Charles G. Cogan
Associate, International Security Program
Contact:
Telephone: 617-864-3959
Email: chuck_cogan@harvard.edu
Website: http://www.drcharlesgcogan.net
April 4, 2013
"The Palestinian Occupation: Even (Or Especially) the 'Gatekeepers' Say It Isn't Working"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"...[U]nlike the French in Algeria, the Israelis, back in history, had a leading presence in the land they much, much later moved in on; nevertheless, there are similarities. What struck me most about The Gatekeepers was reminiscent of The Battle of Algiers: thousands and thousands of indigenous faces shouting or silently expressing their unhappiness at living under the thumb of foreign occupying forces. Looking at this sea of frustration, in frames that must have come largely from official Israeli footage, I said to myself, how can the Israelis, in continuing an occupation that has lasted over 45 years, hope to contain this movement?"
AP Photo
February 15, 2013
"Marry in Haste, Repent at Leisure: the Problem With the Egyptian Constitution"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"The above issues appear to be the principal points of contention between the text of the Muslim Brotherhood-inspired Constitution and the aspirations of the non-Islamists, many of whom are among the youth. Though this matter is not at the heart of the country's current crisis, marked by rampant insecurity and economic stasis, the ambiguities contained in the Constitution may cause serious problems in the future."
January 24, 2013
"Algeria: The Land of No Quarter"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"Algeria's operation at its gas field at In Amenas, which terrorists threatened to blow up, ran into four days, and was ended at an extremely heavy cost: 37 expatriates killed, plus one Algerian; and 29 terrorists killed plus three taken captive. Algeria's policy has long been is one of no quarter with terrorists; that plus the legacy of a brutal independence struggle would have made it unlikely that Algeria would have accepted any counter-terrorism assistance from outside powers that in any way would have been seen as an infringement of the country's sovereignty."
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."
AP Photo
July 20, 2012
"Islam May Be the Answer, Democracy is the Solution"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"The Arab world has changed in the last 40 years with the access of people to TV, the Internet and social networks....Autocratic, military-run regimes have been discredited. The people want to be treated with dignity, and to have a say in their future. Democracy is the durable element that has come out of the Arab Spring. It is a place where all can meet on a common ground, without religious-based rancors."
AP Photo
February 2, 2012
"Does Obama Have Baraka?"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"The operation of Abbottabad was much better coordinated between the military and the CIA than was the unfortunate attempt, thirty years earlier, to rescue the hostages held by the Iranian "students" at the American Embassy in Tehran, during the presidency of another Democratic president, Jimmy Carter. Although the two operations were very different, they resembled each other in some aspects. Both represented military interventions in countries with which the United States was not at war. Also, in both cases, it was the CIA's responsibility to acquire intelligence on the internal situation in the country and prepare the groundwork for the intervention. As for the military, it was their responsibility in each case to carry out the attack."
AP Photo
November 7, 2011
"With a Little Help From Our (Arab) Friends"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"Qatar had been instrumental in persuading the Arab League to endorse an intervention in Libya, which the United Nations Security Council voted in two resolutions: Resolution 1970 on February 26 and Resolution 1973 on March 17. Qatar also became the first Arab country to recognize the rebels' Transitional National Council. A few other Arab countries lent diplomatic support and cash to the TNC — including the United Arab Emirates in the former case and Kuwait in the latter."
AP Photo
October 29, 2011
"Arab Spring, Islamic Harvest: Tunisia Goes to the Polls"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
How did this stunning victory of Ennahda happen? As elsewhere in the countries of the Arab Spring, the Islamist parties had no connection with the former authoritarian military regimes: with the extreme longevity of the dictators in power, producing a feeling of lassitude among the people; with the repression of the people by the police and security services of these regimes; and with the rampant corruption among the ruling families. The feeling toward Ennahda among many Tunisians, as is the case elsewhere with Islamist parties in the Arab world is, in a nutshell, "They're clean. Let's give them a try."
AP Photo
October 24, 2011
"Libya: Sarko the Impulsive Meets Dorian Gray"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"And what credit does Nicolas Sarkozy, or Barack Obama, for that matter, gain from the sudden and felicitous demise of Muammar Gaddafi. Very little. Both are up for reelection in 2012, and the odds are not good, both in terms of Sarkozy's perceived un-presidential and rough manners, and in terms of Obama's miseries over the economy."
AP Photo
September 8, 2011
"The Algerian Connection"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"Algeria and the Gaddafi regime have had a common enemy: al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), made up largely of former members of the Algerian terrorist movement, the Islamic Armed Group (GIA). The Algerian Government suppressed this group, which rose up following the Government's cancellation in 1992 of an election that would have led to the victory of the Islamist political party, the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS). The 10-year war that followed ended in a defeat of the GIA and at an appalling cost of lives on both sides. The GIA then became the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat and later officially joined al Qaeda. AQIM has retreated to the Sahel area south of the Saharan desert...."
