Middle East & North Africa

Speaking in Davos this January, President Donald Trump promised that, "when it comes to terrorism, we will do whatever is necessary to protect our nation." It's a commitment we share with the President. In fact, developing and implementing lawful and effective counterterrorism strategies and policies used to be our jobs in the intelligence community, at the White House and at the National Counterterrorism Center, respectively. That's precisely why we are opposed to Trump's travel ban, which heads to the Supreme Court this week for oral arguments.

In this issue, new Belfer Center Director Ash Carter and Co-Director Eric Rosenbach describe their vision for the Center’s next chapter: sustaining its core mission while enhancing its unique ability to leverage science and technology to meet global challenges and priming the next generation of leaders in both scholarship and policymaking.

We highlight two new initiatives: the Defending Digital Democracy (D3P) Project and the Arctic Initiative, and welcome 12 new senior fellows. Ash Carter gives a definitive history of the campaign to defeat ISIS, and Center experts offer insight into the North Korean nuclear threat and into the Iran nuclear agreement.

Moderator Professor Nicholas Burns was joined by panelists David French, Juliette Kayyem, Gil Kerlikowske, and Moshik Temkin to discuss the ramifications of President Trump’s executive order on immigration. The panelists discussed a wide range of issues relating to border security, constitutional law, and refugee and anti-terrorism efforts under the Trump administration. The panelists also discussed the future of immigration law under the new administration, focusing on the new slate of advisors and cabinet members in the White House and how immigration and refugee law will change moving forward.