Professor Voices » Osama Bin Laden

CIA drones and Osama bin Laden

Jo Breiner — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:28:26 +0000

The Washington Post reports that the CIA used stealth drones to monitor the activity of Osama bin Laden at his Pakistan compound prior to May 1 strike that killed him. Boston University international relations professor Arthur Hulnick is a 35-year veteran of the intelligence profession, mostly with the CIA. He is the author of “Keeping Us Safe: Secret Intelligence.” He offers the following comment:

“It never ceases to amaze me that details about even the most sensitive intelligence operations leak quickly to the press — fortunately, in the case of Osama bin Laden, after the event. Other key terrorists will now be even more careful about keeping themselves hidden, now that they know how easily they can be observed.”

Contact Arthur Hulnick, 617-353-8980, ahulnick@bu.edu

Are we in a permanent state of war?

Jo Breiner — Wed, 04 May 2011 22:08:50 +0000

Boston University international relations professor Andrew Bacevich is an expert on U.S. foreign policy and military history. He is the author of “Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War.” He appeared on MSNBC’s “The Dylan Ratigan Show” to answer the question “Are we in a permanent state of global war?”

Watch full interview here.

President Obama’s approval rating jumps

Jo Breiner — Wed, 04 May 2011 17:21:49 +0000

The latest New York Times/CBS poll shows a significant jump in President Obama’s approval rating since the killing of Osama bin Laden. Boston University professor Graham Wilson is the chair of the political science department and the author of “Only in America?: The Politics of the United States in Comparative Perspective.” He offers the following comment on the recent poll numbers:

“George H.W. Bush won a war and yet lost an election. So Obama won’t rest easy on a bump in his approval ratings. However, this achievement may have longer term significance in undermining the right’s attempts to present him as unpatriotic or not even American. Those efforts now look pretty stupid.”

Contact Graham Wilson, 617-353-2540, gkwilson@bu.edu

Pros & cons of releasing photo of a dead Osama bin Laden

Jo Breiner — Wed, 04 May 2011 12:08:04 +0000

Robert Hefner is an anthropology professor at Boston University. He is also the director of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA). He spoke with WBZ-TV Ch. 4 on whether or not the photo of a dead Osama bin Laden should be made public.

Contact Robert Hefner, 617-353-2194, rhefner@bu.edu

Arthur Hulnick on al Qaeda

Jo Breiner — Tue, 03 May 2011 15:42:20 +0000

Boston University international relations professor Arthur Hulnick is a 35-year veteran of the intelligence profession, mostly with the CIA. He is the author of “Keeping Us Safe: Secret Intelligence” and “Fixing the Spy Machine: Preparing American Intelligence for the 21st Century.” Hulnick offers the following comment on what happens next to al Qaeda:

“Osama’s lieutenants are already lining up to see who will lead al Qaeda, but since the group’s terrorist operations have already been franchised, the jockeying for position may not mean much. None of the figures has the charisma of bin Laden, nor the loyalty of his followers. This does not mean the U.S. can drop its guard, but al Qaeda has taken a serious blow.”

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

Osama Bin Laden killed by U.S. forces

Jo Breiner — Mon, 02 May 2011 15:07:08 +0000

The following Boston University professors are available to offer expert commentary, analysis, and insight on the death of Osama Bin Laden:

Arthur Hulnick, a 35-year veteran of the intelligence profession, mostly with the CIA

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

Joseph Wippl, a 30-year CIA veteran

Contact 617-353-8992, jwippl@bu.edu

August Richard Norton, International relations professor; Middle East specialist and a member of the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group; Author of “Hezbollah: A Short History”

Contact 617-353-7808, arn@bu.edu, Twitter: @arnorton

Adil Najam, International relations professor; Director of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future; Expert on Pakistan and Middle East politics

Contact 617-358-4002, anajam@bu.edu, Twitter: @adilnajam

Charles Dunbar, International relations professor; Former U.S. ambassador to Yemen

Contact 617-353-5633, cfdunbar@bu.edu

Robert Zelnick, Journalism professor; Former ABC News foreign correspondent; Regular contributor to PoliticoArena

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

Tom Whalen, associate professor of Social Sciences; an expert on modern American politics and the American presidency; regular contributor to PoliticoArena

Contact 617-353-4785, tjw64@bu.edu

Tom Fiedler, Dean of the College of Communication; a former executive editor of the Miama Herald and an expert on American politics; regular contributor to PoliticoArena

Contact 617-353-3488, tfiedler@bu.edu, Twitter: @BUCOMDEAN