“The decision making process that led to the surge in Iraq began with a review of the assumptions upon which our strategy had previously been based. It found that most of those assumptions were no longer valid and therefore it pointed to the necessity of changing the strategy in some fundamental ways. Today I would say President Obama has to look at these assumptions and determine the relationships between certain realities on the ground.”

Meghan O’Sullivan, Kirkpatrick professor of the practice of international affairs and member of the Belfer Center’s board of directors, was interviewed for Harvard Kennedy School Insight, which is currently featured on the HKS homepage.

For the full interview, go to: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/news-events/publications/insight/international/meghan-osullivan

“The lessons from Waziristan do not neatly prescribe an obvious course of action, but they will help us to make better judgments about the costs, benefits, and means of success, and they deserve to be considered carefully. Most of all, they will remind us that Afghanistan is neither Vietnam nor Iraq — it is Afghanistan.”

William Tobey, a Belfer Center senior fellow, wrote “Afghanistan is Neither Vietnam Nor Iraq,” which Foreign Policy published on November 10, 2009.

For the full oped, go to: http://belfercenter.org/publication/19692/

“There is grim news from Baghdad: A twin suicide truck bombing of two Iraqi ministries has left over 130 dead and wounded more than 500. It is the largest such attack in all of 2009 and a reminder, unfortunately, that the oft-heralded “surge” was not the success that its architects and advocates like to claim.”

Stephen Walt, a member of the Belfer Center’s board of directors and faculty chair of the Center’s International Security Program, wrote “Grim News From Baghdad,” which he published on his Foreign Policy blog on October 26, 2009.

For the full opinion article, go to: http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/10/26/grim_news_from_baghdad

“It’s possible that Iraq could be in the government formation period for maybe five months and in that case it could be a very precarious environment to begin rapidly withdrawing U.S. troops.”

Meghan O’Sullivan, a member of the Belfer Center’s board of directors and Harvard Kennedy School’s Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of International Affairs, was interviewed on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier,” which aired on October 1, 2009.

For the full interview, go to: http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=10272354&maven_referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/specialreport/

“Meghan O’Sullivan, who directed Iraq policy for Mr. Bush, agreed and said the more important concern was making sure that enough forces remained for a while after the elections, noting that it took five months for Iraq to form a government after its last elections, in 2005.”

Meghan O’Sullivan, professor of the practice of international affairs at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center, was quoted in “Gates Sees Faster Iraq Troop Pullout,” which the New York Times published on July 29, 2009.

For the full article, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/world/middleeast/30military.html?_r=1&ref=world&pagewanted=print

“When you get down in the boiler room and look at moving mountains of equipment that is accumulated over six years of war in Iraq and either bringing it home, or donating it to the Iraqi security forces, or taking it to Afghanistan, it is a huge logistical challenge.”

Ashton Carter, on leave from the Belfer Center’s board of directors to serve as under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics, was quoted in “Iraq Exit Poses Daunting Logistics,” which the Boston Globe published on July 28, 2009.

For the full article, go to: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/07/28/iraq_exit_poses_daunting_logistics?mode=PF

“The continuing headache that this Iraqi prime minister gave to President Bush may indeed carry over into this administration, despite Maliki’s non-endorsing “endorsement’’ of Obama during the US presidential campaign. Nevertheless, given the drawdown of US troops in Iraq, having a strong man in Baghdad - whatever his ethnic or confessional background - is not the worst of all outcomes.”

Eric Rosenbach, executive director for research the Belfer Center, and Aki Peritz, a Belfer Center fellow, co-wrote “What Maliki’s Power Means for US,” which the Boston Globe published on July 24, 2009.

For the full oped, go to: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/07/24/what_malikis_power_means_for_us/

“Encouraging this movement toward issues-based politics is arguably the most important component of a strategy to help Iraqis solve their most intractable problems. Too often, differences among Iraqis are portrayed as feuds between primordial rivals, grounded in irrational and emotional stances.”

Meghan O’Sullivan, professor of the practice of International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center, wrote “Issues Before Identity in Iraq,” which the Washington Post published on July 21, 2009.

For the full oped, go to: http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/19320/

“Divisions based on identity are risk factors for a number of reasons. First, most identities are born in bloodshed and in opposition to an “other.” This means that when stories of the birth of the nation or religion are told and retold, they often invoke an enemy that must be overcome. For the Serbs, it is the nasty Ottomans or Muslims; for the Chechens, it is Moscow’s imperial yoke; and for the Shia in Iraq, it is historically the Sunnis. Such histories of fear, hatred and violence are difficult to overcome and almost impossible to erase.”

Monica Duffy Toft, director of the Belfer Center’s Initiative on Religion in International Affairs and a member of the Center’s board of directors, wrote “A Risky Prospect for Iraq,” which Foreign Policy published online on June 30, 2009.

For the full opinion article, go to: http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/19180/

“. . . the acquisition decision memorandum ‘directs the Army to identify the most efficient means to end the manned ground vehicle development effort with the least cost to the taxpayer and to use work already completed in any follow-on ground combat vehicle developmental programs.’”

Ashton Carter, on leave from the Belfer Center’s board of director to serve as under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics, released a memo regarding changes to the U.S. Army’s modernization plan on June 23, 2009.

For more, go to: http://www.upi.com/Security_Industry/2009/06/29/Modernizing-the-Armys-modernization-plan/UPI-26191246296107/
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“We’ll learn a lot when we withdraw from a small base like this. All kinds of issues arise that will arise when we withdraw from larger bases, for example to whom shall we turn over property? In what state shall we leave the facilities? What should we do with the equipment that is here on the base?”

Carter was also quoted in “U.S. Withdraws from Iraq Cities,” which GlobalPost published on June 29, 2009.

For the full article, go to:
http://www.globalpost.com/print/2192549