Blog Post
Terrorism on any scale can be devastating. But consider a terrorist attack
more deadly than the Oklahoma City bombing and more dramatic than the
World Trade Center bombing. The prospect of "grand
terrorism" poses a challenge to governance in the 21st century. An intense
meeting of the minds is in progress to confront this threat.
The Belfer Center is involved with the high-level Universities Study Group
on Grand Terrorism, co-chaired by Ashton Carter, BCSIA''s Director of the
Preventive Defense Project, and John Deutch, MIT Professor and former
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The project is directed by
BCSIA''s Philip Zelikow, Associate Professor of Public Policy. The work is
organized under the Kennedy School''s "Visions of Governance in the 21st
Century" initiative led by KSG''s Dean Joseph Nye.
The group includes former senior officials from the CIA, the FBI, and the
Pentagon as well as business leaders. The high-level group plans to
recommend possible actions to the U.S. government to combat the danger ofhigh-scale terrorism. Grand terrorism includes, but is not limited to, the
prospects of biological, chemical, or even nuclear use. "Events of this
type would not only cause unprecedented damage to life and property, but
they would undermine the fundamental sense of security of Americans,"
Carter explained. Preventing grand terrorism will help ensure that
Americans have a safe place to live, to raise a family, and to dream
dreams. The group begins its work with the premise that although the threat
of terrorism is grave, it is preventable.