CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS
May 22, 2013
"How to Make the 'Red Line' Mean Something"
Op-Ed, American Interest
By Chuck Freilich, Senior Fellow, International Security Program
"A failure to respond to Bashar al-Assad's use of chemical weapons would not only encourage him in the belief that he can perhaps get away with an even bigger use next time; it would also undermine U.S. strategic credibility well beyond the Syria case. This begs the obvious question: At what point does the 'red line' really become one?"
AP Photo
May 9, 2013
"Options for Action in Syria"
Op-Ed, Los Angeles Times
By Chuck Freilich, Senior Fellow, International Security Program
"...[E]ven the limited use of chemical weapons violates a fundamental international norm and an American failure to respond would create another North Korea–like precedent that would be a source of deep encouragement for the Assads of the world: WMD buys even a heinous regime immunity from international retaliation. Iran is no doubt watching in the wings, deriving its own conclusions regarding what the U.S. defines as unacceptable behavior."
May 3, 2013
"Out on a Presidential Limb"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"...[I]n the event of a worst-case scenario in which negotiations completely fail, Barack Obama has committed himself to an unprovoked military attack on Iran, which would have a disastrous effect on world public opinion and lead to unpredictable human and material damage."
May 1, 2013
"Obama's leadership challenge on Syria"
Op-Ed, GlobalPost
By Nicholas Burns, Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics, Harvard Kennedy School
The US can no longer afford to stay on the sidelines in Syria, writes Professor Burns in this week's GlobalPost piece. The stakes and consequences are just too high to do otherwise.
(White House Photo)
Spring 2013
Spotlight on Gary Samore
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By James F. Smith, Communications Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
In the complex world of the United States government, it’s rare for a lone White House official to oversee a real change in direction on a major policy issue. Gary Samore not only helped reshape U.S. policy on one issue; he did so with two immense national security challenges during his four years as President Obama’s Coordinator for Weapons of Mass Destruction Counter-Terrorism and Arms Control.
March 2013
"Iran and Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Military Dynamics of Nonproliferation"
Discussion Paper
By Mansour Salsabili, Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom
Ambiguity in Iran's weapon acquisition dynamics exacerbates mistrust, which is the core reason for the present standoff at the negotiating table. This paper elucidates the Iranian military's capability and intention by delving into the main componential elements of weapon acquisition.
March 20, 2013
"Renewing Dialogue with Israel"
Op-Ed, The Jerusalem Post
By Chuck Freilich, Senior Fellow, International Security Program
"The most pressing issue on the agenda is a collapsing Syria and the increasingly realistic danger that it may, in extremis, use chemical weapons against its civilian population, or Israel. Recent indications have created the worrisome impression that the administration is focused on ways of responding to a Syrian use of such weapons, rather than preventing them from being used."
January 29, 2013
President Obama's WMD "Czar" Appointed Executive Director of Belfer Center
News
By James F. Smith, Communications Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Gary Samore, President Obama’s Coordinator for Weapons of Mass Destruction Counter-Terrorism and Arms Control, has been appointed Executive Director (Research) for Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. A former fellow with the Belfer Center's International Security Program, Samore has served for the past four years as the principal advisor to the President on all matters relating to arms control and the prevention of weapons of mass destruction proliferation and WMD terrorism.
January 4, 2013
"A Syrian Way Out of the Civil War"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By David Ignatius, Senior Fellow, Future of Diplomacy Project
"To help oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an opposition group has drafted a plan for a transitional justice system that would impose harsh penalties against die-hard members of his inner circle but provide amnesty for most of his Alawite supporters.
The goal is to provide a legal framework that reassures Alawites this isn’t a fight to the death and that they will have a place in a post-Assad Syria. The plan would also encourage the rule of law in areas that have been liberated from Assad’s control, stemming the growing trend toward warlordism and revenge killings," writes David Ignatius for the Washington Post.
December 18, 2012
"A Defector's Account of Syrian Chemical Weapons on the Move"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By David Ignatius, Senior Fellow, Future of Diplomacy Project
"Reports from inside two Syrian chemical weapons facilities offer chilling new evidence that President Bashar al-Assad’s regime developed special vehicles last year for moving and mixing the weapons — and an unconfirmed allegation that Lebanese allies of the regime, presumably in Hezbollah, may have been trained 11 months ago in the weapons’ use," writes Future of Diplomacy Project senior fellow David Ignatius.
