IRAQ
July 11, 2008
"Joseph Nye on Smart Power in Iran-U.S. Relations"
Q&A
By Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor and Kayhan Barzegar, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
This interview elaborates on the applicability of Nye’s theory of “smart power” in the context of the Middle East and particularly Iran. The discussion further pushes the boundaries on how the current U.S policymakers should take into account soft and smart power towards Iran.
Nye: “… if the Americans, in efforts to try to stop the Iranian’s nuclear weapons program, were to bomb nuclear facilities in Iran, they might gain a few years of slowing down the nuclear weapons program but they would lose the whole generation of younger Iranians who would respond in a nationalistic way. So I think that would be a very large cost for a very limited benefit.”
July 3, 2008
"Joseph Nye on Smart Power"
Q&A
By Doug Gavel and Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
The days of American hegemony on the world stage appear to be waning. The rise of other global powers, the diffusion of economic and human capital, and the increasingly powerful influences being exerted by non-state actors — including terrorists — have ushered in a new era in geopolitics. Joseph Nye is university distinguished service professor and Sultan of Oman professor of international relations. He is the author of many books and articles on international relations, including his most recent book, “The Powers to Lead.”
June 19, 2008
"Iran on Its Heels"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By Vali Nasr, Senior Fellow, Dubai Initiative
Iran still has considerable influence in Iraq. It may reconstitute the Mahdi Army and pick up the fight against America, using special groups of the type suspected in the Baghdad car bombing Tuesday. It may also try to use nationalist opposition to the U.S.-Iraq "status of forces" agreement to its advantage. But Tehran will find it difficult to regain lost turf in Baghdad or Basra, or to go back to happily supporting Shiites both at the center and in the militias. It will have to choose whether it is with the state or the sub-state actors.
AP Photo
June 2, 2008
"Why Islam Lies at the Heart of Iraq's Civil War"
Op-Ed, Christian Science Monitor
By Monica Duffy Toft, Associate Professor of Public Policy
"...[N]ot until 2007 did the Pentagon acknowledge that Iraqi sectarian violence had crossed a threshold to become a civil war.
But policymakers still haven't come to terms with the implications of that fact. If they did, they'd see that a wisely executed withdrawal of US-led forces could well be the surest path to peace. That's because withdrawal is likely to transform the fighting in Iraq into a defensive struggle for power in a nation-state, as opposed to an offensive battle rooted in religion."
May 29, 2008
Your Government Failed You: Breaking the Cycle of National Security Disasters
Book
By Richard Clarke, Faculty Affiliate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
It's not just Bush and Cheney that are to blame. The system is broken. That's the message in this provocative sequel to Against All Enemies. When Richard Clarke apologized for 9-11, he never thought that there would be so many more government failures in so short a time, but climate change, Katrina, the struggle with al Qaeda, the insecurity in cyberspace, and the failure of homeland security all bespeak a larger problem, a systemic failure. Clarke documents the failures and suggests solutions for making government work better in its most important job, protecting us.
AP Photo
2008
"The Shia Factor"
Journal Article, Heartland: Eurasian Review of Geopolitics, (The Pakistani Boomerang Issue), issue 1
By Kayhan Barzegar, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
The new rivalry between two main Muslim communities is the result of the political developments in Iraq. The pragmatic relationship between Iran and the Shia factions in other countries. The fears of Sunni regimes of a Shia crescent moon.
April 2008
The Language of Counter-Terrorism: When Message Received is Not Message Intended
Report
By Jim Armstrong, Candace J. Chin and Uri Leventer
This report, originally prepared this report for the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office, examines the role of language as part of the arsenal of counter-terrorism operations. They argue that, by modifying the words they use to talk about international terrorism, Western leaders begin the process of winning Muslim hearts and minds.
AP Photo
March 30, 2008
"Is Bush Our Woodrow Wilson?"
Op-Ed, Los Angeles Times
By Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
"Bush and Wilson have many similarities. Both were highly religious men who came to office without any foreign policy experience and who responded to a crisis — Wilson to World War I, Bush to 9/11 — with a bold, moralistic vision. Wilson vowed to make the world safe for democracy, and Bush tried to transform the Middle East by imposing democratic government on Iraq. Many of Bush's speeches about promoting democracy abroad could have been given by Wilson. The expressed ideals in both men's proposed visions of changing other countries were unachievable given our nation's capacities."
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 Photo
March 18, 2008
Five Years and Counting: Ten Unpleasant Truths about the War in Iraq
Media Feature
By Stephen M. Walt, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs; Faculty Chair, International Security Program
I opposed the invasion of Iraq in 2003, because I was convinced that war was unnecessary and would result in a costly and open-ended occupation. Along with several others, I made the case for containment in a number of published articles, speeches, and media appearances. I also helped organize an advertisement opposing the war that appeared in the New York Times in September 2002. I wish we had been wrong; sadly, we turned out to be right. On the 5th anniversary of the invasion, I offer ten unpleasant truths about our past errors, present circumstances, and future choices.
