In the Media

Profile | Thomas Schelling, Honorary Degree Recipient
"Thomas Schelling is one of the world's most respected economists. Over his years of study he has dealt with a variety of policy issues, and he is 'considered one of the fathers of modern game theory,' University President Lawrence Bacow said in an e-mail to the Daily.  Schelling's work garnered him the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2005. ... [Schelling] left Harvard in 1990 and was appointed Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland in the Department of Economics and the School of Public Policy. In 2005, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.  Schelling will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters."
Tufts Daily News, May 20

House Targets Contractor Abuses
Federal contractors better brace for battle — the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is getting ready to launch a barrage of investigations, insiders say. ... Committee sources confirmed that contracting issues are on the top of their to-do list, increasing the probability of a political face-off between committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and ranking member Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., who hold sharply different views on how contractors should be regulated. ... Contracting is not the Committee's only focus. In coming days, sources said, the Bush administration is also likely to get more than its share of continued investigative heat... 'You have to expect, first of all, [more of] what they've already been up to,' said Christopher Foreman, a professor at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy. 'Waxman is an old hand at this, and he knows what he likes and what he feels works.' ...  Since the Democrats took over in January, the oversight committee and its four subcommittees under Waxman have held a combined 38 hearings, with 15 of those at the full committee level. Experts and committee insiders said the oversight firestorm will continue until the 2008 elections. The Democrats, they said, are in the game of oversight and aren't afraid to play hardball.  'The majority party in the house has … been clamoring for oversight for a long time,' Foreman said. 'The risk you have is that you can let your enthusiasm and your anxiousness to pin the administration to the wall overwhelm your better judgment in both a political and policy sense. You can't tackle everything.' "
Federal Times, May 22

From Beaches to Pine Barrens, a Study Puts Values on New Jersey 's Natural Assets
Some economists feel that putting a price on the environment is meaningless. Some environmentalists shudder at expressing nature's worth in numbers. “To approach the issue of biodiversity as if it were an exercise in global bean-counting is fundamentally wrongheaded,” wrote Timothy C. Weiskel, an environmental ethicist, in an essay while he was director of Harvard's environmental ethics and public policy program. Mark Sagoff, a philosopher specializing in environmental policy at the University of Maryland, said the approach was “just a politically correct exercise.” The benefits that nature provides either “can't be cut and divided,” are “already priced by the market, like timber and farmland,” or “are too cheap to measure, like wind,” he said. Such an approach will backfire against environmentalists if they argue against development by saying a wetland or forest is economically valuable, Dr. Sagoff added. That will only cause a private landowner to demand more money for the land, money the government cannot afford to pay.
The New York Times, May 21

Wolfowitz Quitting at World Bank
Paul Wolfowitz's reign as World Bank leader ends, with more than a dash of controversy.  "Most World Bank officials say they generally supported Wolfowitz's focus on corruption, but many contend that he enforced it selectively, focusing on countries whose foreign policy was at odds with the Bush administration and giving a pass to administration allies.  I.M. Destler, a professor of international security and economic policy at the University of Maryland , said he doesn't expect Wolfowitz's departure to significantly affect the bank's anti-corruption efforts. 'It's easy to say we shouldn't deal with corrupt leaders, but then the question becomes how you implement that. Wolfowitz's own impact was mostly at the margins,' Destler said. 'His effort to make a difference was hindered by his having a horrific relationship with most, if not all, parts of the bank.'"
Los Angeles Times, May 18 (Free registration required)

More Problems After Wolfowitz
"William Galston, a former policy adviser to President Bill Clinton, says the World Bank could assist U.S. efforts against Islamic  fundamentalists by focusing more attention on getting aid recipients to govern more effectively.  'Everywhere we look, we find that at the heart of the radicals' appeal is a very concrete claim that  states are not delivering basic services to their people,' says Galston, a public policy professor at the University of Maryland.  If the Wolfowitz scandal paralyzes the World Bank, American economic  influence in the developing world is likely to wane. Already, Europeans contribute more than twice  as much as the U.S. to World Bank loan funds. If major European nations decide to shift money to the  European Union or to their own bilateral aid organizations, the clout of the U.S.-led bank would shrink."
Business Week, May 18

Individual Candidate Endorsements Weaken Black Power
Ronald Walters, professor of government and politics, and director of the African American Leadership Institute, writes an op/ed for NNPA.  "I have been watching the 'carnival of endorsements' proceed where the latest news is what politician in the Black community is endorsing which presidential candidate. And in that process, I have wondered whether they are either fully aware or really care that they are weakening the ability of the black community 'a minority in American politics' to exercise its collective power over the process.  Blacks have two bites at the apple in an electoral season to exercise their considerable influence over the process. They constitute 12 percent-15 percent of the general election vote in any given contest for president, but much more of the vote in primary elections for a Democratic candidate in specific states because blacks are concentrated within the Democratic party. So, the question becomes: how do we use our critical position in both of these settings to maximize Black political power to make a difference in the election of a candidate in order to improve the bargaining position of Blacks for public goods if they are elected president."
Chicago Defender, May 24

'Support the Troops, Stop the War'
Ronald Walters, professor of government and politics and director of the African American Leadership Institute, writes an on/ed for NNPA:  "It is extraordinary that George Bush has managed to position the U. S. military ‘'support the troops'' in a role that is symbolic of the war-fighting policy in Iraq. It has effectively put the Democrats in a quandary, because the American people have been socialized by the administration to 'support the troops' in a way that it also serves their purpose to pursue the war.  All of the other rationales for pursuing the war have soured with the American people, but the remaining emotional root of their willingness to follow the administration's formulation of the war appears to be 'support the troops.' "
Wilmington Journal, May 17-23

Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA)

The U.S. Seen Through Muslim Eyes
"When it comes to renovating America 's image in the greater Islamic world, the news is not getting any better.  An extensive, new public opinion survey conducted in four predominantly Muslim countries finds not only that hard feelings toward the United States ' global role persist but that something more ominous is happening as well: Large majorities believe that the United States is in some kind of a war against Islam itself. ... These views are particularly troubling since they come from four countries that, traditionally, have had good relations with the United States and that play an outsize role in the politics of the Islamic world.  That particular finding--perhaps the most disturbing among many bad-news indicators--comes from a survey released this month by the Program on International Policy Attitudes, a research effort affiliated with the University of Maryland. The study suggests that the classic battle for hearts and minds in the Bush administration-led 'war on terrorism' is going poorly, despite the considerable attention being paid in Washington and in U.S. embassies abroad to trying to improve America's standing in Muslim countries. ... But the effort appears not to be changing the big picture--as seen by many Muslims overseas. 'While U.S. leaders may frame the conflict as a war on terrorism, people in the Islamic world clearly perceive the United States as being at war with Islam,' reports Steven Kull, principal investigator in the study and editor of WorldPublicOpinion.org." 
U.S. News & World Report, May 24

Reporting on Muslim Polling (Editorial)
"Survey:  'U.S. Muslims Assimilated, Opposed to Extremism,' says The Washington Post. 'American Muslims reject extremes,' says USA Today. The Chicago Tribune: 'U.S. Muslims more content, assimilated than those abroad.' (At least the Trib's subhead reads: 'But 1-in-4 youths sympathize with suicide bombers.')  USA Today features this summary prominently:  'Muslim Americans are very much like the rest of the country.' Those are the words of Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.  These headlines and quotes are not wrong per se, just incomplete, misleading and indicative of the 'kid gloves' treatment this issue receives. Sure, the majority of American Muslims are peaceable and well-assimilated. Many are not. No newspaper should try to 'manage' away these facts.  For instance, the 'good news' of 'U.S. Muslims more content, assimilated than those abroad' is born out by some of the data, but it is probably not the case regarding the suicide-bombing question. In a survey released last month, the University of Maryland 's Program on International Policy Attitudes asked respondents in Morocco, Egypt, Pakistan, and Indonesia whether terrorist attacks on civilians can be justified."
Washington Times, May 24

Young Muslim Americans Who Endorse Suicide Bombings
Kudlow & Co. pits terror analyst Steve Emerson vs. the Muslim Public Affairs Council's Edina Lekovic, for an obvious conflict on interpretations of the Pew poll.  Mr. Steve Emerson (NBC Terrorism Analyst):  "Well, I think the numbers are absolutely frightening. And I've been warning about this, and so have others, for a long time. And, unfortunately, the mainstream--in quotes--American Muslim leadership has been in denial. They've contended that there's only Islam-a-phobia, that there's a war on Islam. And in fact, there's been a failure of the American Muslim leadership, because they portrayed the war against terrorism as a war against Islam. And that's radicalized the youth, Larry."Kudlow:  "If I may, let me just ask Edina , if I may call you that.  What is your response to Steve Emerson? And I guess I want to understand, where is the sort of modern Muslim element that would try to close this sort of thing down?" Edina Lekovic:  "Well, they're right beneath our noses. If we look to the headline of the survey, what it points to is Muslim Americans, mostly mainstream middle class, moderate, sharing American ideals and believing that hard work pays off in this country, that's the headline on this story. When we look at the statistic about suicide bombing, it is indeed a disturbing one. But taken out of context, it's even more frightening. You know, the University of Maryland did a poll just in December where they found that 1 in 2 Americans support, sometimes--with the same wording--they find it at least sometimes justified for innocent civilians to be targeted by bombings or attacks. I think that any sort of support, no matter what side it comes from, is absolutely outrageous."
May 23 Partial transcript

Large Number of Americans Favor Violent Attacks Against Civilians
"The hysteria over the Pew poll about American Muslims continues unabated, with the focus now on the finding that while 80% of American Muslims oppose attacks on civilians in all cases, 13% said they could be justified in some circumstances. The 'discussion' illustrates some standard failings of our political discourse. ...  The reality, though, is that it is almost impossible to conduct a poll and not have a sizable portion of the respondents agree to almost everything. And in particular, with regard to the specific question of whether it is justifiable to launch violent attacks aimed deliberately at civilians, the percentage of American Muslims who believe in such attacks pales in comparison to the percentage of Americans generally who believe that such attacks are justifiable.  The University of Maryland 's highly respected Program on International Policy Attitudes, in December 2006, conducted a concurrent public opinion poll of the United States and Iran to determine the comparative views of each country's citizens on a variety of questions. One of the questions they asked was whether 'bombings and other types of attacks intentionally aimed at civilians are sometimes justified'? Americans approved of such attacks by a much larger margin than Iranians -- 48-22% (and a much, much larger margin than American Muslims -- 48-13%)."
Salon , May 23

Muslim World Views US Negatively, Congress Told
"In the world as a whole, negative views of the United States have increased sharply in recent years, because the United States is perceived as unconstrained in its use of military force by the system of international rules and institutions that the US itself took the lead in establishing in the post-war period, an American professor told a congressional committee this week.  Prof. Steven Kull of the University of Maryland , in testimony before a subcommittee of the House of Representative Committee on Foreign Affairs, said the Muslim world is of particular interest as it is a major source of violence against the US . It is also an area of the world with particularly negative feelings toward the United States . Some have argued, he continued, that what is important is not that people in the region like the US , but that they fear it. When forced to make a choice between the US and Al Qaeda, it is surmised, this fear will increase the likelihood that people in the region will choose the US ."
Pakistan Daily Times, May 20

Poll Finds Policy, Values Hurt U.S. in Muslim World
Scripps Howard News Service:  "The extent to which Muslims in four countries dislike American foreign policy and the U.S. as a whole is disheartening, officials said after a briefing about a new poll of Muslims abroad.  During a hearing Thursday on declining approval for American foreign policy in Muslim countries, Steven Kull, director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, discussed the poll results. 'We did indeed find negative views toward the U.S. government, even though the governments surveyed ... have a positive relationship with the U.S.,' Kull said."
Kansas City InfoZine, May 19

Negative Attitudes Toward the United States in the Muslim World: Do They Matter?
"Steven Kull, director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes, told the US Congress Thursday that in-depth opinion polls reveal an alarming tendency among Muslim publics to view the United States as a threat to Islam.  Kull told a House Foreign Affairs Committee panel that there was a 'new feeling about the US that has emerged in the wake of 9-11.'  'This is not so much an intensification of negative feelings toward the US as much as a new perception of American intentions,' Kull said. 'There now seems to be a perception that the US has entered into a war against Islam itself.'  Kull based his conclusions on a review of publicly available surveys from the Islamic world as well as the in-depth study of Egypt , Morocco , Pakistan , and Indonesia conducted this year in conjunction with the START Center at the University of Maryland .  The START study also included focus groups and polls conducted in all four countries.  Detailed data from these studies can be found at http://www.WorldPublicOpinion.org."
U.S. Newswire (Yahoo!), May 18

“China may have decided to test a missile that destroyed an old satellite, igniting complaints from the West, only after its attempts to negotiate treaties against space weapons were rebuffed by the U.S. ”
Thomas Schelling in a Wall Street Journal interview, February 17

“What she wrote led in some ways to a loss of faith in scientific experts.”
Robert Nelson on “environmental prophet” Rachel Carson, Baltimore Sun, March 4

“They achieved an awful lot of social change, but the fact that they were active at a very young age left them with a lot of liabilities for national office.”
Peter Levine on the Baby Boomers, Baltimore Sun, February 25

“Building roads and schools is the key to making smart growth work.”
Gerritt Knaap on government officials' struggle to manage growth in Virginia,
Washington Post, February 8

“The biggest single thing we could do to reduce oil consumption is to increase the efficiency standard for automobiles.”
Steve Fetter on global warming reform bills, Salisbury Daily Times, February 4

“We have an economy where the dividends are unevenly distributed, and the easiest way to respond to it is to blame trade agreements.”
I.M. Destler on Bush's lost bilateral trade agreement with Vietnam,
Newsweek, November 27

“The work it proposes to undertake could endanger the human species as a whole.”
John Steinbruner on the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC), New Scientist, November 25

Four One One, Spring 2007 (pdf)