MIDDLE EAST
July 2, 2007
Fast Action Needed to Avert Nuclear Terror Strike on U.S.
Op-Ed, Baltimore Sun
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
Before 9/11, most Americans found the idea that international terrorists could mount an attack on their homeland and kill thousands of innocent citizens not merely unlikely but inconceivable. After nearly six years without a second attack on U.S. soil, some skeptics suggest that 9/11 was a 100-year flood. The view that terrorists are preparing even more deadly assaults seems as far-fetched to them as the possibility of terrorists crashing passenger jets into the World Trade Center did before that fateful Tuesday morning in 2001. And yet the danger of a nuclear attack by terrorists is not only very real but disturbingly likely.
March 2, 2007
Lessons from JFK on Power, Diplomacy
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
THE USS JOHN F. KENNEDY docked in Boston yesterday for a final farewell before decommissioning. While in service, the aircraft carrier was frequently stationed in the Mediterranean, projecting American power in the tumultuous Middle East. The retirement of the warship calls forth memories of the man for whom the vessel was aptly named and his conception of the role of military might in US strategy abroad.
January 17, 2007
Will Iraq's Army Show Up?
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
PRESIDENT BUSH is sending an additional 21,000 American troops to match a promised 8,000 Iraqi soldiers to win the decisive battle of Baghdad. When one in every 1,000 inhabitants of a nation's capital city is being killed every other month, there is no question that the country is failing. The question is what chance the president's prescription has of success.
December 31, 2006
Buffett's Gamble Tips the Odds Toward Nuclear Nonproliferation
Op-Ed, Omaha World-Herald
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy famously predicted that "by 1970, there may be 10 nuclear powers instead of four and, by 1975, 15 or 20." Today, there are just 8. Why?
August 31, 2006
"Globalization, Terrorism, and the U.S. Relationship with Russia"
Book Chapter
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
"Following the September 11 attacks on America, the great power relationship between the United States and Russia changed significantly...."
August 11, 2006
Assessing our Adversaries
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
As the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks become a more distant memory, many Americans comfort themselves with the thought that 9/11 was a freak accident or a 100-year flood.
Summer 2006
"From the Director"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
Belfer Center Director Graham Allison comments on the issues discussed at the annual International Council meeting, Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's recent meeting with students and Belfer Center fellows, and recognizes the recent work of Belfer Center faculty. Allison also wishes farewell to Cara Fitzpatrick and Moira Whelan.
June 13, 2006
How Good is American Intelligence on Iran?
Magazine or Newspaper Article, YaleGlobal Online
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
For the first time since Iran walked away from negotiations with France, Germany and Great Britain in August 2005, there are rays of optimism in the crisis over the Islami Republic's nuclear program. Before breaking out the champagne to celebrate a diplomatic solution, it may be appropriate to pause for reflection on a troubling unknown: the potential scope of Iran's secret bomb program.
March 12, 2006
The Nightmare This Time
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
According to a recent Gallup poll, most Americans now view Iran as our country's greatest national enemy. Indeed, a Washington Post-ABC News survey reports that 42 percent of Americans support a military strike to prevent Iran from developing nuclear technology.
August 6, 2005
Sixty Years Later: Hiroshima and the Bomb
Op-Ed, Center for American Progress
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
On August 6, 1945, the United States carried out the first attack with nuclear weapons, against the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The weapon would fundamentally alter the face of conflict, and shape strategic thinking for subsequent generations. If strategists couldn't always agree on what force posture the United States should adopt, there was consistently broad agreement that the spread of nuclear weapons posed a fundamental threat to United States national security.
