EUROPE
AP Photo
August 1, 2009
"Britain Must Change If It Is to Keep Its Seat at World's Top Table"
Op-Ed, The Scotsman
By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program
"It is increasingly clear Britain's knowledge sectors are our best hope for regaining a world-leading industry. But the government must support that effort towards building a knowledge economy faster and more effectively. That means putting greater investment into our communications infrastructure and universities, which suffer from under-investment compared to their US competitors. It also means offering the right incentive structures."
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July 30, 2009
"What Nobody Will Admit about Defence Spending"
Op-Ed, politics.co.uk
By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program
"These cuts have come in an atmosphere in which the public seem to have a dwindling understanding of the need for consistent defence spending. This is partly because the wars which we have fought in recent years have been far away and have not led to a public wartime mentality, as previous wars have done, and partly because of the perception that the world has grown safer since the Cold War ended and that current threats to Britain do not require a military response."
AP Photo
July 28, 2009
"Cuts to Our Defence Budget Deserve a Full and Open Debate"
Op-Ed, The Scotsman
By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program
"...[W]e cannot base security on the assumption we will not face a threat from states. Excessive cuts would mean an inability to continue our current naval deterrence missions in the Far East, as China plans unprecedented increases in its military spending. They would ignore warnings by outgoing International Atomic Energy Agency chief, Mohammad AlBaradei, that up to 20 countries could soon develop technology to manufacture nuclear weapons. And they would ignore lessons of history, which teaches that threats come from unexpected sources."
AP Photo
July 26, 2009
"Working-Class Kids Need Help to Help Themselves"
Op-Ed, Sunday Herald
By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program
"We have offered ideas to introduce more young people to internship opportunities, help them find affordable accommodation if they live far from the city and use student loans to help pay for the period of unpaid internship. If our ideas are successful, the best and most talented will be able to compete for internship places based solely on intellect, talent and potential. These ideas won't solve all the inequalities in the country, but they will be a step in the right direction.
However, while the government and society can support aspiration, it is individuals themselves who hold the key. Fostering a culture of aspiration requires, in many cases, individuals and families to change their attitudes."
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July 23, 2009
"How Can We Make Britain More Equal?"
Op-Ed, politics.co.uk
By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program
"Despite a council estate upbringing, I was lucky enough to be the first one in my family to go to university....But I was particularly pleased to be asked to join the government panel on social mobility, because however much we would like to think that work and talent should determine a child's destiny, that's not true for most people. Hopefully the policy ideas we have come up with will begin to change that for the majority."
Summer 2009
"The Limits of Coercive Airpower: NATO'S 'Victory' in Kosovo Revisited"
Journal Article, International Security, issue 1, volume 34
Despite NATO's overwhelming strategic superiority, Milošević was able to reject his adversary's terms of surrender until his political position became untenable. This suggests that airpower may have greater limitations as a tool of statecraft than its supporters maintain.
July 15, 2009
"European Hardball"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
An important but now vacant diplomatic space needs to be filled in Middle East mediation. The European Union can fill that space with the right policies and with the right approach. Here are three suggestions.
AP Photo
July 14, 2009
"Islamic Law Enhances Rather than Threatens the UK Legal System"
Op-Ed, The Scotsman
By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program
"People who think that Sharia law threatens UK law tend to confuse UK law and non-legally binding arbitration, which settle disputes outside the legal system....We live under the rule of law, there can only be one set of laws, and that is British law. Not least because our experience with Unity Family has shown that incorrect rulings by some of these so-called Sharia councils go against the fundamental ethos of Islam, and are often more suitable to Pakistani mores. We must reject calls to allow Sharia rulings to be formally recognised in British law under the 1996 Arbitration Act."
AP Photo
July 10, 2009
"Politicians are Demolishing the Reputation of the British Military"
Op-Ed, politics.co.uk
By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program
"In 2006, British and Canadian forces arrived in Helmand province. We were to hold and secure it. But our forces did not receive the support they needed. Resources were split between Afghanistan and Iraq, and the government repeatedly turned down requests to spend more on equipment, particularly helicopters.
The results speak for themselves. Firstly, Taliban fighters have been able to tap into opium revenues. They have increased their areas of drug cultivation from 71 square milles in 2001 to 400 square miles in 2008. This would not have been possible if our strategy to make the area unsafe for Taliban had been adequately supported."
AP Photo
July 6, 2009
"Defense For a Real Threat"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By Trey Obering and Eric S. Edelman, Senior Associate, International Security Program
"The East-West Institute released a study in late May by U.S. and Russian "experts" on the Iranian missile threat that concluded the threat "is not imminent and that in any event the system currently proposed would not be effective against it." The next day, Defense Secretary Robert Gates says, Iran apparently tested a multistage, solid-propellant missile with a range of 1,200 to 1,500 miles, putting much of Europe within range."
