Blog Post
The Belfer Center''s core mission is "leadership in advancing policy-relevant knowledge about the most important international challenges." The Belfer Center has spent most of the decade analyzing and anticipating the threat of megaterrorism, clearly the most significant challenge today. Indeed, analysts here have long warned of dangers even more horrific than the 9/11 attacks: terrorism with weapons of mass destruction.
To bolster our efforts we are exploring new ways to communicate findings and insights to decision makers around the world, and intensifying efforts to learn more from tighter interactions with key policymakers.
Dozens of visitors from the "real world" of policymaking have joined us for brainstorming sessions over the past several months. Our own Rich Falkenrath, now Senior Director for Policy and Plans in Tom Ridge''s office, gave us an inside look into the Office of Homeland Security. Richard Haass, a former faculty member at the Kennedy School and now Director of Policy Planning at the State Department, explored counterterrorism strategies. Another of our alums, Bob Blackwill, has been busy lowering tensions in South Asia where he serves as Ambassador to India.
Of all those covering the war on terrorism, none is more influential than New York Times columnist Tom Friedman who recently won his third Pulitzer. Tom gave a blow-by-blow account of his involvement with the Abdullah peace plan and agreed with us about the dangers posed by "super-empowered angry men." Bill Emmott, editor of the Economist (which I consider to be the most penetrating news source out there) asked us to help him think through the ways that the world has changed after 9/11.
Bernard Lewis, whose book about Islam is on the bestseller charts, and Samuel Huntington of Harvard held a fascinating and wide-ranging debate about the clash between the Islamic and Judeo-Christian worlds with special guest former Vice President Al Gore.
Articles in this issue feature a number of the high-level brainstorming sessions we have had in recent months. These are only snapshots of a few of the thought leaders and policymakers who joined us recently to try to better understand a fast-changing and often confusing international environment. Scholars who have thought long and hard about the threats facing America and the world must engage as closely as we can with those who make the decisions and shape the opinions that change our world.
— Graham Allison