Karen Betts is the Foreign Policy Counsellor at the British Embassy in Washington, where she focuses on the Middle East, counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation. She came to Washington in 2011 after serving in the UK’s Cabinet Office for 3 years, where she worked on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Karen was the Political Counsellor in the British Embassy in Baghdad from 2006-2007. Prior to that, she worked Middle East issues at the UK’s Permanent Representation to the EU from 2003-2006. From 2001 to 2003, Karen worked in the UK Foreign Office’s Consular Division. Karen joined the Foreign Office in 2001. Before that, she was a litigation lawyer at Clifford Chance in London.