home > the cfr think tank > experts > richard k. betts
Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
Contact Info:
Phone: +1-212-854-7325
E-mail: rkb4@columbia.edu
Location:
New York, NY
Media downloads:
One-page bio (PDF, 57K)
Author of Surprise Attack: Lessons for Defense Planning and professor at Columbia University. Commissioner to the National Commission on Terrorism and former staff member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Current work examines the U.S. national security agenda.
Expertise:Intelligence and U.S. defense policy; military strategy; political and military intelligence; international conflict; terrorism.
Experience:Professor of political science and Director of the Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University (current); member, National Commission on Terrorism (1999-2000); Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution (1981-90); staff member, National Security Council (1977); staff member, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (1975-76).
Selected Publications:Military Readiness (Brookings Institution Press, 1995); Conflict After the Cold War (editor, Longman, 1994); Soldiers, Statesmen, and Cold War Crises, 2nd ed. (Columbia University Press, 1991); Nuclear Blackmail and Nuclear Balance (Brookings Institution Press, 1987); Surprise Attack (Brookings Institution Press, 1982); Cruise Missiles: Technology, Strategy, Politics (editor, Brookings Institution Press, 1981); The Irony of Vietnam(coauthor, Brookings Institution Press, 1979).
Current Research Projects
Past Research Projects
November/December 2007
Foreign Affairs Article — Summary
The United States now spends almost as much on defense in real dollars as it ever has before -- even though it has no plausible rationale for using most of its impressive military forces. Why? Because without political incentives for restraint, policymakers have lost the ability to think clearly about defense policy. Washington's new mantra should be "Half a trillion dollars is more than enough."
See more in Defense Strategy
January 14, 2007
Op-Ed
The Washington Post
See more in Iraq, Wars and Warfare, Congress, Foreign Policy History, Presidency
October 6, 2006
Transcript
A panel discusses the impact of the Iraq war on coping with rogue states, failing states and proliferators. The nexus between rogue states, weapons of mass destruction, and terrorists is also discussed.
See more in Iraq, U.S. Strategy and Politics
October 6, 2006
Audio
Listen to experts discuss the impact of the Iraq war on coping with rogue states and proliferators.
See more in United States, Iraq, Defense Strategy
October 6, 2006
Video
Watch experts discuss the impact of the Iraq war on coping with rogue states and proliferators.
See more in United States, Iraq, Defense Strategy
September 8, 2006
Transcript
A panel of terrorism experts discusses the terrorist threat facing New York and considers efforts to prevent future attacks.
See more in United States, Homeland Security
September 8, 2006
Audio
Listen to experts discuss the terrorist threat in New York and the importance of preparing for small-scale attacks.
See more in United States, Homeland Security
September 8, 2006
Video
Watch experts discuss the terrorist threat in New York and the importance of preparing for small-scale
See more in United States, Homeland Security
May 9, 2006
Interview
Richard K. Betts, a CFR expert on the intelligence community, says that he sees no reason that the nomination of General Michael V. Hayden to head the Central Intelligence Agency should be blocked by Congress because of his military background. But he says that "there's a powerful reason to consider opposing the nomination," citing Hayden's role in domestic wiretapping without proper warrants by his National Security Agency.
See more in United States, Intelligence
March 28, 2006
Audio
Listen to Senator Gary Hart explain how security can be achieved through new tactics and players such as special forces and economic integration.
See more in Defense/Homeland Security, U.S. Strategy and Politics
March 28, 2006
Video
Watch Senator Gary Hart explain how security can be achieved through new tactics and players such as special forces and economic integration.
See more in Defense/Homeland Security, U.S. Strategy and Politics
April 5, 2005
Interview
See more in Intelligence
May/June 2004
Foreign Affairs Article — Summary
See more in Defense/Homeland Security, National Security and Defense
May/June
Foreign Affairs Article — Summary
March 8, 2004
Transcript
See more in Iraq, U.S. Strategy and Politics, Intelligence
January/February 2003
Foreign Affairs Article — Summary
See more in Iraq, Middle East
February 7, 2002
Testimony
See more in Terrorism, Organization of Government
January/February 2002
Foreign Affairs Article — Summary
See more in Defense/Homeland Security, National Security and Defense
January/February 1998
Foreign Affairs Article — Summary
See more in Americas, Weapons of Mass Destruction
Explore the international finance regime with a new interactive from CFR's program on International Institutions and Global Governance.
Identifying international threats and acting on them may be the most difficult job for U.S. policymakers. This report
provides an actionable road map for managing international threats before they erupt into crises and makes a strong case that preventive action is not a luxury but a necessity.
For more than a decade, the United States has mostly watched from the sidelines as Asian countries organize themselves into an alphabet soup of new multilateral groups. In this report, the authors review the relationship between pan-Asian and trans-Pacific institutions and suggest policy guidelines for a new U.S. approach to this new Asian landscape.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
Complete list of CFR Books
For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:
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Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
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jlindsay@cfr.org
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Deputy Director of Studies Administration
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