CAUCASUS
May 2, 2013
"Are Chechen Immigrants a 'Threat'?"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
“There are still many questions left unanswered as America seeks to understand how the Tsarnaev brothers could have inflicted harm on the innocent people of the country that has granted them shelter, food and education.But there is one question that should not be asked at all, and that is whether the horrendous attacks in Boston should prompt the United States and other countries to consider immigrants a security threat just because they belong to a certain ethnic group.”
April 30, 2013
"Boston Bombing Puts Spotlight on Security Services' Failure to Cooperate"
Op-Ed, RIA Novosti
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"Was the bombing of the Boston marathon the result of an intelligence failure? There seems to be no clear answer to that question yet. But it does seem to me that had there been a greater degree of trust between the US and Russian secret services, they would have been more willing to share information and act on each other’s warnings, preventing Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev from allegedly bombing the Boston marathon's finish line on April 15."
April 20, 2013
"Russia, US may face a shared threat"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
As evidence emerges, more is becoming known about Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the brothers suspected of carrying out the Boston Marathon attacks, writes Simon Saradzhyan. "They were reportedly devout Muslims who were born into a family of ethnic Chechens, lived in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, and studied in Russia’s North Caucasus, before coming to the United States as children. Over time, the older brother, Tamerlan, became a more radical figure. Whatever his motivation, he was following a similar path to that of some insurgents in the North Caucasus, who once focused on achieving secular independence for their homeland, but went on to become intertwined in international jihadist networks that share a belief that their number one enemy is America."
Belfer Center Photo
December 6, 2012
"Oil and Grand Strategy: Great Britain and Germany, 1918–1941"
Presentation
By Anand Toprani, Former Ernest May Fellow in History and Policy, International Security Program, August–December 2012
This seminar considered how oil shaped grand strategy in Great Britain and Germany between 1918 and 1941. The history of oil in the twentieth century is a chapter in the story of European decline, for the emergence of oil accelerated the decline of Britain and Germany as great powers capable of independently exerting their economic and military power.
AP Photo
October 25, 2012
"7 Lessons of Cuban Crisis for Karabakh Conflict"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Artur Saradzhyan
The Cuban missile crisis of 1962 stands out as not only one of the most dangerous moments in human history, but also as the most thoroughly researched case of a confrontation between two great powers that ended up being peacefully resolved. The wealth of evidence and quality of analysis that have been produced by participants and scholars of the October 1962 crisis make the latter an indispensable case study for anyone interested in management of any inter-state conflict.
October 2012
Seven Lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis for the Karabakh Conflict
Discussion Paper
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Artur Saradzhyan
This paper will explore which lessons of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis Armenian and Azeri leaders should consider institutionalizing if they wish to prevent reheating of their conflict over Nagorny Karabakh into a war.
AP Photo/ Russian Interior Ministry Press Service
September 10, 2012
"Turncoats and Converts Make a Deadly Terrorist Mix"
Op-Ed, Power & Policy Blog
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Events of one August day in Russia's volatile republic of Dagestan have once again highlighted how turncoats can enhance terrorists' capabilities to carry out deadly attacks in the North Caucasus and other regions of Russia.
June 11, 2012
"The Special Senate Committee on Anti-terrorism"
Testimony
By William H. Tobey, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom and Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
On June 11, 2012, the Belfer Center's William Tobey, Matthew Bunn and Simon Saradzhyan testified before Canada's upper house of parliament, the Senate, on the threat of nuclear terrorism and strategies to combat it.
AP Photo
April 2012
"The Dynamics of Russia’s Response to the Piracy Threat"
Journal Article, NATO Science for Peace and Security Studies, issue E: Human and Societal Dynamics, volume 95
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Russia’s Maritime Doctrine describes “maritime shipments” as being of “vital importance” to the country. Maritime shipments have accounted for 60 percent of Russia’s foreign trade shipments in the recent years. However, vessels bearing the Russian flag account only for 4 percent of Russia’s foreign trade shipments. And the Russian fishing fleet remains relatively near to Russia’s shores, not venturing into the Indian and South Pacific Oceans.
Winter 2011-2012
"Terrorist Threat Demands Creative Intelligence"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, a former director of intelligence and counterintelligence at the Department of Energy, argues that despite not falling victim to a major terrorist event in the last 10 years, the United States must not be complacent in its counter-terrorism efforts. Mowatt-Larssen said in a Belfer Center seminar in September that he believes the possibility of a major attack is higher in the next 10 years than in the preceding decade.
