MILITARY INTERVENTION
AP Photo
April 29, 2011
"Wishful Thinking"
Op-Ed, Foreign Policy
By Stephen M. Walt, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs; Faculty Chair, International Security Program
"A central tenet of both neo-conservatism and liberal internationalism/interventionism is the idea that democracy is both the ideal form of government but also one that is relatively easy to export to other societies. Never mind that democratization tends to shift the distribution of power within different societies, thereby provoking potentially violent struggles for power between different ethnic or social groups within society. Pay no attention to the fact that it took several centuries for stable democracies to emerge in the Western world, and that process was frequently bloody and difficult."
AP Photo
April 20, 2011
"Iran's Interests and Values and the 'Arab Spring'"
Op-Ed
By Kayhan Barzegar, Former Associate, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program, 2010–2011; Former Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/international Security Program, 2007–2010
"Iran seeks closer relations with the future government of Egypt, irrespective of whether its character is secular-nationalistic or Islamic-ideological. Egypt has sidelined former President Hosni Mubarak's policy of leading an anti-Iranian coalition in the Arab world—and Iran would like to capitalize on this development."
AP Photo
April 9, 2011
"Bahrain is the Line in the Sand"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"The fast-paced events, particularly in Egypt, have substantially altered the traditional groupings of the moderate Arab countries — Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain). Many feel that US efforts against the Taliban and Saddam Hussein essentially handed Iran two new allies. Lebanon and Syria have long had close ties with Tehran. Bahrain would not be allowed to go down so easily. The balance of power in the Middle East is, for them, at stake in Bahrain."
AP Photo
April 7, 2011
"From Lone Ranger to Smart Arranger"
Op-Ed, Politico
By Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
"...Obama was careful not to create a global narrative of a third U.S. military attack on a Muslim country, which would have reverberated from Morocco to Indonesia. Instead, he waited until the Arab League and U.N. Security Council resolutions provided a narrative of a legitimate enforcement of humanitarian responsibility to protect civilians."
AP Photo
April 6, 2011
"Does the U.S. Have a Responsibility to Protect the Libyan People?"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Monica Duffy Toft, Former Associate Professor of Public Policy; Former Board Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Former Director, Initiative on Religion and International Affairs
"...[T]he question that should have stopped the intervention in the first place: Are there reasonable prospects for success? Or might the use of force produce more harm than good?"
AP Photo
April 4, 2011
"Is America Addicted to War?"
Op-Ed, Foreign Policy
By Stephen M. Walt, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs; Faculty Chair, International Security Program
"Since the mid-1960s, American conservatism has waged a relentless and successful campaign to convince U.S. voters that it is wasteful, foolish, and stupid to pay taxes to support domestic programs here at home, but it is our patriotic duty to pay taxes to support a military establishment that costs more than all other militaries put together and that is used not to defend American soil but to fight wars mostly on behalf of other people. In other words, Americans became convinced that it was wrong to spend tax revenues on things that would help their fellow citizens (like good schools, health care, roads, and bridges, high-speed rail, etc.), but it was perfectly OK to tax Americans (though of course not the richest Americans) and spend the money on foreign wars."
AP Photo
March 28, 2011
"France Seizes Moment in Libya"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"With France as the unstated leader, the Mediterranean Union is also animated by a hope to stabilize the region, improve it economically and thus slow the flow of illegal Arab immigration, and provide an alternative to extremism and terrorism. A modern and open Libya, brought to the world by France, would be a major step toward a new European center of gravity, mainly France."
AP Photo
March 21, 2011
"Turkey's Regional Leadership in the Middle East: Principle or Realpolitik?"
Op-Ed, Turkey Analyst
By Joshua W. Walker, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2010–2011
"Turkey's position on Libya is basically rooted in its large investments in the country and close personal contacts between its leaders. In addition to the well-publicized "human rights" award that Erdoğan received from Qaddafi in December 2010, there are more pressing national economic interests at play. Over the past ten years Turkey has won almost all lucrative construction contracts in Libya and consequently as many as 30,000 Turkish citizens were working and doing business in Libya at the time of the uprisings."
AP Photo
March 15, 2011
"Toujours de l'Audace!"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"...M. Sarkozy came up with a proposal to create a no-fly zone over Libya but also to engage in surgical strikes. This he did, with the French penchant for secrecy and for creating a surprise effect, without consulting his European allies (except, perhaps, David Cameron), and even, it seems, his new foreign minister, Alain Juppé. M. Sarkozy may not be on the wrong side of history, but he seems to be on the wrong side of the tactical situation. Muammar Gadhafi, with his superiority in equipment and in trained forces, seems to be wrapping up the opposition to his regime."
AP Photo
March 11, 2011
"Forging New Ground with No-fly Zone"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"The case study we do not have is whether a no-fly zone will aid rebel leaders in deposing a tyrannical leader in a predominantly ground combat civil war where the United States has a strong preference for who should lose, but almost no idea who the winners are. This is new territory."
