Mailing address
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA, 02138
Rolf Mowatt-Larssen
Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Contact:
Telephone: 617-496-6131
Email: rolf_mowatt-larssen@ksg.harvard.edu
Experience
Prior to his appointment as a senior fellow at the Belfer Center, Mr. Rolf Mowatt-Larssen served over three years as the Director of Intelligence and Counterintelligence at the U.S. Department of Energy. Prior to this, he served for 23 years as a CIA intelligence officer in various domestic and international posts, to include Chief of the Europe Division in the Directorate of Operations, Chief of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Department, Counterterrorist Center, and Deputy Associate Director of Central Intelligence for Military Support. His overseas assignments include Stockholm (1984-1987), Moscow (1988-1990, 1992-1994), Athens (1990-1992), Yerevan (1992), Zurich (1994-1996) and Oslo (1998-2000). Prior to his career in intelligence, Mr. Mowatt-Larssen served as an officer in the U.S. Army. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY. He is married to Roswitha and has three children. He is a recipient of the CIA Director's Award, the George W. Bush Award for Excellence in Counterterrorism, the Secretary of Energy's Exceptional Service Medal, the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, Secretary of Defense Civilian Distinguished Service Medal, and the National Intelligence Superior Performance Medal, among others.
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October 9. 2009
"The Global War on Terrorism: Rectifying a Failure of Imagination"
Presentation
By Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Rolf Mowatt-Larssen analyzes U.S. policy and intelligence after 9/11.
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October 9, 2009
"Preventing Nuclear Terrorism: Evolving Forms of the Nuclear Genie"
Presentation
By Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Rolf Mowatt-Larssen traces nuclear terrorism in the 21st century beginning with theory and practice, analyzing the implications of 9/11 and weighs in on the reconstruction of the global nuclear order.
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August 7, 2009
"The Armageddon Test"
Discussion Paper
By Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
How much nuclear material has leaked, and is it in the hands of terrorists, in storage somewhere, or still in circulation? No one knows for sure, but the task of cleaning up the nuclear black market amounts to an Armageddon test for global intelligence. The standard for success is unforgiving: all nuclear material must be recovered before it finds its way into an improvised nuclear device.
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July 7, 2009
"Preventing Nuclear Terrorism: Securing Pakistani Nuclear Weapons"
Testimony
By Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"The problem is not the quality of Pakistan's nuclear security efforts. The problem is that the standard for success is so unforgiving. In a world in which terrorists are actively seeking weapons of mass destruction, there can be no breakdown in security that enables terrorists to obtain a nuclear bomb."
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July 1, 2009
"Nuclear Security in Pakistan: Reducing the Risks of Nuclear Terrorism"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Arms Control Today
By Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"The greatest threat of a loose nuke scenario stems from insiders in the nuclear establishment working with outsiders, people seeking a bomb or material to make a bomb. Nowhere in the world is this threat greater than in Pakistan."
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June 15, 2009
"Reliable Sources: Raising the Stakes of the Interrogation Debate"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"Espionage is an art form, not a science. One never masters the art of intelligence, but is ever humbled by its elusive and myriad forms of expression."
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May 19, 2009
"A Global Crossroads: A World without Borders, or a Star Wars Shield?"
Paper
By Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
A growing number of intractable problems can no longer be solved by the existing institutions, mechanisms and approaches of a bygone age. It is time to forge a collective security consciousness that will enable us to develop unprecedented ways of working together to solve shared problems.
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May 12, 2009
"The Price of Freedom"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
If our response to the 9/11 attacks is in essence about establishing moral authority, at home and abroad, then the current debate on interrogation and torture misses the mark by focusing on whether certain interrogation methods worked, and whether the information that was obtained proved valuable. In my view, the enduring question is whether a small group of people in power have the right to redefine the nature of America's core values and ideals through policy decisions made under the cover of secrecy.
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April 30, 2009
Preventing Nuclear Terrorism: A Global Intelligence Imperative
Report
By Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"The biggest obstacle to multilateral intelligence cooperation is leadership and finding the courage to work together. Group think and risk aversion must be overcome in the name of urgency."
December 2, 2008
Rolf Mowatt-Larssen Named Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center
Press Release
By Sharon Wilke, Associate Director of Communications and Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, director of the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence at the U.S. Department of Energy and former head of the Central Intelligence Agency's WMD and terrorism efforts, will join the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center as a senior fellow on January 19, 2009.
