The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs will host a Directors' Lunch with Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker, New York Times Correspondents and Authors, in the Belfer Center Library (L369).
In the years following the 9/11 attacks, the United States waged a "war on terror" that sought to defeat Al Qaeda through brute force. But it soon became clear that this strategy was not working, and by 2005 the Pentagon began looking for a new way. In Counterstrike, Schmitt and Shanker tell the story of how analysts within the military, spy agencies, and law enforcement agencies fashioned an innovative and effective new strategy to fight terrorism, one that is unknown to most Americans and in sharp contrast to earlier "cowboy" approaches. Schmitt and Shanker capture the successes, the failures, the opportunities, and the still-lingering gaps and warn that another catastrophic terrorist attack is inevitable.
Eric Schmitt is a terrorism correspondent for the New York Times and has embedded with troops in Iraq, Somalia, and Pakistan. Schmitt has twice been a member of Times reporting teams that were awarded the Pulitzer Prize.
Thom Shanker, a Pentagon correspondent for the New York Times, routinely spends time embedded with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Shanker was formerly a foreign editor and correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, based in Moscow, Berlin, and Sarajevo. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
RSVP REQUIRED! http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/schmitt-shanker.html
As space is limited for this event, RSVPs will be accepted on a first come, first served basis.
Belfer Center Directors' Lunches are strictly off-the-record. By indicating your desire to attend the Lunch, you agree that you will comply with the Belfer Center's strict policy against recording or disclosing the contents of the lunch. Your access is conditioned on your compliance with these restrictions. Should you violate these rules, the Center will pursue all available legal options and you will be excluded from all future events.
