# Danielle Pletka

> Danielle Pletka is a distinguished senior fellow in Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, where she has shaped conservative thinking on the Middle East, Iran, and national security for more than two decades. A former senior Senate Foreign Relations Committee staffer under Jesse Helms, she co-hosts the AEI podcast 'What the Hell Is Going On?' with Marc Thiessen, teaches at Georgetown, and appears regularly across major print and broadcast media.

- **Role:** Distinguished Senior Fellow, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute
- **Organizations:** American Enterprise Institute, Georgetown University (Center for Jewish Civilization / Walsh School of Foreign Service), Senate Foreign Relations Committee (former), NBC News (political analyst)
- **From:** Melbourne, Australia
- **Nationality:** Australian-born naturalized U.S. citizen (1994)
- **Education:** B.A. in History, Smith College, M.A., Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University
- **Known for:** Spent a decade (1992-2002) shaping US foreign policy from the senior staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Led foreign and defense policy at AEI for nearly two decades as Vice President, Co-created and co-hosts the long-running foreign policy podcast 'What the Hell Is Going On?'

## Career timeline

- **1984-1985** — Editorial assistant at the Los Angeles Times and Reuters' Jerusalem bureau
- **Mid-1980s** — Staff writer for Insight on the News
- **1992-2002** — Senior professional staff member for Near East and South Asia, Senate Foreign Relations Committee (under Senator Jesse Helms)
- **2002-2020** — Vice President for Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute
- **2020-present** — Distinguished Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
- **2019-present** — Co-host with Marc Thiessen of the AEI podcast 'What the Hell Is Going On?'
- **present** — Adjunct instructor, Georgetown University Center for Jewish Civilization; teaches US Middle East policy at the Walsh School of Foreign Service

## Achievements

- Spent a decade (1992-2002) shaping US foreign policy from the senior staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
- Led foreign and defense policy at AEI for nearly two decades as Vice President
- Co-created and co-hosts the long-running foreign policy podcast 'What the Hell Is Going On?'
- Widely published in The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Hill, Foreign Policy, National Review, Commentary and Politico
- Serves as a political analyst for NBC News and frequent broadcast commentator

## Latest updates

- **2024-09** — Appeared on PBS NewsHour discussing foreign policy.
- **2026** — Continues as distinguished senior fellow at AEI and co-host of 'What the Hell Is Going On?', publishing commentary across major outlets.

## Links

- Website: https://www.aei.org/profile/danielle-pletka/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/dpletka

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/danielle-pletka
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-02