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home > the cfr think tank > experts > richard k. betts
Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies
Contact Info:
Phone: +1-212-854-7325
E-mail: rkb4@columbia.edu
Location:
New York, NY
Media downloads:
One-page bio (PDF, 43K)
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
| Author: | Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies |
|---|
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
| Authors: | Leslie H. Gelb, President Emeritus and Board Senior Fellow Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies |
|---|
Op-Ed
The Washington Post
See more in Iraq, Wars and Warfare, Congress, Foreign Policy History, Presidency
October 6, 2006
| Speakers: | Lawrence D. Freedman, Professor of War Studies, King’s College, London Steven E. Miller, Director, International Security Program, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard |
|---|---|
| Presider: | Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations |
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
| Speakers: | Lawrence D. Freedman, Professor of War Studies, King’s College, London Steven E. Miller, Director, International Security Program, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard |
|---|---|
| Presider: | Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations |
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
| Speakers: | Lawrence D. Freedman, Professor of War Studies, King’s College, London Steven E. Miller, Director, International Security Program, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard |
|---|---|
| Presider: | Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations |
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
| Speakers: | Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations R.P. Eddy, Managing Director, Gerson Lehrman Group; Senior Fellow for Counterterrorism, Executive Director, Center For Policing Terrorism, the Manhattan Institute Steven Simon, Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations; Coauthor, The Age Of Sacred Terror and The Next Attack |
|---|---|
| Welcoming Remarks: | Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations |
| Presider: | Brian Ross, Chief Investigative Correspondent, ABC News |
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
| Speakers: | Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations R.P. Eddy, Managing Director, Gerson Lehrman Group Steven Simon, Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations |
|---|---|
| Presider: | Brian Ross, Chief Investigative Correspondent, ABC News |
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
| Speakers: | Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations R.P. Eddy, Managing Director, Gerson Lehrman Group Steven Simon, Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations |
|---|---|
| Presider: | Brian Ross, Chief Investigative Correspondent, ABC News |
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
Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies interviewed by Bernard Gwertzman, Consulting Editor
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
| Speaker: | Gary Hart, Former Member, U.S. Senate (D-CO) and author, “The Shield and the Cloak: The Security of the Commons” |
|---|---|
| Presider: | Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations and Professor of Political Science, Institute of War & Peace Studies, Columbia University |
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
| Speaker: | Gary Hart, Former Member, U.S. Senate (D-CO) and author, “The Shield and the Cloak: The Security of the Commons” |
|---|---|
| Presider: | Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations and Professor of Political Science, Institute of War & Peace Studies, Columbia University |
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
Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies interviewed by Bernard Gwertzman, Consulting Editor
Interview
See more in Intelligence
June 21, 2004
Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies interviewed by Bernard Gwertzman, Consulting Editor
Interview
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May/June 2004
| Author: | Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies |
|---|
Foreign Affairs Article — Summary
See more in Defense/Homeland Security, National Security and Defense
May/June
| Author: | Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies |
|---|
Foreign Affairs Article — Summary
March 8, 2004
Transcript
See more in Iraq, U.S. Strategy and Politics, Intelligence
January/February 2003
| Author: | Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies |
|---|
Foreign Affairs Article — Summary
See more in Iraq, Middle East
February 7, 2002
| Author: | Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies |
|---|
Testimony
See more in Terrorism, Organization of Government
January/February 2002
| Author: | Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies |
|---|
Foreign Affairs Article — Summary
See more in Defense/Homeland Security, National Security and Defense
January/February 1998
| Author: | Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies |
|---|
Foreign Affairs Article — Summary
See more in Americas, Weapons of Mass Destruction
In Termites in the Trading System, Jagdish Bhagwati reveals how the rapid spread of preferential trade agreements endangers the world trading system.
America Between the Wars explores how the decisions and debates of the years between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Twin Towers shaped the events, arguments, and politics of the world we live in today.
In The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State, Noah Feldman tells the story behind the increasingly popular call for the establishment of the sharia—the law of the traditional Islamic state—in the modern Muslim world.
Complete list of CFR Books.
This report outlines the nature of the challenges in Pakistan's tribal areas, formulates strategies for addressing those challenges, and distills the strategies into realistic policy proposals worthy of consideration by the incoming administration.
This report analyzes the debate over U.S. use of assurances against torture, explaining the contexts in which they are used, how they can be conveyed, and what they can contain, and recommends a number of ways to respond to criticism so that the United States can continue using assurances.
Complete list of Council Special Reports.
For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:
Gary Samore
Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
+1-212-434-9627
gsamore@cfr.org
Sebastian Mallaby
Director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for
Geoeconomic Studies, Deputy Director of Studies, and Paul A. Volcker Senior
Fellow for International Economics
smallaby@cfr.org
Janine Hill
Deputy Director of Studies Administration
+1-212-434-9753
jhill@cfr.org
The David Rockefeller Studies Program is the Council’s “think tank.” Its work is integral to achieving the Council’s goal of contributing to the foreign policy debate. Fellows in the Studies Program do this by researching, writing, and commenting on the most important challenges facing the United States and the world.
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