Kevin Ryan

(AP Photo)

January 6, 2012

"New Defense Strategy Guidance: Hardly a Strategic Pivot"

Op-Ed, Power & Policy Blog

By Kevin Ryan, Director, Defense and Intelligence Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

"Don’t get me wrong – I am pleased that the executive branch and defense establishment have developed a fresh expression of our national defense goals and strategy from the top down, as it should be. But let’s stop calling this new guidance a 'strategic pivot' or a spectacular break from the past," writes Kevin Ryan, executive director for research at the Belfer Center.

AP Photo

March 19, 2008

Five Years Into Iraq: A Report Card

Media Feature

By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School, Kevin Ryan, Director, Defense and Intelligence Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Meghan L. O'Sullivan, Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, Eric Rosenbach, Faculty Affiliate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs (on leave) and Paul Kane, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, February 2004–August 2008

With the war in Iraq stretching past the five-year mark, experts weigh in on what has gone right, what has gone wrong, and lessons learned. Paul Kane, a Marine veteran of Iraq, writes of the “serious disconnect” between civilians and those who have served in uniform, while Meghan O’Sullivan, former deputy national security advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan, says that today “we have the right strategy in place — and it is making a difference on the ground.”

AP Images

September 11, 2007

"No choice -- withdrawal starts in '08"

Op-Ed, Los Angeles Times

By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School and Kevin Ryan, Director, Defense and Intelligence Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

"What all of this debate about withdrawal missed, however, is that the driver is not conditions in Iraq or politics in the United States but the hard realities of Army and Marine Corps readiness. As the troops' extended 15-month tours of duty end, the Army and Marine Corps simply don't have more troops to replace them. The withdrawal will be, in effect, the flip side of the surge."

AP Images

September 7, 2007

Iraq Progress Report: Reading Between the Lines

Media Feature

By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School, Kevin Ryan, Director, Defense and Intelligence Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Paul Kane, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, February 2004–August 2008, Eric Rosenbach, Faculty Affiliate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs (on leave) and Stephen M. Walt, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs; Faculty Chair, International Security Program

With Gen. David H. Petraeus scheduled to appear before Congress next week, Belfer Center experts and researchers offer their insights and analysis — as well as items that Congress should not overlook.

(AP Photo/Stew Milne)

April 2, 2012

"A soldier’s moral compass constantly tested"

Op-Ed, Stars and Stripes

By Kevin Ryan, Director, Defense and Intelligence Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Writing about the contrast of a recent act of heroism by a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan who gave his life to save a young boy and another soldier who killed 17 sleeping children and adults, Brigadier General (ret.) Kevin Ryan says,"When a soldier makes the right choices, his deeds can be famous. When he makes the wrong choices, they are infamous. Each of us confronts these choices every day. In war, the choices and the results are magnified."

(AP Photo)

April 1, 2011

"The Pat Tillman story: service before self"

Op-Ed, San Diego Union-Tribune

By Kevin Ryan, Director, Defense and Intelligence Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

For most people, writes Belfer Center Executive Director for Research Kevin Ryan, the story of Pat Tillman, the former professional football star who joined the Army after 9/11, ends with his tragic death and the ensuing controversy surrounding the Army’s handling of it. But for those who know Marie Tillman, Pat’s wife, and the Pat Tillman Foundation, the story does not end there. It continues in the same way it started – in selfless service to others.

Belfer Center

Spring 2010

"U.S.-Russia Initiative Aims to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism"

Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter

By Kevin Ryan, Director, Defense and Intelligence Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Kevin Ryan is director of the U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism.

"In an effort to address this [nuclear terrorism] threat, the Belfer Center has teamed with other United States and Russian partners to form the U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism. The goal of the Initiative is to contribute to improved joint U.S.-Russian assessment of the threat of nuclear terrorism and concepts, strategy, and actions to prevent a successful nuclear attack by terrorists."

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

March 20, 2012

"U.S. and Russia Work Together Against Threat of Nuclear Terrorism"

Op-Ed, GlobalPost

By Kevin Ryan, Director, Defense and Intelligence Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and The Elbe Group

The Elbe Group, former leaders of American and Russian intelligence and military organizations, write that the nuclear security summit in Seoul provides an important opportunity to reaffirm U.S. and Russian leadership against the deadly menace of nuclear terrorism — a threat that combines the Cold War peril of nuclear holocaust and the 21st century danger of international terrorism. Kevin Ryan joined other Elbe Group members in writing this oped.

Summer 2013

"Elbe Group Facilitates U.S.-Russia Communication, Security"

Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter

By Kevin Ryan, Director, Defense and Intelligence Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

As U.S. and Soviet forces converged in Germany in the final days of WWII, both armies met at the River Elbe near Torgau. That meeting of comrades, united in the face of common threats, is the inspiration for the Belfer Center’s “Elbe Group,” whose purpose is to maintain an open and continuous channel of communication on sensitive issues of U.S.-Russian relations. In late March, the Elbe Group met in Jerusalem for its eighth meeting since its founding in 2010.

(U.S. Department of Defense)

June 24, 2012

"Vital Interdependence"

Op-Ed, Russia in Global Affairs

By Kevin Ryan, Director, Defense and Intelligence Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

In a recent op-ed published in Russia in Global Affairs the Belfer Center's Kevin Ryan and Simon Saradzhyan argue that at a time when deep U.S. defense budget cuts are underway, supporters of continued U.S. missile defense development should consider the potential for cutting costs that cooperation with Russia could offer.