He served as Director for European Affairs on the National Security Council staff at the White House from 1997 to 1999.

In this position he was important in the development of the Good Friday Agreement in the Northern Ireland peace process.

He also covered the European Union, thus preparing the then twice-yearly U.S.-EU Summits and handling relations with the Nordic states, UK, Ireland and Germany.

As part of that, he focused on supporting the government on efforts to become a future member of NATO and the European Union.

He returned to the State Department in January 2007 to be the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, as part of the New Way Forward policy implementation team that successfully diminished violence and improved governance in Iraq.