Skousen, born in
San Diego and raised in
Oregon, served as a
USMC fighter pilot during the
Vietnam War. During the 1980s, Skousen was the chairman of the Conservative National Committee. He was also the executive editor of
Conservative Digest. Skousen is the founder and chief editor of
World Affairs Brief, a weekly news-analysis service. Some of Skousen's views are controversial. He made the case that the
Fall of Communism was, also as claimed by KGB defector
Anatoliy Golitsyn, a "carefully crafted deception," meant to gain Western aid and technology transfers that would eventually end in a resurgence of the Russian threat. In his weekly briefings, Skousen has also written extensively about the evidence of conspiracy by government to cover up its own involvement in numerous black operations such as the
Assassination of John F. Kennedy, the
Oklahoma City bombing,
TWA 800 and the
September 11 attacks. He is particularly a harsh critic of what he calls the "phony
war on terror" used to conjure up justification for continual foreign intervention and the diminution of American constitutional rights; he is also very critical of
globalism,
communism, and the U.S.
interventionist foreign policy. Skousen has written several books. including
Essential Principles for the Conservation of Liberty,
Strategic Relocation – North American Guide to Safe Places,
The Secure Home,
Survival Home Manual: Architectural Design, Construction, and Remodeling Of Self-Sufficient Residences and Retreats, and
How to Implement a High Security Shelter in the Home. He also published a booklet titled
10 Packs for Survival, which he has also posted to several websites. Skousen designs and consults on hardened retreat homes, often including
fallout shelters with
HEPA air filtration systems. He has offered consultation in both
North and
Central America regarding architectural and retreat design. In the book
Dancing at Armageddon: Survivalism and Chaos in Modern Times by Richard G. Mitchell, Jr., (2001) Skousen was quoted: "'You never want to make a house look like an obvious fortress. Those who want in can always move up a bigger gun. There is no way you can design a home to withstand RPG (
Rocket-propelled grenade) rockets and tanks. I design these homes so you virtually cannot tell inside or out that they are any different from a conventional home.'" Because of its low population density and diverse economy, Skousen recommends the
Intermountain West region of the
United States, as a preferred region for relocation and setting up
survival retreats. In late 2007, Skousen gave his support to
Ron Paul, rather than to fellow
LDS church member
Mitt Romney, in the
2008 U.S. presidential campaign, in a widely circulated YouTube video clip. After
John McCain became the
Republican Party's presumptive nominee in early 2008, Skousen also endorsed
Chuck Baldwin of the
Constitution Party. He announced his candidacy for President of the United States under the Constitution Party in 2024. ==Personal life==