Business roles Following his retirement from the military, Jones became president of the Institute for 21st Century Energy, an affiliate of the
US Chamber of Commerce; until January 2009, when he assumed the post of National Security Advisor. Jones also served as a member of the guiding coalition for the
Project on National Security Reform, as well as chairman of the Independent Commission on the Iraqi Security Forces. He was a member of the
board of directors of
The Boeing Company from June 21, 2007, to December 15, 2008, serving on the company's Audit and Finance Committees. Jones was also a member of the board of directors of
Cross Match Technologies, a privately held biometric solutions company, from October 2007 to January 2009. Jones was employed on the board of trustees of the
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a bipartisan think-tank, from 2007 to 2008, and then began serving again in 2011. He was a member of the board of directors of
Chevron Corporation from May 28, 2008, to December 5, 2008, serving on the Board Nominating and Governance and Public Policy Committees. According to the first report since Jones re-entered government service in January 2009, Jones earned a salary and bonus of $900,000 from the US Chamber, as well as director fees of $330,000 from the
Boeing Company and $290,000 from the
Chevron Corporation. After leaving the Obama administration, Jones returned as a Fellow at the US Chamber in 2011. The board of directors of
General Dynamics has elected Jones to be a director of the corporation, effective August 3, 2011. Also, on January 13, 2012, Jones joined Deloitte Consulting LLP as a senior adviser who will work with Federal and commercial consulting clients within Deloitte's Department of Defense and Intel segments. In early 2013, Jones joined OxiCool Inc's Advisory Board. Jones established the consulting firms Ironhand Security LLC and Jones Group International LLC. The firms have worked for foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia. After the
murder of Jamal Khashoggi by the Saudi regime, Jones downplayed his firms' work with the Saudi government and said that the remaining contract with them was about to expire. However, Jones's firms subsequently expanded its partnership with the Saudi regime. By 2022, his firms had four contracts with the Saudi government and employed 53 Americans in Riyadh, eight of whom were retired generals and admirals.
Diplomatic roles Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asked Jones twice to be
Deputy Secretary of State after
Robert Zoellick resigned. He declined. On May 25, 2007, Congress created an Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq to investigate for 120 days the capabilities of the Iraq armed forces and police. Jones served as chairman of that commission and reported on Congress on September 6, 2007, noting serious deficiencies in the Iraq Interior Ministry and in the Iraq National Police. Rice appointed Jones as a special envoy for Middle East security on November 28, 2007, to work with both
Israelis and
Palestinians on security issues. Jones is also a co-chair of BPC's Energy Project. Jones is an Advisory Board Member of
Spirit of America, a
501(c)(3) organization that supports the safety and success of Americans serving abroad and the local people and partners they seek to help. The National Security Advisor is appointed by the president without confirmation by the United States Senate. The selection surprised people because, as
Michael Crowley reported, "The two men didn't meet until Obama's foreign policy aide,
Mark Lippert, arranged a 2005 sit-down, and, as of this October, Jones had only spoken to Obama twice". Crowley speculated that Jones' record suggests he is "someone who, unencumbered by strong ideological leanings, can evaluate ideas dispassionately whether they come from
left or
right", and, "This is probably why Obama picked him". Jones was also picked because he is well respected and likely to possess the skills to navigate the other prestigious and powerful cabinet members. transporting President Obama and Gen Jones Though he did not know
Gates especially well, both men shared long experience in the national security establishment (Gates was in the
Air Force and previously headed the
CIA). Jones and
Clinton had a more direct connection from her tenure on the
Senate Armed Services Committee. The two were said to have particularly clicked at a 2005
conference on security policy in
Munich. Jones hosted a small private dinner that included Clinton and
South Carolina Republican Senator
Lindsey Graham, among others; at the end of the convivial evening, according to one person present, Jones followed Clinton out to her car to visit in private.
Advocate for Iranian dissidents In March 2013, Jones was quoted comparing the conditions for
Iranians in a US camp in
Iraq with the conditions of detention for captives held in the
Guantanamo Bay detention camps. While addressing the Iranian American Cultural Society of Michigan, Jones said Guantanamo captives "are treated far better" than the Iranian internees. Jones criticized other aspects of the Obama administration's policy on Iran.
Foreign Policy magazine noted that Jones had not volunteered whether he had been paid for this speaking engagement.
Middle East consultancy In March 2017, Jones reportedly began working as a paid consultant for the
Ministry of Defense (Saudi Arabia). In 2019, he began working for the government of
Libya, but stopped after a few months at the request of the State Department. ==Personal life==