Thomas Lowe Hughes (December 11, 1925 – January 2, 2023) was an American government official who was the

Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research The assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research is the head of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) within the United States Department of State. Before 1986, the head of INR was the director of the Bureau of Intelligenc ...

during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. From 1971 he was President of the

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., with operations in Europe, South Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East, as well as the United States. Foun ...

. He was also counsel to Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey from 1955 to 1958. Born in

Mankato, Minnesota Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, Blue Earth, Nicollet County, Minnesota, Nicollet, and Le Sueur County, Minnesota, Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The ...

, on December 11, 1925, Hughes was educated at

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1866, the main campus is between Northfield and the approximately Carleton ...

, Minnesota,

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, as a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

, and

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

, graduating in 1952. While serving as Director of INR, he sent a memo to Under Secretary of State

Nicholas Katzenbach Nicholas deBelleville Katzenbach (January 17, 1922 – May 8, 2012) was an American lawyer who served as United States Attorney General during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. He had previously served as United States Deputy Attorney Genera ...

5 days after the 1967 USS ''Liberty'' incident: “In six strafing runs, it appears remarkable that none of the aircraft pilots identified the vessel as American. The torpedo boat attack was made approximately 20 minutes after the air attack. The surface attack could have been called off in that time had proper air identification been made. ''Liberty'' crew members were able to identify and record the hull number of one of the small, fast moving torpedo boats during the two minutes that elapsed between their attack run and the launching of the first torpedo, but the Israeli boat commanders apparently failed to identify the much larger and more easily identifiable ''Liberty'' (11,000 tons, 455 feet long, large identification numbers on hull).” He also wrote that transcripts pointed to “an extraordinary lack of concern on the part of the attackers as to whether the target was hostile” and that Israel’s explanation “stretched all credibility.” He later said, “We were quite convinced the Israelis knew what they were doing. It was hard to come to any other conclusion.” Hughes died in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on January 2, 2023, at the age of 97.

References

3. Smith, Bruce. 2022. The Last Gentleman: Thomas Hughes and the end of the American Century. Brookings Institution, 978-0-8157-3890-9. 1925 births 2023 deaths American Rhodes Scholars Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Yale Law School alumni People from Mankato, Minnesota {{academic-bio-stub