David was a tenured U.S. diplomat before leaving the U.S. government to consult for the private sector, and to write policy and academic papers. At the State Department, he was the senior political-military affairs officer covering the East Asia region and his responsibilities included coordinating diplomatic dialogues, formulating plans with the Pentagon, notifying Congress of U.S. arms sales, writing the Secretary of State’s talking points, and traveling overseas with the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense for bilateral dialogues. His other assignments included the U.S. embassies in Beijing, Tokyo, Wellington; U.S. consulates in Sydney and Perth; American Institute in Taiwan; and U.S. Pacific Command. He completed his B.A. at UC Berkeley; M.A. in international affairs and business management, and political science Ph.D. courses at UC San Diego. Obligatory disclaimer: The comments are his own, and do not represent the U.S. government. Since Jeff Moss famously said in 2013: “Feds, we need some time apart,” David emphasizes that he is no longer a fed.