Mailing address
Littauer 240
John F. Kennedy School of Government
79 John F. Kennedy Street
Cambridge, MA, 02138
Richard Clarke
Faculty Affiliate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Experience
Richard Clarke, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, served the last three presidents as a senior White House Advisor. He has held the titles of Special Assistant to the President for Global Affairs; National Coordinator for Security and Counter-terrorism; and Special Advisor to the President for Cyber Security. Prior to the White House, Clarke served for 19 years in the Pentagon, the Intelligence Community, and State Department. During the Reagan administration, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence. During former President George H.W. Bush's administration, he was Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs and coordinated diplomatic efforts to support the 1990-1991 Gulf War and the subsequent security arrangements.
He is the author of Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror, Breakpoint, Scorpion’s Gate, Your Government Failed You, and Cyber War: The Next Threat To National Security And What To Do About It. He is currently the Chairman and CEO of Good Harbor Consulting, LLC.
February 7, 2013
"A Global Cyber-crisis in Waiting"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By Richard Clarke, Faculty Affiliate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"Like-minded nations should also agree that governments should not steal data from private corporations and then give that information to competing companies, as the government of China has been doing on a massive scale. The victims of Chinese economic espionage should seek to establish clear guidelines and penalties within the World Trade Organization system or, if China blocks that, victim states should seek to develop countermeasures and sanctions outside of that structure."
AP Photo
April 2, 2012
"How China Steals Our Secrets"
Op-Ed, New York Times
By Richard Clarke, Faculty Affiliate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"Under Customs authority, the Department of Homeland Security could inspect what enters and exits the United States in cyberspace. Customs already looks online for child pornography crossing our virtual borders. And under the Intelligence Act, the president could issue a finding that would authorize agencies to scan Internet traffic outside the United States and seize sensitive files stolen from within our borders."
AP Photo
February 16, 2012
"Cyber Attacks Can Spark Real Wars"
Op-Ed, Wall Street Journal
By Richard Clarke, Faculty Affiliate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"The recent hacker exchange should also remind us that just as hacking could escalate to the use of conventional force in the Middle East, the reverse is also true. Bombing Iran, for example, could unleash an Iranian government cyber attack. Israelis say they could handle that, despite the recent evidence to the contrary. Unfortunately, much of the critical infrastructure in the U.S. is still not ready for a sophisticated nation-state cyber attack either."
AP Photo
July 31, 2011
"The Coming Cyber Wars"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Richard Clarke, Faculty Affiliate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"The so-called Stuxnet cyber weapon, which attacked and destroyed nuclear centrifuges in Iran, escaped into cyberspace. This sophisticated cyber weapon was then captured by many computer experts around the world and is now freely available for anyone to download. It raises the specter of whether non-state actors will soon be able to engage in cyber war."
AP Photo
June 15, 2011
"China's Cyberassault on America"
Op-Ed, Wall Street Journal
By Richard Clarke, Faculty Affiliate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
In the realm of cyberspace, writes Clark, the administration is ignoring its primary responsibility to protect its own citizens when they are targeted for harm by a foreign government.
Belfer Center Photo
September 21, 2010
Richard Clarke on Cyber Threats: Defense is Key
Media Feature
By James F. Smith, Communications Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Richard Clarke, Faculty Affiliate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Security expert Richard A. Clarke offers stark examples in arguing that the threats of cyberwar and cyberespionage are not just science-fiction hype.
May 9, 2010
"When the Car Bomb Goes Off"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By Richard Clarke, Faculty Affiliate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"Imagine if, after a fatal attack, President Obama responded by proposing greater outreach to Muslim communities domestically and around the world, in an effort to undercut radicalization. That is precisely what we and other nations should be doing, but it would undoubtedly be decried as a weak, starry-eyed reaction by our commander in chief, especially after an attack that revealed deficiencies in our counterterrorism system."
AP Photo
October 27, 2009
War From Cyberspace
Op-Ed, National Interest
By Richard Clarke, Faculty Affiliate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
The United States thinks that its cyber warriors are the best at offense, with the capability of shutting down enemy air defenses, electric-power grids, rail systems and telephony. Such offensive prowess does nothing to defend our own networks from similar attacks, however, and the current U.S. defense systems protect only parts of the federal government, and not civilian or private-sector infrastructure. No nation is as dependent on cyber systems and networks for the operation of its infrastructure, economy and military as the United States. Yet, few national governments have less control over what goes on in its cyberspace than Washington.
May 2008
Your Government Failed You: Breaking the Cycle of National Security Disasters
Book
By Richard Clarke, Faculty Affiliate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
It's not just Bush and Cheney that are to blame. The system is broken. That's the message in this provocative sequel to Against All Enemies. When Richard Clarke apologized for 9-11, he never thought that there would be so many more government failures in so short a time, but climate change, Katrina, the struggle with al Qaeda, the insecurity in cyberspace, and the failure of homeland security all bespeak a larger problem, a systemic failure. Clarke documents the failures and suggests solutions for making government work better in its most important job, protecting us.
November 16, 2005
Defeating the Jihadists
Book
By Richard Clarke, Faculty Affiliate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Eric Rosenbach, Faculty Affiliate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs (on leave), Blake W. Mobley, Glenn P. Age and Lee Wolosky, Former Research Assistant, Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project
The international jihadist network of radical Islamic terrorist groups is far more extensive than just al Qaeda, and it has conducted twice as many attacks in the three years since September 11, 2001 as it did in the three years prior to that date. Defeating the Jihadists: A Blueprint for Action (Century Foundation Press, 2004), assesses the nation's successes and failures on homeland security and calls for a stronger, more effective strategy for dealing with jihadists, including al Qaeda. The report offers a detailed action plan for neutralizing the international movement at the core of worldwide terrorism. The report also describes the nature of the jihadist threat; provides comprehensive profiles of the various jihadist groups; and offers a rationale for the effort and money that would be needed to make the plan a success. The plan presented in the report builds on the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and serves as a road map for winning the war against the jihadists.
