Gen. James L. Jones, a former commander of all NATO forces, is President Obama's national security adviser.  General Jones is rarely seen at Mr. Obama's side; neither does he serve as a gateway to the president. He has also kept a low profile with the news media. Inside the Obama administration, the fact that the 6-foot-5 former Marine Corps commandant has left only the faintest of footprints has prompted some early sniping, including the argument that he is not using his position to wield influence or to bring policy debates to resolution.  General Jones said in an interview that low profile did not necessarily mean low impact. And General Jones's style suits Mr. Obama, close aides and friends of the president said.  Some of General Jones's critics say that his practice of keeping a schedule separate from Mr. Obama's suggests that the former four-star general and supreme commander of NATO "thinks like a principal" rather than as a member of the staff of the president of the United States.  But Richard C. Holbrooke, Mr. Obama's special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, said that General Jones has served as an important filter between the president and the military, particularly in advising Mr. Obama during the debate over when military requests for more troops were warranted for Afghanistan.  General Jones combines a four-star résumé and bipartisan admiration. A decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, he also mastered the subtle art of coalition diplomacy during wartime. As head of NATO forces, he was required to find consensus for military action among squabbling member governments when the alliance took over significant portions of the war in Afghanistan.  Before President Obama traveled to Afghanistan during the 2008 presidential campaign, General Jones briefed him on the American and the Atlantic alliance security and assistance mission there. He also briefed Mr. Obama on energy policy issues.  General Jones led a study for the Atlantic Council of the United States, a nongovernmental organization, that concluded: "Make no mistake, NATO is not winning in Afghanistan.'' He also has said that the war in Iraq caused the United States to "take its eye off the ball'' in Afghanistan, and has warned that the consequences of failure are just as serious in Afghanistan as they are in Iraq. "Symbolically, it's more the epicenter of terrorism than Iraq. If we don't succeed in Afghanistan, you're sending a very clear message to the terrorist organizations that the U.S., the U.N. and the 37 countries with troops on the ground can be defeated.''  After retiring from the Marine Corps in February 2007, he became president and chief executive of the United States Chamber of Commerce Institute for 21st Century Energy, which seeks to find ways to assure that the nation's energy supply is "adequate, affordable and secure while protecting the environment," according to the organization's mission statement.  He was born in Kansas City, Mo., on Dec. 19, 1943. He received a bachelor of science degree in 1966 from Georgetown, where he played basketball. In 2002 Georgetown awarded him an honorary doctorate of letters. He graduated from the National War College in Washington in 1985 and wears the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters; the Silver Star Medal; the Legion of Merit with four gold stars; the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V"; and the Combat Action Ribbon.
News about James L. Jones. Commentary and archival information about James L. Jones from The New York Times.