In light of Tuesday’s rattling attacks on the nation’s security, Harvard international affairs experts are stressing the importance of a response that sends a message of American stability abroad while preserving a sense of democracy at home.

As cries for revenge echo in some quarters across the country, Executive Dean of Radcliffe Louise Richardson, a government professor who has taught a course on terrorism in years past, cautioned the U.S. government not to rush to judgment. Acknowledging that federal officials will be under a great amount of pressure to respond swiftly, she said she hopes that the government will resist the pressure for immediate action and focus on formulating a plan only after the complete nature of Tuesday’s attacks have been divulged.

“It is the nature of democracy that it cannot fully protect itself from an attack of this kind, at least not without becoming a fortress and thereby undermining democracy,” she said.

Ashton Carter, a Kennedy School professor and former assistant secretary of defense, said he thinks the government must think about fighting all types of terrorism, not just air traffic, in a “calculated and deliberate way.” He advocated improving intelligence by merging domestic and international efforts, improving response programs and developing better strategies to reduce the appeal of terrorist organizations.

“We need this president to do what no president has done before, and that is to implement a national security program that includes all these things,” Carter said.

Harvard experts advocated different strategies for an appropriate response.

Arnold Howitt, director of the Kennedy School’s Executive Session on Domestic Preparedness for Terrorism, sees developing a set of flexible plans to implement in emergencies as a key to prevention.

“New York has done a remarkably good job,” he said. “They had a severe wake-up, but to Giuliani’s credit, they were well ready.”