PHOTOS & VIDEO - Iran and the U.S. - Endless Enemies?

Ambassador John W. Limbert - Speaker
Distinguished Professor, United States Naval Academy

Ambassador Limbert joined the Foreign Service in 1973. His overseas postings included Algeria, Djibouti, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. From 2000-2003, he was Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. While still Ambassador, he was one of the first civilian officials to enter Baghdad in April 2003 with the Organization of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. Among his earlier positions, he served as Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism in the State Department (2000). Limbert retired from the Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Councelor. In academic field, Limbert's positions have included: professor of political science at the U.S. Naval Academy (1981–84), Senior Fellow at Harvard University's Center for International Affairs (1991–92), Dean of the Foreign Service Institute's School of Language Studies, and an appointment as the Distinguished Professor of International Affairs in the departments of political science and history at the U.S. Naval Academy in August 2006. In November 2009, Limbert was appointed the first-ever U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iran. In accepting the appointment, Limbert took a leave of absence from the U.S. Naval Academy. Limbert returned to his teaching position at the U.S. Naval Academy in August 2010. At that time, noting the stalemate in U.S.-Iranian relations, Limbert said: "The Obama administration has been in office now for over a year and a half, and I think everyone thought we would be in a better place with Iran. Not necessarily that we would be friends, but that we would at least be talking to each other on a regular and civil basis." Limbert is an advisory board member at the National Iranian American Council, an Iranian-American advocacy organization that advocates for greater engagement between the U.S. and Iran.