Three thousand Russian soldiers lost their lives, and up to 10,000 Russians were wounded.

But military retaliation ultimately solved little, he said.

He warned that terrorists remain dedicated to their cause like true revolutionaries and quoted Samuel Adams, who said that “revolution is in the hearts and minds of the people.”

Khrushchev argued that superpowers like the United States should focus on winning allies rather than defeating enemies.

“The fall of big empires is that they are tired to defeat too many enemies and became exhausted,” he said.

He noted that beating terrorism cannot be accomplished simply with military defeat, as in Afghanistan.

“We should not try to fight those easy to blame,” he said, emphasizing that the terrorist network should be the target rather than Osama bin Laden, “who is hiding in some cave.”

Khrushchev also discussed his own political experience during the 1960s, when he participated in the Soviet missile and space programs.

He mentioned his work in developing cruise missiles for submarines, military and research spacecraft, moon vehicles and the “Proton,” the world’s largest space booster.

Responding to a question about why he teaches at Brown, Khrushchev said that “Harvard never invited.”