Strange Bedfellows in a Strange Land: The International Coalition to Combat Terrorism

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have shaken the foundations of the international system. The Bush administration is assembling an unusual international coalition to undertake what is promising to be a lengthy and multidimensional “war on terrorism.” The United States has not only lined up support from long-time allies in Europe and Israel, but has also begun enlisting Pakistan, Russia, India, China, and the Central Asian states and has made overtures to more atypical partners such as Iran, Syria, and the Sudan. In a special briefing, experts discuss the domestic political pressures faced by different coalition partners that both encourage and constrain their participation as well as the quid pro quo some will seek from the United States.

SHLOMO AVINERI, Carnegie visiting scholar, is professor of political science and director of the Institute for European Studies at Hebrew University

DAVID CALLEO is professor and director of European Studies at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies

MAHNAZ ISPAHANI is deputy director for human rights and international cooperation at the Ford Foundation

MICHAEL MCFAUL is a Carnegie Endowment senior associate in the Russian and Eurasian Program

ANDREW KUCHINS, director of the Russian and Eurasian Program at the Carnegie Endowment, will chair the discussion