Newswise — The following University of Maryland experts are available to comment on the federal grand jury indictment and subsequent resignation today of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, an aide to Vice President Cheney. Various University of Maryland experts can comment on 1) the political implications, 2) national security implications and 3) journalistic issues.
An online version of this list will be updated as warranted:http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/experts/hottopic.cfm?hotlist_id=53.
I.M. "MAC" DESTLERExpert in homeland security reorganization and foreign policy; University of Maryland professor of public policy
Destler says:"Though apparently less extensive, the activity leading to the indictment has very much the flavor of Nixon's Watergate: senior administration aides overreaching in going after critics of a controversial war, then compounding the offense by attempting to cover up their actions. The result is a serious wound to the George W. Bush administration."
CONTACT DESTLER DIRECTLY: 703-759-0588 (cell phone); 703-759-0588 (home); 301-405-6357 (office); [email protected].I.M. DESTLER " professor, University of Maryland School of Public Policy
EXPERTISE: homeland security reorganization; international security; National Security Council; U.S. foreign policy; international trade policy
CREDENTIALS: coauthored "Protecting the American Homeland" and "Assessing the Department of Homeland Security;" consulted for the Executive Office of the President and Department of State on government organization for economic and foreign policy-making; writing a history of the National Security Council
WEB SITE: http://www.puaf.umd.edu/faculty/destler/index.html
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LEE STRICKLANDRetired CIA senior intelligence analyst and University of Maryland professor of Information Policy
Strickland says:"A critical lesson in this indictment is that intelligence and politics don't mix. Attempts to politicize intelligence are crucial errors and, whether an administration attempts to influence analysis or deprecate it through leaks, the nation is ill-served."
"The criminal acts being investigated not only harmed the intelligence abilities of the United States but may also be proven to have been perpetrated to further a political agenda that led to the current costly and inconclusive war in Iraq. There can be no surer example than this to demonstrate the risk of mixing politics and intelligence." "The damage from the leak of Ms. Plame's identity goes far beyond preventing her from continuing to serve the government in her past role. It truly endangers everyone with whom she has had official contact -- from new CIA officers she may have recruited to work in secret roles, to foreign nationals she contacted to provide vital intelligence information on terrorism and other national threats. This is the very pernicious effects of leaking."
LEE S. STRICKLAND " professor, information law and policy, and director, Center for Information Policy, University of Maryland; former senior intelligence officer, CIA
EXPERTISE: homeland security needs and intelligence community operations; information law and policy, privacy and information processing
CREDENTIALS: career senior intelligence officer, attorney and computer specialist; served as special assistant U.S. attorney (District of Columbia); served on assignment to U.S. Marine Corps and Joint Special Operations Agency (Department of Defense); awarded Intelligence Commendation Medal (CIA); publications include "Information and the War Against Terrorism," "Were American Intelligence and Law Enforcement Effectively Positioned to Protect the Public?" "New Information-Related Laws and the Impact on Civil Liberties."
WEB SITE: http://www.cip.umd.edu/principals/strickland.htm
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SUSAN MOELLERExpert in media coverage of WMD issue; University of Maryland Journalism Professor
Moeller says:"Often, 24/7 reporting on a story is sensational overkill. But the round-the-clock media coverage of the CIA leak story, is, on this occasion, entirely appropriate. The coverage of the Plame case is offering a welcome, if belated, analysis of the dishonesty of the Bush White House in convincing Congress and the American people to go to war--and of the failures of the media themselves in diligently and consistently exposing the administration's spin and misstatements."
SUSAN MOELLER " associate professor of media and international affairs, Philip Merrill College of Journalism and the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland
EXPERTISE: U.S. and U.K. media coverage of weapons of mass destruction; media coverage of terrorism; media coverage of international crises and war; how photographic images shape attitudes toward war
CREDENTIALS: analyzed media coverage of weapons of mass destruction issue leading up to Iraq war (http://www.cissm.umd.edu/documents/WMDstudy_full.pdf); current research project: analysis of media coverage of terrorism; books include "Shooting War: Photography and the American Experience of Combat," which analyzes how 20th century photographic images shaped American attitudes toward war; also "Compassion Fatigue: How the Media Sell Disease, Famine, War and Death, a study of how American print and broadcast media cover international crises; Fulbright Professor of International Affairs in Islamabad, Pakistan and Bangkok, Thailand.
WEB SITE: http://www.journalism.umd.edu/faculty/smoeller/
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MARK GRABERPolitical scientist and constitutional lawyer, University of Maryland
Graber says:"The indictment of Lewis Libby ought to be an embarrassment for an administration that seems incapable of embarrassment. At a time when the United States desperately needs independent and credible intelligence, the Bush administration seems concerned with taking all legal steps, and some illegal, to ensure that the agencies responsible for protecting the United States provide only information that confirms preexisting conclusions and enhances the administration's electoral strategies."
MARK GRABER - University of Maryland professor of government and politics; professor of law
EXPERTISE: constitutional law; judicial review; civil liberties; national politics
CREDENTIALS: attorney and political scientist; books include "Transforming Free Speech" and "Rethinking Abortion"
WEB SITE: http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/graber/
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RONALD WALTERSDirector, University of Maryland African American Leadership Institute
Walters says:"This indictment resembles that of President Bill Clinton, and as with Clinton, this action, occurring so close to the presidency, will also have the affect of complicating his ability to lead the American people."
RONALD WALTERS " political scientist, professor and director, African American Leadership Institute, Academy of Leadership, University of Maryland
EXPERTISE: national politics and elections; African American political leadership; urban politics
CREDENTIALS: books include: "Black Presidential Politics in America," "White Nationalism, Black Interests: Conservative Public Policy and the Black Community" and "African American Leadership;" deputy campaign manager, Jesse Jackson presidential campaign
WEB SITE: http://www.academy.umd.edu/AboutUs/staff/RWalters.htm
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WILLIAM GALSTONExpert in ethics and public policy; deputy assistant to President Clinton for domestic policy
WILLIAM GALSTON " Stern Professor of Civic Engagement; director, Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, University of Maryland School of Public Policy
EXPERTISE: American politics and ethics and public policy; civic engagement
CREDENTIALS: deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy and executive director of the National Commission on Civic Renewal in first Clinton administration; served as senior advisor to Albert Gore Jr. during 1999-2000 presidential campaign and the run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988
WEB SITE: http://www.puaf.umd.edu/faculty/people/galstonm.html
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TREVOR PARRY-GILESPolitical communication and strategy expert; University of Maryland professor
TREVOR PARRY-GILES " assistant professor of political communication, University of Maryland
EXPERTISE: presidential rhetoric, political strategy and advertising; judicial nominations; political communication
CREDENTIALS: former political consultant and writer; books include "Constructing Clinton: Hyperreality and Presidential Image-Making in Postmodern Politics" (co-author) and "The Character of Justice: Rhetoric, Law, and Politics in the Supreme Court Confirmation Process" (forthcoming)
WEB SITE: http://www.wam.umd.edu/~tpg/index.html
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SHAWN PARRY-GILESDirector, University of Maryland Center for Political Communication and Civic Leadership; professor of political communication
SHAWN PARRY-GILES " associate professor of communication; director, Center for Political Communication and Civic Leadership, University of Maryland
EXPERTISE: presidential image making and rhetoric; presidential war rhetoric; presidential campaigning; propaganda; rhetorical, feminist and media criticism
CREDENTIALS: books include "The Rhetorical Presidency, Propaganda, and the Cold War, 1945-1955," "Constructing Clinton: Hyperreality and Presidential Image-Making in Postmodern Politics" (co-author); journal articles include "Mediating Hillary Rodham Clinton: Television News Practices and Image-Making in the Postmodern Age," and "Embracing the Mess: Reflections on Campaign 2000"
WEB SITE: http://www.wam.umd.edu/~spg/
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PAUL HERRNSONDirector, Center for American Politics and Citizenship, University of Maryland
PAUL HERRNSON " director, Center for American Politics and Citizenship and professor of government and politics, University of Maryland
EXPERTISE: national and congressional politics; campaign finance reform; voting technology; political debate guidelines
CREDENTIALS: recent books include: "Congressional Elections: Campaigning at Home and in Washington," "Party Campaigning in the 1980s," "The Financiers of Congressional Elections;" recent co-edited volumes include "After the Revolution: PACs, Lobbies, and the Republican Congress" and "Playing Hardball: Campaigning for the U.S. Congress" ; sponsors Debate Advisory Standards Project, developing guidelines and standards for political debates
WEB SITE: http://www.capc.umd.edu/org.asp
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ADMIRAL STANSFIELD TURNERFormer CIA director; Senior Research Scholar University of Maryland School of Public Policy
STANSFIELD TURNER " Senior Research Scholar, Center for International and Security Studies, University of Maryland School of Public Policy
EXPERTISE: intelligence operations; national and international security; terrorism; arms control and nuclear weapons; U.S. foreign policy; naval operations
CREDENTIALS: director, CIA, under President Carter; former commander, U.S. Second Fleet and NATO Striking Fleet, Atlantic; author of numerous books and articles, including "Ten Steps to Fight Terrorism Without Endangering Democracy"
WEB SITE: http://www.puaf.umd.edu/faculty/people/turnerm.html
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CHRISTOPHER HANSONExpert in media ethics and war coverage; University of Maryland Journalism Professor
CHRISTOPHER HANSON " assistant professor of journalism, University of Maryland
EXPERTISE: journalism ethics; media coverage of war; media-military relations
CREDENTIALS: combat correspondent in the Gulf War; covered the civil war in Rwanda; covered Pentagon and State Department; written on potential journalistic pitfalls in covering terrorism
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