NEWS
Jan 02, 2013 - TIME IS NO LONGER ON ISRAEL'S SIDE
In a Dec. 25, 2012, interview with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, founding director Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian discussed the implications of an Israeli attack on Iran, the ongoing conflict in Syria, and recommendations he and a Baker Institute team are developing to advance Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. "Time is not working in Israel's favor," Djerejian said. "Due to economic and military superiority, [Israel can, for the time being] keep the status quo, but in the long term, I believe that if the Palestinian problem is not solved, this will constitute an existential threat to the concept of a Jewish democratic state."
Dec 20, 2012 - SCHOLARLY POV
The recent killings of nine health workers trying to vaccinate Pakistani children against polio is likely to have a chilling effect on the country's polio eradication efforts, writes Peter J. Hotez, the institute's fellow in disease and poverty fellow, in the Baker Institute Blog. "This concern is especially relevant for Karachi, where at least five of the workers died and where vaccination efforts have now been suspended," he says. "Women comprise most of the health workforce for polio eradication efforts in Pakistan — for the very practical reason that it is easier for a woman to go into a household where other women may be present." Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio is still endemic. Read more about the issue in "Polio and vaccine diplomacy in Pakistan," by Peter J. Hotez.
Dec 20, 2012 - SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up two cases related to gay marriage, granting review of California's ban on same-sex marriage and of a law that forbids federal recognition of same-sex unions. In a recent blog, Baker Institute fellow Joe Barnes comments on social and political context of the cases currently before the court, predicting that "in 50 years we will look back upon the current controversy over gay marriage with chagrin and shame: chagrin because same-sex unions will have become, by then, utterly matter-of-fact; shame because discrimination against homosexual couples will be generally recognized as an egregious breach of equality under law and simple human decency." Texas, though in many ways a wonderful state, has an "appalling track record on treatment of its homosexual citizens," Barnes writes. Sooner or later, Texans — like other Americans— will be chagrined and ashamed.
Dec 18, 2012 - Addressing the U.S. debt is a national security imperative
A coalition of former high-ranking government officials, including Baker Institute honorary chair James A. Baker, III, recently published a statement urging elected leaders to agree on a budget plan that averts the fiscal cliff and “puts the debt on a downward path.” The message from the 15-member Coalition for Fiscal and National Security — which appeared, among other places, online and in full-page ads in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal — provides guidelines to achieve these objectives. It calls for spending cuts over the next 10 years, tax reforms to raise more revenues, and “changes to entitlements to put them on a sustainable long-term path." In addition, coalition members write, "advances in technological capabilities and the changing nature of threats make it possible, if properly done, to spend less” on an efficient and intelligent U.S. defense strategy. A four-page document expanding on the general framework proposed by the coalition is available In addition to Baker, the signatories to the statement of principles are: Admiral Michael G. Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Madeleine K. Albright, former secretary of state; Samuel R. Berger, former national security advisor; Harold Brown, former secretary of defense; Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security advisor; Frank Carlucci, former secretary of defense; Robert M. Gates, former secretary of defense; Henry A. Kissinger, former secretary of state and national security advisor; Sam Nunn, former chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services; Paul O’Neill, former secretary of the treasury; George P. Shultz, former secretary of state and the treasury; Ike Skelton, former chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services; Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve; and John Warner, former chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services.
here.
Dec 13, 2012 - On Syria and Iran's nuclear threat
At a plenary session of the World Policy Conference in Cannes, founding director Ambassador Edward Djerejian discussed the potential impact on Lebanon of the crisis in Syria and Iran's nuclear development program. L’Orient-Le Jour, a leading French-language daily newspaper published in Lebanon, featured the ambassador's insights in a Dec. 12, 2012, story available in French here. The English translation is available here.
Dec 12, 2012 - SCHOLARLY POV
March 19, 2003, will mark the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. "We should not let the anniversary pass without serious soul-searching," writes Joe Barnes, the institute's Bonner Means Baker Fellow, in a recent Baker Institute Blog post. Barnes explains why in "Learning the Lessons of the Iraq War," the first in a series of posts about the war between now and March.
Dec 12, 2012 - CUTTING THE MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION
Given the severity of the fiscal problems currently faced by the United
States, many recent tax reform proposals have included measures that
would curtail or eliminate the home mortgage interest deduction (MID). A new Baker Institute study shows that such measures would initially result in
declines in housing prices and investment, but would have only modest
aggregate macroeconomic effects in the long run. The study, "The Dynamic Effects of Eliminating or Curtailing the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction," is co-authored by John Diamond, the Edward A. and Hermena Hancock Kelly Fellow in Public Finance at the Baker Institute, and George Zodrow, the university’s Allyn R. and Gladys M. Cline Chair of Economics, and a Baker Institute Rice Scholar.
Dec 12, 2012 - Syria on the "cusp of disintegration"
While in France for the World Policy Conference, founding director Ambassador Edward Djerejian was interviewed by France 24 News about the political transitions in the Arab world, with a special focus on Egypt. The ambassador also discussed the crisis in Syria, and expressed hope for an agreement between Israel and Palestinians during Obama’s last term as president. "It's very painful to see what is happening in Syria because it ... is an ethnic mosaic that has been living in multi-confessional harmony for centuries," Djerejian said. "To see this very rich society at the heart of the Arab world on the cusp of a major sectarian war, on the cusp of disintegration, is a human tragedy, a political tragedy. If Syria implodes, it will have a major impact on its very important neighbors, Turkey to the north, Lebanon to the west, Iraq to the east, Jordan and Israel to the south."
Dec 09, 2012 - LEADERS GATHER FOR 5TH ANNUAL WORLD POLICY CONFERENCE
Founding director Ambassador Edward Djerejian, in Cannes for the 2012 meeting of the World Policy Conference, is interviewed by WPC-TV, above, about the turmoil in Syria, the Arab Awakening, and the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace. "I am a fervent advocate of the two-state solution," said Djerejian. "If Israel as it defines itself as a democratic Jewish state wants to be so, there must be a two-state solution. I do not think that Israel can preserve its democratic and Jewish identity in a one-state solution." From a demographic standpoint, "the Palestinian Arab population is simply multiplying at a much higher rate than the Jewish population, and over the years, the Jewish population will become more and more a minority in this one-state solution," Djerejian said. Another important factor is technology. "With the advancement of technology and weapons of mass destruction, it is just too much of a gamble to live in a constant state of nonpeace with your neighbors." Finally, there is the matter of ideology, Djerjeian said. "As long as the Palestinian issue is not resolved, it will be used and exploited by extremists for their own ends ... I think any Israeli prime minister should have as his or her first urgent priority to get a two-state solution sooner rather than later."
Dec 09, 2012 - FAREED ZAKARIA: AN EXTENDED CNN INTERVIEW WITH JAMES A. BAKER, III
Honorary chair James A. Baker, III, discussed the national debt, the Middle East, and the future of the Republican Party in a wide-ranging interview Sunday (Dec. 9) with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria. As the fiscal cliff approaches, it’s crucial for the top levels of both parties to have “a serious, confidential, substantial negotiation” on the budget, Baker said. The parties ought to agree that everything from entitlements to defense spending is on the table, and that the talks will be held “in confidence behind closed doors … It makes it extraordinarily difficult to try to do it in the public domain because they’re just jousting with each other — each side is repeating its campaign talking points,” Baker said. If taxes are raised as part of a grand bargain, “you could provide that they would be rescinded automatically in the event that you exceeded [an agreed-to] cap on spending-to-GDP,” he added. Looking ahead to the future of the Republican Party, Baker said that “it’s important that we be seen to be the party of hope, optimism and opportunity instead of the party of doom and gloom … We need to appeal to those voter groups that we had trouble with. We need to appeal to all minority voters and particularly Hispanic and Asian voters. We need to have a credible and comprehensive immigration plan that we can put forth out there. We need to talk about urban issues and face the fact that we didn't get the votes we needed from urban areas. We didn’t get the votes and don’t get the votes we need from women. Therefore, we need to focus on our economic conservatism more than our social conservatism, because a lot of those issues cut against us in the general election.” Baker also discussed the turmoil in the Middle East, noting that President Obama is under increasing pressure to intervene militarily in Syria. “That would be the worst thing in the world we can do, in my opinion,” Baker said. “We should support the Syrian opposition politically, diplomatically and economically, but not militarily because that’s a slippery slope once you get into it … the policy the administration is following in Syria is absolutely the right policy to follow. I think the American people are going to be demand more and more that there be a significant national interest involved before we engage militarily around the world.” However, if the administration’s approach to Iran — which includes covert actions and sanctions that Baker called “absolutely the right policy” — does not prevent Iran from expanding its nuclear program, “we have to do what we have to do,” Baker said. “We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon — not because of the threat so much to Israel, the United States or our moderate allies in the region, but because of the proliferation that will cause. Everybody will then have to have a weapon, and they've got the capability financially and scientifically of acquiring it.”
Dec 07, 2012 - WEIGHING SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN
Founding director Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian is a signatory to a
recently released report that aims to offer an objective, nonpartisan
analysis of the benefits and costs of international sanctions against Iran. In a preface to the report, the signatories — former officials of U.S. government and professionals in U.S. national security — write that they believe the report "remains consistent with U.S. policy to maintain pressure on Iran through sanctions while holding open the possibility of reaching a political solution, and that it does not rule out the use of military force as a last resort to constrain Iran from building a nuclear weapon." The report is published by The Iran Project, a nongovernmental organization that seeks to improve official contacts between the United States and Iranian governments. "Weighing the Benefits and Costs of International Sanctions Against Iran," released Dec. 3, 2012, by The Iran Project."Executive Summary: Weighing the Benefits and Costs of International Sanctions Against Iran," released Dec. 3, 2012."Weighing Benefits and Costs of Military Action Against Iran," released Sept. 20, 2012, by The Iran Project. Ambassador Djerejian is a signatory.
Dec 07, 2012 - JAMES A. BAKER, III, ON SYRIA, U.S. DEBT
In a CBS interview on Dec. 7, The Honorable James A. Baker, III, discussed possible U.S. military intervention in Syria and America's crippling national debt. "I happen to be one who doesn’t think we ought to be involved militarily in that country," Baker said. "I think the American people are tired of military involvement in that part of the world … our forces are stretched pretty thin, we’re a broke country." "Anything we can do politically, diplomatically and economically we should do to bring about a regime change," Baker said. "We ought to be quite wary and leery of military involvement, which has a way of becoming a slippery slope. That is the policy that I think the administration is following and so far, at least, I agree with that policy." With the fiscal cliff looming ahead, Baker said he is encouraged to hear overnight that President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner have decided to negotiate quietly and confidentially. Doing so will provide both the freedom to "give and take and put things on the table" without fear it will be used politically against them, Baker said. "We need something in the nature of a grand bargain along the lines of the Simpson-Bowles or Domenici-Rivlin [proposal] -- something that has everything on the table and that cuts spending and increases revenue," the former secretary of treasury said. "The American people are so tired of the political posturing and the negotiating in public to score political points. It's time to get serious.The election is over. It’s time to do what the country needs badly to have done."
Dec 05, 2012 - Viewpoints: Prescription drug abuse
The drugs of choice for an increasing number of Americans are
prescription painkillers. Nowhere is the problem more apparent than
Houston, where the renowned medical center area has become “a national hotspot for prescription drug abuse,”
according to a recent story in the Houston Chronicle. As policymakers grapple with how to address this growing problem — including a quiet reassessment of U.S. policies that focus on keeping illegal drugs out of the country — drug policy experts at the Baker Institute ask: What does rising prescription drug abuse mean for the “war on drugs”? Click through to posts below to read the Baker Institute Viewpoints prescription drug abuse series: Dec. 3, 2012 - "What does rising prescription drug abuse mean for the war on drugs?" by Gary Hale, nonresident drug policy fellow. Dec. 4, 2012 - "Treating addiction as a public health issue, not a crime" by Tony Payan, visiting Baker Institute Scholar for Immigration Studies. Dec. 5, 2012 - "U.S. pill abuse may not make cartels completely irrelevant" by Nathan Jones, Alfred C. Glassell III Postdoctoral Fellow in Drug Policy.
Dec 04, 2012 - WHO WILL CARE FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS?
Research by the Baylor College of Medicine's Kyler Godwin and Mark Kunik
underscores the importance of supporting the needs of family
caregivers, the Health Policy Forum reports.
Nov 29, 2012 - SCHOLARLY POV
In a recent ABC News/Yahoo! interview with Christiane Armanpour, senior fellow in space policy George Abbey reflected on the state of the U.S. space program 50 years after President John F. Kennedy challenged America to put a man on the moon. "NASA is right now is struggling," said Abbey, the former director of the Johnson Space Center. "They are developing a vehicle that will hopefully go beyond Earth orbit, but [the design] returns to a capsule much like we flew before." On the other hand, the space program has evolved to the point that nations around the world are "working together for a common good to really accomplish great things scientifically in space."
Nov 26, 2012 - CHANGES IN U.S. DIPLOMACY
Ongoing violence, among other issues, has changed the nature of U.S. diplomacy overseas. Minnesota Public Radio recently discussed the changes, and what they mean for the future, with Ambassador Edward Djerejian and New York Times writer Robert Worth. Also this week, two commentators noted that a 1992 speech by Djerejian, then an assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, has resonance in Egypt today. In what is known as the Meridian House speech, Djerejian expressed concern that some would use
democratic elections to come to power, then revert to autocratic rule. Instead of one man, one vote, he said,
there are those who want "one man, one vote, one time." "Those who are prepared to take specific steps toward free elections,
creating independent judiciary, promoting the rule of law, reducing
restrictions on the press, respecting the rights of minorities, and
guaranteeing individual rights will find us ready to recognize and
support their efforts, just as those moving in the opposite direction
will find us ready to speak candidly and act accordingly," Djerejian
said. Twenty years later, President Mohammed Morsi
of Egypt "would do well to survey America’s definition of the
characteristics of extremist groups" as described by the ambassador, Philip Whitfield wrote in a Nov. 26, 2012, commentary in the Daily News Egypt. Additional links to Ambassador Djerejian's media interviews on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are here and here. Links to Djerejian's media interviews on Syria's prospects and U.S. policy ramifications are here. The ambassador has also provided commentary on the outlook for the broader region, including Iran and the Middle East protests.
Meridian House Speech.
Nov 21, 2012 - WHICH PARTY BEST MIRRORS TEXAS?
Political science fellow Mark P. Jones examines the stark contrast in the ethnic/racial profiles of the Republican and Democratic delegations in the 150-member Texas House of Representatives, which convenes in Austin on Jan. 8. Read his analysis in the Baker Institute Blog.
Nov 17, 2012 - SCHOLARLY POV
Expectations were high that a new, vigorous Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) would be introduced at the recent conclusion of the 18th Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. Instead, two 50-somethings and five 60-somethings, many of them party stalwarts with strong ties to a former party leader, were named to the all important decision-making body. This means that "any real transition in leadership, and vigorous political reforms to accompany them, is likely going to have to wait until 2017, when the five elder 'chaperones' on the PBSC are required to finally retire and let the 'next generation' take charge," writes Steve Lewis, C.V. Starr Transnational China Fellow, in CNN's GPS blog. Read Lewis' Nov. 16, 2012, analysis in "China’s leadership: Out with the old, in with the old."
Nov 16, 2012 - HOW TO GET A GRAND BARGAIN
In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed on America's financial future, honorary chair James A. Baker, III, discusses how Congress might reach a workable "grand bargain." First, legislators should postpone all elements of the Jan. 1 fiscal cliff — spending cuts, revenue increases and the debt limit — until March 31, 2013. This will give Congress "enough time to negotiate a responsible compromise," he says. Baker also proposes a mechanism guaranteeing that spending cuts actually follow tax increases. Read more about Baker's approach to a "fiscal cliff" deal in the Nov. 15, 2012, Wall Street Journal op-ed, “How to get a grand bargain.” Subscription required.
Nov 13, 2012 - SCHOLARLY POV
Washington and Colorado on Election Day became the first two U.S. states to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. How will this development affect Mexico? Drug policy postdoctoral fellow Nathan Jones explores the issue in the Baker Institute Blog, writing that "in the short-term, these initiatives will probably not have a large
impact, though over the long-term the effects could significantly weaken
Mexico’s cartels." The legalization debate has entered the mainstream, he adds. "Legalization advocates can no longer be written
off as occupying a fringe position. This shift in the debate will
likely lead to the passage of similar legislation in other states and
may be important for Mexico as the laws change the marijuana markets and
deny profits to cartels." Read "Potential impact on Mexico of U.S. marijuana initiatives," in the Nov. 9, 2012, Baker Institute Blog.
