Barnett Richard Rubin (born January 10, 1950) is an American political scientist and a leading expert on Afghanistan and South Asia. He is the author of eight books and is currently senior fellow and director at the Center on International Cooperation at New York University, a leading foreign policy center. He was previously senior advisor to the US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He has advised the United Nations, NATO, the United States, and the Afghan government on numerous policy matters, including aid policy, security policy, and diplomatic strategy. Source: Wikipedia (en)