"Belfer Center News Quotes of Interest"

Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter

Spring 2008

"Climate is everything. It is science, it is technology, it is economics, it is politics. It includes international relations, and it includes international security. In fact, the current Nobel Prize rightly emphasizes that peace, prosperity, and the fate of the environment are all intertwined, and that the climate issue - the biggest and most dangerous of all environmental problems - is in fact, the most immediate threat to peace and prosperity."
— John Holdren, "Interview with John Holdren," Mumbai Mirror (14 October 2007)

“In some respects, the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons is like the top of a very tall mountain. From the vantage point of our troubled world today, we can't even see the top of the mountain, and it is tempting and easy to say we can't get there from here. But the risks from continuing to go down the mountain or standing pat are too real to ignore. We must chart a course to higher ground where the mountaintop becomes more visible."
— George P. Shultz, William J. Perry, Henry A. Kissinger, and Sam Nunn, "Toward a Nuclear Free World," Wall Street Journal (15 January 2008)

“In a world in which potential adversaries are pursuing intermediate-range missiles, neither the United States nor Russia has the capability to effectively counter them. Although no senior official in the United States has openly advocated withdrawing from the INF Treaty yet, Russian leaders have been talking about it for some time."
— Kevin Ryan, "Expand or Scrap Missile Ban," Los Angeles Times (16 October 2007)

“A nation that wishes to acquire nuclear weapons believes these weapons will improve its security. The declaration by the U.S. that it will move to eliminate nuclear weapons in a distant future will have no direct effect on changing this calculus."
— Harold Brown and John M. Deutch, "The Nuclear Disarmament Fantasy," Wall Street Journal (19 November 2007)

"It is up to the West to convince Russia that, regarding Iranian nuclear ambitions, Moscow's long-term equities are best served by comprehensive and full-fledged cooperation with the West."
— Robert Blackwill, "The Three Rs: Rivalry, Russia, 'Ran," The National Interest (7 January 2008)

"The time has come for full bilateral negotiations between the United States and Iran. The talks should be unconditional: Mr. Bush simply must drop the demand for Iran to halt enrichment before talks begin. Both sides should use the momentum generated by negotiations in Baghdad to broaden the dialogue and address diverse security concerns."
— Graham Allison and Eric Rosenbach, "Rethinking U.S. Foreign Policy," The Globe and Mail (5 December 2007)

“An underreported attack on a South African nuclear facility last month demonstrates the high risk of theft of nuclear materials by terrorists or criminals. Such a crime could have grave national security implications for the United States or any of the dozens of countries where nuclear materials are held in various states of security."
— Micah Zenko, "A Nuclear Site Is Breached: South African Attack Should Sound Alarms," Washington Post (20 December 2007)

"The U.S.-India bilateral relationship is much broader than the nuclear deal. Regardless of whether the deal goes through during this administration, this relationship still remains an enormous success."
— Xenia Dormandy, "India-U.S. Atom Deal," The Tribune of India (20 October 2007)

“A witch's brew that includes political instability, a burgeoning Islamic insurgency, a demoralized army, and an intensely anti-American population, puts Pakistan's nuclear weapons at risk...Pakistan has dispersed its weapons and distributed oversight to multiple strategic and security authorities. But these arrangements by necessity increase the likelihood that corrupt officials could successfully divert weapons or materials."
— Graham Allison, "What About the Nukes?" Newsweek Web Exclusive (28 December 2007)

"Musharraf...is becoming increasingly irrelevant and there is a growing possibility that military leadership will distance itself from him and return to its professional job and regain people's confidence...[O]ne hopes that Benazir's sacrifice will pay off, ushering Pakistan towards a progressive democratic order."
— Hassan Abbas, "The Elections Must Go Ahead," The Guardian.com (1 January 2008)

“Kenya's recent presidential election unleashed turmoil that has so far claimed more than 500 lives and displaced thousands of people. Blame has been pinned on Kenya's ethnic divisions....But this story is misleading.... If ethnic diversity didn't cause the recent round of violence in Kenya, what did? The answer: a feeble parliament."
— Matthew Kroenig, "Kenya's Real Problem (It's Not Ethnic)," The Washington Post (9 January 2008)

“World war four was supposed to be the showdown between the west and radical Islam, forecast in 1993 by Samuel Huntington as the 'clash of civilizations.'...And the worse things have gone in the Middle East since the invasion of Iraq, the more likely it has seemed the U.S. might launch its next pre-emptive strike against neighboring Iran."
— Niall Ferguson, "World War Four is Off: Time for a Bargain with Tehran"Financial Times (8 December 2007)

"So what, if anything, do we owe the Kurds? Should we protect them from the ensuing wrath of nervous neighbors or their sectarian foes in Iraq?...The trap, of course, is that in our humanitarian impulse to protect our Kurdish allies we will facilitate the dangerous imperial ambitions of the proponents of the 'Kurdistan option.'"
— Matan Chorev, "Opposing the Kurdistan Option for Withdrawal," Boston Globe (4 October 2007)

"Americans should grasp precisely why a U.S.-led war on global terror has backfired....The main reason, simply, is that every aspect of Washington's 'global war on terror' is perceived by the majority of people in the Arab-Asian region as reviving, reaffirming, expanding, and accelerating all the negative Western policies that have devastated the people of the Middle East for nearly a century."
— Rami G. Khouri, "Things to Consider Before Attacking Iran," Agence Global (29 October 2007)

“The...next president is going to be left with a legacy of hostility around the world and that is going to breed terrorism no matter how ably a future president works through existing problems. That is why we have got to simply be ready."
— Elaine Kamarck, "Elaine Kamarck on Homeland Security," KSG Insight Web Feature (7 December 2007)

"The nation should embrace a smarter strategy that blends our 'hard' and 'soft' power -- our ability to attract and persuade, as well as our ability to use economic and military might. Whether it is ending the crisis in Pakistan, winning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, deterring Iran's and North Korea's nuclear ambitions . . . the United States needs a broader, more balanced approach."
— Richard L. Armitage and Joseph S. Nye, Jr., "Stop Getting Mad, America. Get Smart," The Washington Post (10 December 2007)

“Has Qaddafi really changed? It is difficult to know for sure. He has always been a protean figure--part Bedouin libertarian, part revolutionary socialist--and, obviously, his future actions will speak louder than any current words. But there is no doubt that he acts differently on the world stage today than he did in decades past.... One thing about Qaddafi, however, has not changed: Even as he takes a softer approach to the exercise of power abroad, he remains the dominant figure at home."
— Joseph Nye, "Big Tent," The New Republic (10 December 2007)

"While the Clinton parameters of December 2000 outlined the core trade-offs on Jerusalem, refugees, borders, and security -- thus removing the mystery of what might be required -- the ability to cross such historic thresholds and make historic compromises remains a daunting task."
— Dennis Ross, "What Rice Must Do to Pave Way for Mideast Peace Deal," USA Today (17 October 2007)

"The American economy is now very weak and could get substantially weaker. Current economic conditions call for lowering interest rates and for enacting a tax cut now that is conditioned on economic developments in 2008."
— Martin Feldstein, "How to Avert Recession," The Wall Street Journal (5 December 2007)

“The odds of a 2008 U.S. recession have surely increased after a very poor employment report, growing evidence of weak holiday spending, further increases in oil prices, more dismal housing data, and further write-downs in the financial sector."
— Lawrence Summers, "Why America Must Have a Fiscal Stimulus," The Financial Times (7 January 2008)

“It is our duty as universities to form the new leaders that the world requires to achieve transformations. These leaders have to be educated in a holistic way. These leaders should be sensitive to the current reality, to the real problems that face the world, and should be equipped to offer practical solutions that permeate all sectors of society."
— Calestous Juma, "University as Agents of Prosperity," The Nation (Kenya) (October 2007)

Compiled by Courtney Anderson and Traci Farrell, Communications Office

For Academic Citation:
Communications Office. "Belfer Center News Quotes of Interest." Belfer Center Newsletter (Spring 2008).