Subject: Reflecting on Paris Attacks
From: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 16:53:13 +0000

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Reflecting on Paris Attacks

In the wake of Friday's terrorist attacks in Paris, what's the best way to confront ISIS? Can Europe rise to the challenge? What does it mean for U.S. policy toward Syrian refugees? What should Washington do — and not do — now?

Belfer Center experts are weighing in on these and related questions. For insightful analysis from a diverse range of viewpoints, we offer a selection of our recent op-eds, interviews, and original commentary.

Nov. 14, 2015 – A memorial for the victims killed in Friday's Paris attacks in front of the French Embassy in Berlin. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Selected Statements

"Air strikes, without some ground forces, will compound the problem, as ISIS learns that the West is unwilling to defend its liberties, no matter how heinous the provocation. Immediate efforts must focus on ISIS, but Assad has murdered 250,000 people and Iran has not abandoned its nuclear ambitions. They remain the primary threats."

—Charles Freilich, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center

"After the Paris attacks, President Obama must demonstrate that his strategy for defeating Daesh without committing U.S. grounds troops can succeed.  The immediate test is a planned attack by Kurdish and Syrian Arab forces, backed by U.S. and allied air power, on Raqqa, capital of the Islamic State Caliphate.  If the attack succeeds, it will validate the Administration's strategy, but if it fails, calls for a new approach requiring U.S. ground forces will become more intense."

—Gary Samore, Executive Director for Research, Belfer Center

"Europe must not fall into ISIS's trap. ISIS wants to stop Syrians from fleeing its realm. It wants to stoke anti-Muslim backlash to provoke more European Muslims to radicalize. The Paris attacker’s Syrian refugee passport may be real or fake. Regardless, failing to handle the matter with caution is perilous for both refugees and European security."

—Jill Goldenziel, Research Fellow, Belfer Center

"Let us be clear about what is happening. Like the Roman Empire in the early fifth century, Europe has allowed its defenses to crumble. As its wealth has grown, so its military prowess has shrunk, along with its self-belief. It has grown decadent in its shopping malls and sports stadiums. At the same time, it has opened its gates to outsiders who have coveted its wealth without renouncing their ancestral faith."

—Niall Ferguson, Board of Directors, Belfer Center

"ISIS hopes to ignite a vast religious war, to vindicate its narrative of Western hostility and win it more support. Sending U.S. forces back into the Middle East maelstrom would give ISIS exactly what it wants. Military force alone cannot solve this problem, and could easily make it worse."

—Stephen Walt, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs, Belfer Center

Commentary & Analysis

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: "Europe’s Terrorist War at Home"

Farah Pandith: "Countering Extremism After the Paris Attacks"

Juliette Kayyem: "Lesson One: Terror Is Not About Lone Wolves"

Kelly Greenhill: "Europe Must Deal With the Breeding of Terrorism Within Its Borders"

Michael Morell: "ISIS Will Strike America"

Niall Ferguson: "Paris and the Fall of Rome"

Nicholas Burns: "The Attacks In Paris and Options To Combat Terrorism"

Stephen Walt: "Don't Give ISIS What It Wants"

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