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Tag Archives: Iraq
Iraq: Would we choose war again?
By Graham Allison If we had known then what we know now, would we choose war again? In the real world, foreign policy-making often requires hard choices, sometimes between bad and worse. After the fact, even the most objective analysts … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis
Tagged Belfer Center, Bush, George W. Bush, Graham Allison, Harvard Kennedy School, Iraq, Iraq War, Robert Gates, Saddam Hussein
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After pullout, U.S preferences in Iraq have become hopes
By Monica Duffy Toft President Obama and his Secretary of Defense have declared the war in Iraq to be “over.” An end to the war is a good thing no doubt, but beyond that, what should we expect and why? … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis
Tagged Al-Maliki, Belfer Center, Harvard Kennedy School, Iraq, Kurds
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Gadhafi’s End: Libya’s Beginning?
By Monica Duffy Toft It has been a long time since bitter enemies were able to imagine each other as truly human; as the servants of narrow or other interests rather than as pathologically homicidal “wolves,” unworthy of quarter. But … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis
Tagged Coalition Provisional Authority, Iraq, Libya, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein
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Gadhafi’s death: A message to Arab youth, and old dictators
By Ashraf Hegazy Executive Director, Dubai Initiative, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs The death of Muammar Gadhafi, as well as that of his son and his closest advisor, in addition to the fall of Sirte, allows the Transitional … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis
Tagged Ali Abdullah Saleh, Belfer Center, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School, Iraq, Libya, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Yemen
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Counting the costs of the response to 9/11
The Power Problem: Part of a series of views on lessons learned in the exercise of American power in the decade since 9/11. By David E. Sanger Chief Washington Correspondent, The New York Times; Senior Fellow, National Security and the … Continue reading
Posted in Fellows' Forum, The Power Problem
Tagged 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sanger, World Trade Center
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The Economic Fallout from 9/11
The Power Problem: Second in a series of views on lessons learned in the exercise of American power in the decade since 9/11. By Linda J. Bilmes The US response to 9/11 has been a major contributor to America’s current … Continue reading
Posted in Guest Post, The Power Problem
Tagged 9/11, Afghanistan, Bilmes, Hormats, Iraq, Stiglitz
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Lessons learned since 9/11: Narratives matter
Was 9/11 a turning point in world history? It is too soon to be tell. After all, the lessons of World War I looked very different in 1939 than they did a mere decade after 1918.
As I argue in The Future of Power, one of the great powers shifts of this century is the increased empowerment of non-state actors, and 9/11 was a dramatic illustration of this long term trend. In 2001 an attack by non-state actors killed more Americans than a government attack did at Pearl Harbor in 1941. But this “privatization of war” was occurring before 9/11 and some American government reports in the 1990s even warned it was coming.
The long-term effect of 9/11 depends on how the United States reacts and the lessons it has learned. In the short term of the past decade, the US has learned to take the new threat seriously and has improved its security procedures and been able to prevent a recurrence of 9/11. All that is to the good.
World Trade Center memorial lights (Photo by John Franco)
World Trade Center memorial lights (Photo by John Franco)
But there is a larger question about terrorism. Continue reading
AGE OF HEROES – IN MEMORIAM
By Rolf Mowatt-Larssen Belfer Center Senior Fellow I recently saw a great flick entitled “Age of Heroes.” It is about the early days of the British SAS in World War II. A team of 8 commandos was airlifted covertly into … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Fellows' Forum
Tagged Afghanistan, Belfer Center, Harvard, Iraq, KIA, Navy Seals, Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, war, WIA
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Eight lessons for Obama from Iraq and Afghanistan
Last week, President Obama made a compelling case for why he authorized force in Libya. In doing so, he sought to assure the American people that this intervention was prudent and bore no resemblance to the controversial and costly wars … Continue reading
Good reading in International Security journal
By Diane J. McCree Managing Editor, International Security In the lead article of the 2010/11 winter issue of International Security, America’s premier journal on security issues, David Lake examines explanations for the outbreak of the 2003 Iraq War, one of … Continue reading
Posted in Guest Post, International Security Journal
Tagged Hussein, Iraq, Islam, Vietnam, war
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