REPORTS
May 2009
Pakistan Can Defy the Odds: How to Rescue a Failing State
By Hassan Abbas, Senior Advisor, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"Is Pakistan collapsing? How far are the Taliban from Islamabad? Can al-Qaeda grab the country's nuclear weapons? These are the types of questions raised every day by the American media, academia and policy circles. And these are critical issues, given the nature of the evolving crisis in Pakistan. The approximately two dozen suicide bombings in 2009 so far, 66 in 2008, and 61 in 2007, all of which have targeted armed forces personnel, police, politicians, and ordinary people not only in the country's turbulent northwest but also in its major urban centers, indicate the seriousness of the threat. A major ammunition factory area located close to some very sensitive nuclear installations in Wah (Punjab) was targeted by two suicide bombers in August 2008, an act that sent shudders across the country's security establishment...."
April 2009
Police & Law Enforcement Reform in Pakistan: Crucial for Counterinsurgency and Counterterrorism Success
By Hassan Abbas, Senior Advisor, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"The police infrastructure is one of Pakistan's most poorly managed organizations. It is aptly described as ill-equipped, poorly trained, deeply politicized, and chronically corrupt. It has performed well in certain operations; overall, however, that is a rare phenomenon. Arguably, the primary reason for this state of affairs is the government's persistent failure to invest in law enforcement reform and modernization. It is ironic that despite frequent internal crises since its inception in 1947, ranging from ethnic confrontations and sectarian battles to a sharp rise in criminal activity and growing insurgencies, both political and military policymakers have never given this sector top priority. Hence, poor police performance in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency is not surprising. The fact that the police successfully challenged some militant religious groups in Punjab and tackled an insurgency-like situation in Karachi in the late 1990s shows that they do have the potential to deliver the desired results when political support is present and resources are provided...."
January 26, 2009
President Obama's Policy Options in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)
By Hassan Abbas, Senior Advisor, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"There is an emerging consensus among foreign policy experts that the growing insurgency and militancy in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) poses the greatest security challenge not only to Pakistan and Afghanistan, but also to the United States. Some scholars even project that a major terrorist act with al-Qaeda footprints in the United States might result in an American strike and ground invasion of this area."
November 2008
Partnership for Progress
By Xenia Dormandy, Former Senior Associate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Hassan Abbas, Senior Advisor, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
The Belfer Center's Xenia Dormandy and Hassan Abbas participated in a working group on the state of Pakistan convened by the Center for American Progress. The resulting report proposes strategies for enhanced security, democratization, and economic growth.
James Gordon, Flickr Commons
September 6, 2007
The Report of the Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq
By General (ret.) James L. Jones, USMC, Former Senior Advisor, Preventive Defense Project, General (ret.) John Abrams, Lt. General (ret.) Martin R. Berndt, General (ret.) Charles G. Boyd, Command Sergeant Major (ret.) Dwight J. Brown, Terrance Gainer, John J. Hamre, Colonel (ret.) Michael Heidingsfield, Admiral (ret.) Gregory G. Johnson, General (ret.) George Joulwan, Lt. General (ret.) James C. King, Duncan McCausland, Sergeant Major (ret.) Alford McMichael, Lt. General (ret.) Gary S. McKissock, Brig. General (ret.) Richard Potter, Maj. General (ret.) Arnold L. Punaro, Charles Ramsey, John F. Timoney, Lt. General (ret.) John A. Van Alstyne and General (ret.) Charles Wilhelm
The Independent Commission submitted this report to the House and Senate Committees on Armed Services, Appropriations, Intelligence, and Foreign Relations/Affairs on the readiness of the Iraqi Security Forces in September 2007.
soldiersmediacenter, Flickr Commons
January 30, 2008
Afghanistan Study Group Report
By General (ret.) James L. Jones, USMC, Former Senior Advisor, Preventive Defense Project, Amb. Thomas R. Pickering, Amb. David M. Abshire, Dr. Keith Crane, Lisa Curtis, Amb. James Dobbins, Dr. Malik M. Hasan, Amb. Karl F. Inderfurth, Frederick Kempe, Amb. Dennis Kux, Amb. Gary Matthews, Robert Perito, Charles Robb, Dr. Barnett R. Rubin, J. Alexander Thier, James Townsend and Dr. Marvin G. Weinbaum
The Center for the Study of the Presidency issued this report on status of current U.S. and international efforts in Afghanistan and the need for an improved strategy to ensure a secure and prosperous Afghanistan for the future.
July 2008
Project on National Security Reform - Preliminary Findings
By Dr. Ashton B. Carter, Co-Director, Preventive Defense Project (on leave), Harvard & Stanford Universities, David M. Abshire, Norman R. Augustine, Ambassador Robert D. Blackwill, Charles G. Boyd, Daniel W. Christman, General Wesley K. Clark, Former Senior Advisor, 2001-2009, Preventive Defense Project, Ruth A. David, Michele A. Flournoy, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 1989-1993, Leon Fuerth, Newt Gingrich, James R. Locher III, James M. Loy, Jessica Tuchman Mathews, John McLaughlin, Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor, Carlos Pascual, Amb. Thomas R. Pickering, General Brent Scowcroft, Jeffrey H. Smith, Dr. James B. Steinberg and Ken Weinstein
The Project on National Security Reform (PNSR) - a bipartisan, private-public partnership sponsored by the Center for the Study of the Presidency - has released its preliminary findings on needed changes in the national security system (covering both international and homeland security). PNSR's goal is approval of a new system early in the next administration. It envisions three sets of reforms: new presidential directives or executive orders, a new national security act, and amendments to Senate and House rules.
December, 2001
Countering Nuclear Risks In South Asia
By Samina Ahmed, Former Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, 1998-2002
March 2001
Policy Report. South Asia at the Nuclear Crossroads: US Policy Options Towards South Asian Nuclear Proliferation: The Role of Sanctions and Incentives
By Samina Ahmed, Former Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, 1998-2002
March 2001
South Asia at the Nuclear Crossroads
By Samina Ahmed, Former Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, 1998-2002
