CRISIS MANAGEMENT
Spring 2010
"Understanding the Path to Radicalization"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Beth Maclin, Former Communications Assistant, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"A spate of recent terrorist plots-each originating from within the United States-has changed U.S. focus on how to respond to terrorism. In addition to attempting to dismantle a terrorist network in a distant country, the U.S. must also determine how to de-radicalize domestic threats. But before the U.S. can address de-radicalization, the following question must be answered: Why do individuals and communities radicalize? Several Belfer Center fellows and associates address this question in their research."
COURTESY OF REBECCA HUMMEL
Spring 2010
"Broadmoor Success in New Orleans Offers Lessons for Afghanistan"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Beth Maclin, Former Communications Assistant, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"When the Belfer Center's Broadmoor Project launched in October 2006, a year after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans' Broadmoor neighborhood, it was difficult to imagine how much progress would be possible. But the project's partnership between Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) students and the Broadmoor community has delivered impressive results and invaluable lessons to the neighborhood and beyond."
Belfer Center
Spring 2010
"Pentagon Taps Belfer and Carr Centers for Af/Pak Expertise"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Sharon Wilke, Associate Director of Communications
"Belfer and Carr Center fellows and Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) students have been busy since fall supporting the work of the Joint Staff 's Afghanistan-Pakistan Coordination Cell (PACC). The PACC, created by General Stanley McChrystal and directed by Brigadier General John Nicholson, plays a crucial role in supporting counterinsurgency efforts in Afghanistan."
Belfer Center
Spring 2010
"U.S.-Russia Initiative Aims to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Kevin Ryan, Director, Defense and Intelligence Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Kevin Ryan is director of the U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism.
"In an effort to address this [nuclear terrorism] threat, the Belfer Center has teamed with other United States and Russian partners to form the U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism. The goal of the Initiative is to contribute to improved joint U.S.-Russian assessment of the threat of nuclear terrorism and concepts, strategy, and actions to prevent a successful nuclear attack by terrorists."
February 19, 2010
"How Obama Should Shrink His Deficit"
Op-Ed, Wall Street Journal
By Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University
"Mr. Obama complains about the problems he "inherited." But the key to shrinking the nearer term deficits is to avoid his costly new initiatives. The most expensive of these is the tax cuts and income transfers to low- and middle-income households that would cost some $3.1 trillion over the next decade."
AP Photo
February 17, 2010
"Let Greece Take a Eurozone ‘Holiday’"
Op-Ed, Financial Times
By Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University
"The rest of the eurozone could allow Greece to take a temporary leave of absence with the right and the obligation to return at a more competitive exchange rate. More specifically, Greece would shift its currency from the euro to the drachma, with an initial exchange rate of one euro to one drachma. Bank balances and obligations would remain in euros. Wages and prices would be set in drachma."
AP Photo
February 11, 2010
"A Greek Crisis is Coming to America"
Op-Ed, Financial Times
By Niall Ferguson, Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"...[T]he idiosyncrasies of the eurozone should not distract us from the general nature of the fiscal crisis that is now afflicting most western economies. Call it the fractal geometry of debt: the problem is essentially the same from Iceland to Ireland to Britain to the US. It just comes in widely differing sizes."
AP Photo
January 31, 2010
"How to Reform Our Financial System"
Op-Ed, New York Times
By Paul Volcker, International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"What we do need is protection against the outliers. There are a limited number of investment banks (or perhaps insurance companies or other firms) the failure of which would be so disturbing as to raise concern about a broader market disruption. In such cases, authority by a relevant supervisory agency to limit their capital and leverage would be important, as the president has proposed."
AP Photo
January 25, 2010
"A Failure to Imagine the Worst"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Foreign Policy
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
"Thinking about risks we face today, we should reflect on the major conclusion of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission established to investigate that catastrophe. The U.S. national security establishment's principal failure prior to Sept. 11, 2001, was, the commission found, a "failure of imagination." Summarized in a single sentence, the question now is: Are we at risk of an equivalent failure to imagine a nuclear 9/11? After the recent attempted terrorist attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, this question is more urgent than ever."
AP Photo
January 20, 2010
"Missing the Target"
Op-Ed, Wall Street Journal
By Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University
"Unlike previous recessions, the current downturn was not caused by Federal Reserve tightening and therefore couldn't be reversed by lowering interest rates. President Obama was correct to conclude that boosting economic activity required a fiscal stimulus."
