His responsibilities include the formulation of defense planning guidance and forces policy, Department of Defense relations with foreign countries and the Department’s role in U.S Government interagency policy making.
Politically, Feith has been associated with the Cold War "neoconservative" school of thought. As an ardent defender of Zionism and a strong advocate of close relationship between the United States and Israel, Feith has drawn critics who view his views as anti-Arab.
Previous to his appointment, Feith spent fifteen years as the managing attorney of the law firm of Feith & Zell, P.C., located in Washington, D.C
From March 1984 until September 1986, Feith served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Negotiations Policy.
Before becoming Deputy Assistant Secretary, Feith served as Special Counsel to Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Perle.
Feith transferred to The Pentagon from the National Security Council at the White House, where he worked in 1981-82 as a Middle East specialist.
Feith's writings on international law and on foreign and defense policy have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Commentary, The New Republic and elsewhere. He has contributed chapters to a number of books, including James W. Muller, ed., Churchill as Peacemaker; Douglas J. Feith, et al., Israel’s Legitimacy in Law and History; and Uri Ra’anan, et al., eds., Hydra of Carnage: International Linkages of Terrorism.
Feith holds a J.D. (magna cum laude) from the Georgetown University Law Center and an A.B. (magna cum laude) from Harvard College.