NUCLEAR STOCKPILE SECURITY
May 2009
Pakistan Can Defy the Odds: How to Rescue a Failing State
Report
By Hassan Abbas, Senior Advisor, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"Is Pakistan collapsing? How far are the Taliban from Islamabad? Can al-Qaeda grab the country's nuclear weapons? These are the types of questions raised every day by the American media, academia and policy circles. And these are critical issues, given the nature of the evolving crisis in Pakistan. The approximately two dozen suicide bombings in 2009 so far, 66 in 2008, and 61 in 2007, all of which have targeted armed forces personnel, police, politicians, and ordinary people not only in the country's turbulent northwest but also in its major urban centers, indicate the seriousness of the threat. A major ammunition factory area located close to some very sensitive nuclear installations in Wah (Punjab) was targeted by two suicide bombers in August 2008, an act that sent shudders across the country's security establishment...."
AP Photo
April 13, 2009
"Iran Should Honor Obama's Courage"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
Barack Obama has initiated a courageous first step in diplomacy with Iran. Iran must do likewise. Courage and boldness on both sides can initiate serious diplomatic engagement, which in turn can lead to breakthroughs that transform the entire Middle East.
AP Photo
Spring 2009
"Obama Taps into Belfer Center Community for Key Policy Posts"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
The Belfer Center is both proud and humbled that a number of its members have been asked to serve in the Obama Administration. The group's experience and expertise span many of the international challenges confronting the nation today.
February 26, 2009
Harvard Kennedy School’s Ashton Carter Nominated as Pentagon’s Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics
Press Release
By Beth Maclin, Communications Assistant and Dr. Ashton B. Carter, Co-Director, Preventive Defense Project (on leave), Harvard & Stanford Universities
President Barack Obama announced Monday that he has nominated Dr. Ashton B. Carter to serve as Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.
Belfer Center
Spring 2009
"Schlesinger Reports Call Attention to Nuclear Mission and Deterrence"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Beth Maclin, Communications Assistant
Two groups focusing on nuclear weapons, both chaired by James Schlesinger – former secretary of energy, defense, and central intelligence and head of the Belfer Center International Council – recently released reports detailing the threats facing and challenges of the United States’ nuclear stockpile and policy.
December 22, 2008
Key Takeaways from Report of the Congressionally-established Bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism
Memorandum
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
The Bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism (established by Congress) recently delivered its report to the leaders of Congress, President Bush, and the Obama-Biden transition team. Graham Allison, one of the Commissioners, outlines key takeaways from the Commission's findings.
December 2, 2008
Rolf Mowatt-Larssen Named Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center
Press Release
By Sharon Wilke, Associate Director of Communications and Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, director of the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence at the U.S. Department of Energy and former head of the Central Intelligence Agency's WMD and terrorism efforts, will join the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center as a senior fellow on January 19, 2009.
AP Photo
December 1, 2008
"When will Osama test Obama?"
Op-Ed, Chicago Tribune
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
In the final weeks of the presidential campaign, vice presidential candidate Joe Biden predicted "an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of [Barack Obama]." Belfer Center Director Graham Allison argues that history is on Biden's side. "In the first year of each of the last two presidents' terms," Allison says, "Osama bin Laden has claimed the mantle of 'tester in chief'" Allison suggests three steps President-elect Obama should take to meet this threat.
November 18, 2008
Securing the Bomb 2008
Book
By Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom; Co-Principal Investigator, Energy Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment (ERD3) Policy Project
Associate Professor of Public Policy and Project on Managing the Atom Co-Principal Investigator Matthew Bunn provides a comprehensive assessment of efforts to secure and remove vulnerable nuclear stockpiles around the world, and a detailed action plan for reducing the risk of nuclear terrorism. Securing the Bomb 2008 was commissioned by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI). The full report, with additional information on the threat of nuclear terrorism, is available on the NTI website.
November 18, 2008
Preventing Nuclear Terrorism: An Agenda for the Next President
Report
By Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom; Co-Principal Investigator, Energy Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment (ERD3) Policy Project and Andrew Newman, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
Matthew Bunn and Andrew Newman outline specific steps that President-elect Obama should take to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism to a fraction of its current level during his first term in office. This paper summarizes the recommendations in Securing the Bomb 2008 and provides additional detail on organizing the U.S. government to prevent nuclear terrorism and on steps that should be taken during the transition and the opening weeks of the new administration.
