February 18, 2010 at 2:36 pm
As U.S. and Pakistani intelligence agents press their offensive, two senior Taliban leaders have been arrested in Pakistan. International relations Prof. Charles Dunbar, who once headed the U.S. embassy in Kabul during his four-decade diplomatic career, says the arrests indicate that the Pakistan government may be inclined to help the U.S. more on the war in Afghanistan — but only if the cooperation is genuine.
“The main take-away: Is the seeming Pakistani shift in attitude for real or just more of the same good-bedside-manner diplomacy vis a vis the U.S.?”
Contact Charles Dunbar, 617-353-5633, cfdunbar@bu.edu
February 18, 2010 at 1:54 pm
T
iger Woods, who has been in hiding for the past three months, will speak publicly for the first time tomorrow, marking the beginning of what his agent calls "the process of making amends." What does this mean for the golf legend with the once squeaky-clean image? Frank Shorr, professor of sports journalism and director of the Boston University Sports Institute, and Peter Morrissey, a veteran PR and reputation management expert, give their ideas:
Shorr: “This is Tiger being Tiger…trying to limit his access at every turn. If he thinks he can do one news conference with a handful of reporters, picked by his own people, he’s in for a shock when he hits the golf course for the first time. The media will hound him and you’re going to see the fans very vocal on the situation - and much of it won’t be positive. But, he is obviously positioning himself for a return to competitive play."
Morrissey: "It's funny how both Tiger Woods and Toyota appear to be pushing the edges of the forgiveness envelope with the public. Public figures and public companies always want to get bad news behind them. They want to apologize and move on, but they forget an important phychological and human healing factor -- people forgive and forget on their terms."
Contact: Frank Shorr, 617-353-5163, fshorr@bu.edu
Contact: Peter Morrissey, 617-353-1020, pmorriss@bu.edu
February 17, 2010 at 4:38 pm
President Obama will name GOP ex-Sen. Alan Simpson and former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles to co-chair a bi-partisan commisson - being created by executive order - to tackle the federal debt. Political Science Professor Graham Wilson, author of "Business and Politics," says Republican congressional leaders will be challenged to cooperate.
"Everyone knows that spending cuts won’t be enough to rebalance the budget once we get out of the recession Obama inherited -- yet the Tea Party movement makes it harder for Republicans to accept any tax increases. On the other hand, the public already sees Obama as trying to be bipartisan and the Republicans refusing to play."
Contact Graham Wilson, 617-353-2540, gkwilson@bu.edu
February 17, 2010 at 3:58 pm
Pakistan has confirmed the capture of the Taliban's top military commander, the result of a joint effort by Pakistani and U.S. intelligence agencies. International Relations Professor Joseph Wippl, a 30-year CIA operations officer, said it highlights the need for such joint enterprises.
"The capture of Mullah Abdu Ghani Baradar demonstrates once again that the success of operations against terrorism will occur only through the cooperation of intelligence services either bilaterally or on a multilateral basis. Success against terrorism on a unilateral basis is and will continue to be very limited."
Contact Joseph Wippl, 617-353-8992, jwippl@bu.edu
February 17, 2010 at 12:16 pm
Although President Obama and others already have congratulated the winner, Ukraine's high court has suspended the results of that country's presidential election pending a review of the runner-up's appeal. Tammy Lynch, a senior fellow at BU's Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology & Policy and an authority on Ukranian politics, says it's a power play by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
"In Ukraine, most political power rests in the PM's office. Therefore, although she lost the election, Tymoshenko will maintain more state power in her hands. How long she can continue this largely depends on how long her public support is maintained."
Contact Tammy Lynch, 617-353-5815, tammymlynch@hotmail.com
February 16, 2010 at 10:43 am
Sargent College is supporting the Davis Phinney Foundation in its launch of Every Victory Counts, a new program for living well with Parkinson’s. The cornerstone of this program is a progressive, interactive manual designed to inform and inspire people to live well with Parkinson’s and take a more active role in managing the disease. Boston University is among leading Parkinson’s research centers with contributors to the manual’s content.
February 12, 2010 at 3:59 pm
A Washington Post-ABC News polls shows three-quarters of Americans say they approve of gays serving openly in the military. Political science Professor Graham Wilson, author of "Only in America? American Politics in Comparative Perspective," says it reflects the fact that American society was becoming more tolerant while our politics were becoming less so.
"While candidates were running on the three Gs (God, Gays and Guns), ordinary Americans were deciding they could live in peace and mutual respect with gay fellow citizens."
Contact Graham Wilson, 617-353-2540, gkwilson@bu.edu
February 11, 2010 at 5:24 pm
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown predicts a global bank tax may by enacted as soon as this summer at the G-20 meeting of economic powers. Law Professor Daniel Berman, director of the Graduate Tax Program and a former U.S. Treasury deputy international tax counsel, says establishing such a tax could be harder than it sounds.
"When I worked for the Joint Committee on Taxation of the U.S. Congress 20 years ago we tried to develop a Securities Transactions Excise Tax (STET), but we couldn’t come up with a workable design. But if the same new tax is imposed globally, or at least across the G20, tax avoidance will be much more challenging."
Contact Daniel Berman, 617-353-3105, bermand@bu.edu
February 11, 2010 at 4:40 pm
The White House and U.S. intelligence community are grousing about a British court's decision that forced the UK to disclose classified U.S. intelligence about an ex-Gitmo detainee released to the Brits. Thirty-year CIA veteran Joseph Wippl, director of the Center for International Relations, says we have no right to comment about another democratic nation's legal system.
"Such comments cause needless resentment by partner countries. When the shoe has been on the other foot (Guantanamo), our response is ‘mind your own business.’"
Contact Joseph Wippl, 617-353-8992, jwippl@bu.edu
February 11, 2010 at 1:23 pm
In a blow to the effort to stem the flow of international financing for terrorism, the European Parliament rejected a controversial data-sharing deal with the United States, citing privacy concerns. International relations Professor William Keylor, an authority on U.S.-European relations, says the snub demonstrates how fighting a global war on terrorism is tough without full agreement on strategies.
"As long as an economic superpower such as the EU is unwilling to cooperate in measures to interrupt the financing of terrorism, unilateral American actions to shut down such financing operations are doomed to failure."
Contact William Keylor, 617-358-1097, wrkeylor@bu.edu
