Maxwell School News and Faculty Media, Opinion and Analysis

Jacobson discusses US security advisor Jake Sullivan on NewsNation

August 20, 2021

Banks comments on President Bush's handling of 9/11 attacks in South China Morning Post

"Bush and many others overreacted to 9/11," says Professor Emeritus William Banks. "I blame him and especially (vice-president) Dick Cheney and then (defense secretary) Donald Rumsfeld for the reckless policies," he says. But Bush was "never nativist," and his recent efforts on immigration are not a "whitewashing" of history but appear to be a genuine effort at problem-solving, Banks adds.

April 28, 2021

Williams discusses the US approach to warfare on History Hit podcast

Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, was a guest on History Hit's Warfare podcast for the episode titled "Liberalism and the American Way of War."

March 24, 2021

O'Keefe discusses Defense Secretary nominee Lloyd Austin in The Hill

University Professor Sean O'Keefe says that while the nomination of may have surprised more than a few people, Austin "may well prove to be exactly the right person for this tough job at this time in our nation’s history." Read O'Keefe's full commentary, "Lloyd Austin can lead — as a civilian," published in The Hill.

January 6, 2021

Jacobson comments on Trump's changes at the Pentagon in Politico

"It's likely that most are rolled back by Biden administration," says Mark Jacobson, assistant dean of Washington programs, about Trump's changes at the Pentagon. "But the point is all of these cost money, waste time and hamper the ability of the national security establishment to focus on the real threats the United States faces," he adds.

December 11, 2020

Jacobson talks to Politico, Washington Post about Biden's Cabinet picks

Mark Jacobson, assistant dean of Washington programs says that "the [John] Kerry pick [as Biden's special presidential envoy for climate] is really incredible from a structural standpoint." His selection, Jacobson says, is "an admission that our mid-20th century national security structures were not designed to deal with some of the more holistic and potentially existential threats, in this case, climate change."

November 24, 2020

Jacobson weighs in on acting Secretary of Defense Miller in Politico

"Conspiratorial minded persons may think this change is about chain-of-command and putting the SecDef in direct control of [Special Operations Command] but that’s wrong — this move changes nothing operationally," says Mark Jacobson, assistant dean of Washington programs. However, Jacobson expresses concern about the "timing" of the move and "Miller’s motivations." "You don’t make a major bureaucratic change in an institution, particularly with regards to organizations dealing with sensitive and complex issues, without thinking through this," he says.

November 19, 2020

Jacobson weighs in on the firing of Defense Secretary Mark Esper in Foreign Policy

Mark Jacobson, assistant dean for Washington programs at Maxwell School, commented on the firing of Defense Secretary Esper by Donald Trump. He said "Our enemies are going to take note of that, they know that now is a particularly vulnerable time"

November 10, 2020

Banks featured in WAER piece on COVID-19 in the White House, national security

"Attention on the domestic political situation and the president’s dominance of the news and his well-being is obscuring what else might be going on in the world that should be drawing some of our attention," says William Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs.

October 9, 2020

Jacobson comments on US defense secretary's travel in Politico

"The further away, the less likelihood of being fired," says Assistant Dean Mark Jacobson of U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper's frequent travel amid persistent rumors that he will either quit or be fired after the election.