Asha Castleberry-Hernandez

Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. State Department; Robert J. Myers Fellow, 2018

Asha Castleberry-Hernandez is senior advisor for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. State Department and a major in the U.S. Army Reserves.

She previously served as a Kuwait desk officer at U.S. Army Central and worked on security cooperation with the Office of Military Cooperation and the Kuwait Ministry of Defense. Castleberry-Hernandez also served as senior key leadership engagement officer for the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Kuwait. During the Obama administration she served at the U.S. Mission at the United Nations working peacekeeping operations in the African Continent.

Castleberry-Hernandez was a Robert J. Myers Fellow in 2018 and a member of the U.S. Global Engagement Working Group at Carnegie Council.

Featured Work

Map depicting China's Belt and Road Initiative. CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:One-belt-one-road.svg">Lommes (CC)</a>.

JUL 9, 2021 Podcast

The Doorstep: China in the Middle East & U.S. Foreign Policy, with Asha Castleberry-Hernandez

What is China up to in the Middle East? How is its massive Belt and Road infrastructure project affecting U.S. foreign policy and American ...

780th Military Intelligence Brigade (U.S. Army) operations center at Fort Meade, MD. CREDIT: <a href="https://www.army.mil/article/196311/active_army_cyber_teams_fully_operational_a_year_plus_ahead_of_schedule">U.S. Army photo by Steve Stover</a>

NOV 8, 2019 Podcast

Fighting ISIS Online, with Asha Castleberry-Hernandez

National security expert Asha Castleberry-Hernandez discusses what "ISIS 2.0" means and how the terrorist group has used social media to recruit and spread its message. How ...

MAY 30, 2019 Podcast

Global Ethics Weekly: Iran Tensions & Secretary Shanahan, with Asha Castleberry

National security expert and U.S. Army veteran Asha Castleberry breaks down the rising tensions with Iran and John Bolton's influence at the White House. ...

JAN 9, 2019 Podcast

Global Ethics Weekly: U.S. Defense Policy After Mattis, with Asha Castleberry

National security expert and U.S. Army veteran Asha Castleberry makes sense of a busy and seemingly chaotic time for the Department of Defense in ...

<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Protest_against_U.S._military_attacks_in_Syria_(33919232325).jpg">Protest against U.S. military attacks on Syria, April 2017</a>. CREDIT: Fibonacci Blue via Wikimedia Commons

DEC 5, 2018 Article

Misconnecting with the U.S. Public: Narrative Collapse and U.S. Foreign Policy

For the past year, the U.S. Global Engagement program has focused its attention on the continuing strengths and weaknesses of the narratives that can ...

SEP 25, 2018 Podcast

Making Foreign Policy Relevant Again, with Asha Castleberry & Ali Wyne

Has a gap opened up between the U.S. national security community and the general public over foreign policy? If so, why? How can we ...

Vice Pres. Pence, Pres. Trump, National Security Adviser McMaster with U.S. military members, July 2017. CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trump_Pence_McMaster_Lunch_Service_Members_18_July_2017-2.jpg">White House/Shealah Craighead</a>

JAN 10, 2018 Podcast

Deciphering the Middle East and Trump's National Security Stategy, with Asha Castleberry

Asha Castleberry, Fordham professor and U.S. Army veteran, describes her "mixed reaction" to Trump's National Security Strategy--touching on China and Russia, cybersecurity, and climate ...

U.S. and Iraqi soldier near Mosul, October, 2016. CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:U.S._Soldier_prepares_for_key_leader_engagement_to_assess_Iraqi_security_force_checkpoints_at_Q-West.jpg">Spc. Christopher Brecht/U.S. Army</a>

MAY 24, 2017 Podcast

Asha Castleberry on Trump's Generals and the Fight Against ISIS

Asha Castleberry, Fordham professor and U.S. Army veteran, gives detailed updates of the campaigns against ISIS in Mosul and Raqqa and the endlessly complicated ...

U.S. Marine in Iraq. CREDIT: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dvids/3113578051/">DVIDSHUB</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/"> (CC)</a>

AUG 25, 2016 Podcast

Asha Castleberry on the 2016 Election and the Fight Against ISIS

U.S. Army veteran Asha Castleberry discusses veterans' reactions to the 2016 presidential campaign, and also the ongoing U.S. anti-ISIS military campaign, which is preparing ...

The aftermath of an apparent U.S.-led coalition airstrike in Syria. CREDIT: <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-324965885/stock-photo-an-explosion-after-an-apparent-us-led-coalition-airstrike-on-kobane-syria-as-seen-from-the.html">Shutterstock</a>

OCT 8, 2015 Podcast

Russia's Intervention and the Fight against ISIL with U.S. Army Veteran Asha Castleberry

The good news is that ISIL has lost one-third of the key areas that it took over, both in Iraq and Syria, says Castleberry. But ...