IRAQ
March 31, 2003
A War Played to Many Audiences
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School and H.E. Sheikh Abalkhail, International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
THE IRAQ SPECTACLE now running 24/7 is simultaneously war and theater. In both arenas, it is in General Tommy Franks's words 'a campaign unlike any other in history. For secondary audiences of this ultimate in reality TV, the swirl of images and finely spun words has been confusing, and sometimes misleading.
James Gordon, Flickr Commons
September 6, 2007
The Report of the Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq
Report
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.
September 26, 2007
"How to Build US-Iran Relations"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Abbas Maleki, Former Senior Research Associate, International Security Program and Kaveh L. Afrasiabi
"...Iran has not suspended its uranium enrichment program, but it has not ignored the UN Security Council resolutions on Iran either, as can be discerned in the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency citing "significant progress" in Iran-IAEA cooperation. With the United States and Iran talking in Iraq and Iran-IAEA cooperation yielding concrete results in terms of Iran's nuclear transparency, the stage is potentially set for de-escalating the US-Iran tensions, particularly if both sides adopt a long-term view and sort out the security dimension."
September 21, 2007
"U.S., Iran Need to Build Confidence"
Op-Ed, San Francisco Chronicle
By Abbas Maleki, Former Senior Research Associate, International Security Program and Kaveh L. Afrasiabi
"...the stage is set for a thaw in U.S.-Iran relations. With sufficient political will on both sides, Washington and Tehran can achieve this by adopting concrete confidence-building measures and by imposing a mutually agreed-upon moratorium on demonizing each other."
January 15, 2007
"Numbers Game Inconsequential"
Op-Ed, Orlando Sentinel
By Gregory Aftandilian, Former Research Fellow, Dubai Initiative/International Security Program 2006-2007
Inserting more U.S. troops into Iraq is unlikely to dampen the hatred against the U.S. occupation, and the more insurgents we kill, the more recruits the insurgents will gather from the dead insurgents' brothers, cousins and uncles. This cycle of violence will, in turn, lead to more U.S. casualties.
November 16, 2005
Defeating the Jihadists
Book
By Richard Clarke, Faculty Affiliate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Eric Rosenbach, Executive Director for Research, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Blake W. Mobley, Glenn P. Age and Lee Wolosky, Former Research Assistant, Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project
The international jihadist network of radical Islamic terrorist groups is far more extensive than just al Qaeda, and it has conducted twice as many attacks in the three years since September 11, 2001 as it did in the three years prior to that date. Defeating the Jihadists: A Blueprint for Action (Century Foundation Press, 2004), assesses the nation's successes and failures on homeland security and calls for a stronger, more effective strategy for dealing with jihadists, including al Qaeda. The report offers a detailed action plan for neutralizing the international movement at the core of worldwide terrorism. The report also describes the nature of the jihadist threat; provides comprehensive profiles of the various jihadist groups; and offers a rationale for the effort and money that would be needed to make the plan a success. The plan presented in the report builds on the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and serves as a road map for winning the war against the jihadists.
Winter 2009-10
"From the Director"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
President Obama is facing two of the most important foreign policy decisions of his presidency: whether to Americanize the Afghanistan war, and how to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. In thinking about these issues - as with many others lately - I find myself reflecting on my friend Ernest May, Charles Warren Professor of History and a longtime member of the Belfer Center board of directors, who passed away in the spring. Ernie had impeccable judgment about questions like these - not only intellectual acumen, but also a concern about the real world. As my colleague Joe Nye has said, he was an extraordinary model for what the Harvard Kennedy School is all about.
AP Photo
March 19, 2008
Five Years Into Iraq: A Report Card
Media Feature
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School, Brigadier General (ret.) Kevin Ryan, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Meghan O'Sullivan, Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, Eric Rosenbach, Executive Director for Research, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Paul Kane, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2005-2008
With the war in Iraq stretching past the five-year mark, experts weigh in on what has gone right, what has gone wrong, and lessons learned. Paul Kane, a Marine veteran of Iraq, writes of the “serious disconnect” between civilians and those who have served in uniform, while Meghan O’Sullivan, former deputy national security advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan, says that today “we have the right strategy in place — and it is making a difference on the ground.”
AP Images
September 11, 2007
"No choice -- withdrawal starts in '08"
Op-Ed, Los Angeles Times
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School and Brigadier General (ret.) Kevin Ryan, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"What all of this debate about withdrawal missed, however, is that the driver is not conditions in Iraq or politics in the United States but the hard realities of Army and Marine Corps readiness. As the troops' extended 15-month tours of duty end, the Army and Marine Corps simply don't have more troops to replace them. The withdrawal will be, in effect, the flip side of the surge."
AP Images
September 7, 2007
Iraq Progress Report: Reading Between the Lines
Media Feature
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School, Brigadier General (ret.) Kevin Ryan, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Paul Kane, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2005-2008, Eric Rosenbach, Executive Director for Research, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Stephen M. Walt, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs; Faculty Chair, International Security Program
With Gen. David H. Petraeus scheduled to appear before Congress next week, Belfer Center experts and researchers offer their insights and analysis — as well as items that Congress should not overlook.
