Charles G. Cogan
Associate, International Security Program
Contact:
Telephone: 617-864-3959
Email: chuck_cogan@harvard.edu
Website: http://www.drcharlesgcogan.net
May 8, 2013
"Born Yesterday"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"...[T]here are many downsides to what has happened in Afghanistan. In my view, we should have stopped hostilities in Afghanistan when bin Laden and his al-Qaeda followers escaped into Pakistan in late 2001. But it is now more than 11 years later and way past time to get out."
May 3, 2013
"Out on a Presidential Limb"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"...[I]n the event of a worst-case scenario in which negotiations completely fail, Barack Obama has committed himself to an unprovoked military attack on Iran, which would have a disastrous effect on world public opinion and lead to unpredictable human and material damage."
April 23, 2013
"Boondock Nation"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"...[T]he president might just as well have railed against our undemocratic, eighteenth-century system of government. From the era when a second legislative chamber was created to hold back the masses, we have a situation whereby Montana, with a population of just over one million has the same number of senators — two — as New York, with a population of almost 20 million."
April 22, 2013
"Panetta to Hillary: 'You're Flat Wrong'"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"The issue was who was in charge of the drone program being conducted over Pakistan, the ambassador, Cameron Munter (who was present by video link) or the Station Chief. Specifically, Munter wanted to have approval power over the drone strikes. Hillary agreed. Panetta insisted otherwise."
March 21, 2013
"Triste Anniversaire"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"...[T]his was a useless war, conceived under the mistaken pretext that Saddam was in possession of weapons of mass destruction and resulting in untold sacrifices of dead and wounded on all sides."
March 7, 2013
"A Modest Proposal: Furloughing the Furloughers"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"Those who have legislated pain on so many people would by this proposed action demonstrate that they are willing to absorb some of the pain themselves. In addition, it would be another contribution toward lowering the national debt, which all sides can agree on. The fact that the legislators were elected, as they are so proud of declaiming, is beside the point. They draw from the same federal cash box as the civilian employees of the government."
February 28, 2013
No Taxation With Representation
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"How can members of Congress vote to reduce expenditures, via the sequester, and thereby lower the debt, while at the same time refusing to levy taxes, which is another method of reducing the debt. Why go at half of the problem and refuse to consider the other half? The inconsistency is patent, at least to some, and the result is likely to be that many ordinary Americans are soon going to face lesser paychecks under the sequester."
February 5, 2013
"Drones: What's the Fuss About?"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"...[I]n Pakistan, in Yemen, in Somalia, and now seemingly in West Africa, the drones have been a reliable source of intelligence and, equipped with missiles, a lethal and potentially accurate weapon....Unquestionably, there have been a number of innocent people killed in drone attacks, either by proximity and/or mistake. But what is this in comparison to the land invasions and mass aerial bombings of the pre-drone era?"
January 15, 2013
"The Once and Present Ally: France"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"When the new, and pro-American, French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, returned France to the NATO integrated command in the spring of 2009, a number of prominent French figures stated their reservations, the most articulate of whom was the former French foreign minister under François Mitterrand, Hubert Védrine. Much later, and more recently, in a report submitted to President François Hollande on Nov. 12, 2012, Védrine stated that although de Gaulle had been right in 1966, the world had changed since. And the United States, especially with the reelection of Barack Obama, had changed. The Americans now want an increased military role for the Europeans."
January 11, 2013
"Mainstream Support of Hagel: Is This a Crack in the Wall of Intimidation?"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"Does all this represent a crack in the wall of intimidation, to use the word of Mr. Hagel to Mr. Miller? Will the message get through to Benjamin Netanyahu, Avigdor Lieberman, et al to stop interfering in the American political process?"
