ARTICLES AND OP-EDS
AP Photo
October 27, 2009
"We Mustn't Judge Leaders by Values of Hollywood"
The Scotsman
By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program
"Imagine the front-ranking opposition front-bencher, with decades of work and experience behind him, forced to conclude he was underqualified to lead his party because he lacked a full head of hair. Or the shadow cabinet team, waiting to listen to speeches by two leadership contenders, knowing before either candidate has stepped on to the podium who they will vote for as leader by looking at their faces alone."
AP Photo
October 27, 2009
War From Cyberspace
National Interest
By Richard Clarke, Faculty Affiliate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
The United States thinks that its cyber warriors are the best at offense, with the capability of shutting down enemy air defenses, electric-power grids, rail systems and telephony. Such offensive prowess does nothing to defend our own networks from similar attacks, however, and the current U.S. defense systems protect only parts of the federal government, and not civilian or private-sector infrastructure. No nation is as dependent on cyber systems and networks for the operation of its infrastructure, economy and military as the United States. Yet, few national governments have less control over what goes on in its cyberspace than Washington.
October 26, 2009
"The Global Impact of America’s Health Care Debate"
Daily News Egypt
By Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University
President Obama's health care proposals are meeting strong opposition from fiscally conservative Democrats as well as from Republicans, owing to their potential impact on future fiscal deficits, says Martin Feldstein, member of the Belfer Center's board of directors. "Because those deficits are the primary cause of America's current-account deficit," he says, the "health-care debate's outcome will affect governments and investors around the world."
October 22, 2009
"Russian Nuke Plans, Overkill"
International Relations and Security Network
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
The Russian military and security community's drive to expand the use of nuclear weapons in the new defense doctrine will add little value to deterring real threats, but may undermine Russia's image as a co-leader of nuclear arms control, Simon Saradzhyan comments for ISN Security Watch.
AP Photo
October 21, 2009
"High Cost, Low Odds"
Nation
By Stephen M. Walt, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs; Faculty Chair, International Security Program
"...America's odds of winning this war are slim. The Karzai government is corrupt, incompetent and resistant to reform. The Taliban have sanctuaries in Pakistan and can hide among the local populace, making it possible for them simply to outlast us. Pakistan has backed the Afghan Taliban in the past and is not a reliable partner now. Our European allies are war-weary and looking for the exits. The more troops we send and the more we interfere in Afghan affairs, the more we look like foreign occupiers and the more resistance we will face. There is therefore little reason to expect a US victory."
AP Photo
October 20, 2009
"Seeking More Private Investment is a Nobel Cause for Universities"
The Scotsman
By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program
"For too long here, we have believed that the money should come only from the poor put-upon taxpayer. As should be painfully clear, that is insufficient. As is starting to happen, universities need to diversify their sources of income to provide the investment that turns an adequate university into a great one. That means making greater use of alumni contacts, and aggressively looking for philanthropy and endowments."
AP Photo
October 16, 2009
"Thinking Outside the Box Could Save Royal Mail"
The Scotsman
By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program
"Since 1969, it has been a public limited company owned by the government. But as mail volumes have fallen, the debate about whether it should be public or private has forced it to live in uncertainty about its future. Some see it as an essential public service which the government should run. But last year's Hooper Report says it is 40 per cent less efficient than its European counterparts...."
AP Photo
October 13, 2009
"U.S., Russia Must Lead on Arms Control"
Politico
By General Brent Scowcroft, Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor, R. Nicholas Burns, Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics and Strobe Talbott
"The Nobel Peace Prize Committee cited Obama's dedication to arms control and nonproliferation when announcing last Friday his selection as this year's laureate. If he creates a positive, mutually reinforcing dynamic in the way he presents and sequences the two treaties [NPT and CTBT], it will give momentum and coherence to follow-on negotiations and the agreements that they produce."
AP Photo
October 13, 2009
"Obama's Nuclear Agenda"
Daily News Egypt
By Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
"So long as the world remains a dangerous place with several nuclear weapons states, Obama must reassure its allies about the credibility of American guarantees of extended deterrence. Otherwise, reductions that create anxieties in other countries could lead them to develop their own weapons and thus increase the number of nuclear weapons states."
AP Photo
October 12, 2009
"Why PR Won't Represent the Country"
politics.co.uk
By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program
"Coalitions are held together by leaders 'buying off' the smaller parties to prevent them splitting and triggering new elections. That inevitably result in leaders kowtowing to factional whims and offering concessions to the preoccupations of small parties, however arcane. That would be a very real risk here, where small party support has grown from 3 per cent to 14 per cent in the last thirteen years. In many countries this results in money for the pet projects of small parties or individuals. This is an awful idea at a time when there is such an urgent need to restrict spending."
