“Rudolf Elmer has demonstrated that the ‘shadow banking system’ is not just about complex financial instruments that hide risk and the casino in which those instruments are traded. It is also about a dark corner of the banking system that hides personal and corporate wealth for a host of purposes, especially tax evasion.

As Elmer does his WikiLeaks dump in London, one issue for federal prosecutors to focus on is whether the banks and their officers filed suspicious activity reports, so-called ‘SARS’, as is required by the Bank Secrecy Act whenever an institution or its employees know or have reason to suspect illegal activity.”

Contact Cornelius Hurley, 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu

“Goldman’s plan to take the creation of structured financial products out of the hands of traders and give that responsibility solely to investment bankers is a positive move. The next step for Goldman, in burnishing its tarnished reputation, should be to ensure that complex products it creates are understood by their creators, by Goldman’s directors and regulators, and by its customers.”

Contact Cornelius Hurley, 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu

“This tax package is a temporary compromise that deserves its widespread condemnation. The only optimistic sign for tax policy is some new support for tax reform, voiced by the president and others.

“Tax reform has proven to be enormously difficult to accomplish, and almost as difficult to preserve once achieved. But it may offer the best way out of our present economic and political mess.”

Contact Daniel Berman, 617-353-3105, bermand@bu.edu

Arthur Hulnick, a 35-year veteran of the intelligence profession, mostly with the CIA. Contact 617-353-8978, ahulnick@bu.edu

“These leaks are as dangerous to the U.S. as a terrorist attack, and the people who stole this material ought to be tracked down just like someone from Al Qaeda. The FBI should have been on top of this after the first series of leaks from WikiLeaks. Other countries will be reluctant to share intelligence with us, and diplomats will wonder why the U.S. can’t keep secrets. The press cannot be faulted for publishing, but someone in government ought to be found and punished.”

William Keylor, author of “A World of Nations: The International Order Since 1945″; Contact 617-358-0197, wrkeylor@bu.edu

“If the ‘cable traffic’ between American ambassadors abroad and the State Department is accessible to any disgruntled PFC in the U.S. Army, then why the expressions of shock and outrage that it finds its way to the public? If the U.S. government is unable to devise a reliable communication system that will ensure the diplomatic cables are read only by the restricted list of intended recipients, then we can expect a full and continuous publication of all such messages. It is difficult to imagine how diplomacy can be conducted in such an environment.”

Michael Corgan, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who taught there and a specialist in international security with extensive service in political and military planning (especially NATO). Contact 617-353-3553, mcorgan@bu.edu.

“Mr. Assange has taken away secrecy and we and perhaps the world will surely suffer for that. WikiLeaks, whose founder doesn’t really understand how the U.S. constitutional democracy was meant to work, has ensured that we will not be trusted in our foreign relations efforts for a long time to come. For the ordinary citizen the appropriate question might be, just how many friends do you have that can’t keep a secret?”

Arthur Hulnick, International Relations professor; a 35-year veteran of the intelligence profession, mostly with the CIA

Contact 617-353-8978, ahulnick@bu.edu

Joseph Wippl, International Relations professor; a 30-year CIA veteran

Contact 617-353-8992, jwippl@bu.edu 

Tom Fiedler, Dean of the College of Communication; Expert on American politics; a regular contributor to Politico “The Arena”

Contact 617-353-3488, tfiedler@bu.edu

Robert Zelnick, Journalism professor; Former ABC News foreign correspondent

Contact 617-353-5007, bzelnick@bu.edu

“The key intelligence challenge will be to discover how the North Korean government succeeded in what seems to be another important step toward becoming a serious threat to the security of North Asia.”

For additional commentary, contact William Keylor, 617-358-0197, wrkeylor@bu.edu

“Unfortunately, security professionals tend to see everyone as the ‘enemy,’ and don’t like to be challenged about their procedures.

“Bruce Hoffman, an expert on terrorism, has said that we should be using full-body screenings and extensive body searches on those people who seem to be threatening. I agree.

“The President could order changes. But if he does not take a position on this, I don’t expect changes in current invasive measures.”

Contact Arthur Hulnick, 617-353-8978, ahulnick@bu.edu

Contact Frederic Brunel, 617-353-4609, brunel@bu.edu

“Helpers should know that they become part of a fraudulent scheme even if they do not know all the details.

“Their remuneration, for example, may give signals that what is going on is not entirely legal — in this case, suspicious enough to raise liability as helpers.

“But helpers must be involved in the scheme. The cleaners of an office in which fraud is committed are not criminally liable.”

Contact Tamar Frankel, 617-353-3773, tfrankel@bu.edu

“Adding a consumption tax probably is the only way to raise sufficient revenue while keeping marginal income tax rates low and maintaining the major tax expenditures that our citizens demand.

“To reject such a structure because of its ‘ties to Europe, ‘ irrespective of its merits or demerits, is simply irresponsible national leadership. In this economic challenge we must learn from other countries rather than reject their choices out of hand.”

Contact Daniel Berman, 617-353-3105, bermand@bu.edu