iranian American Council

Daniel Levy, European Council on Foreign Relations, a leading liberal Zionist who has been open to one-state discussion.

Greg Grandin, scholar at Brooklyn College, writer on foreign policy issues.

Robert Blackwill, retired diplomat, Republican.

Lisa Goldman, New America Foundation

Steve Clemons, New America Foundation

Michael Desch, Notre Dame international relations scholar.

Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune columnist (who opposes Sanders on domestic issues)

Stephen Walt, former dean at the Kennedy School, co-author of The Israel Lobby (whose own list we ripped off)

Barry Posen, political scientist, MIT

Andrew Bacevich, realist author

Daniel Larison, senior editor, American Conservative

Jerome Slater, longtime scholar/writer on the conflict, brought Israeli new historians to US

Juan Cole, Professor of History at the University of Michigan

Glenn Greenwald, Journalist

Have a suggestion of someone who should be on the list? Add it in the comments!