Maxwell School News and Commentary

"This ban leaves thousands of our wartime allies to fend for themselves against the very enemies we asked them to fight," writes Maxwell alumnus Matt Zeller, co-founder and CEO of No One Left Behind. "We are permanently harming the fabric of U.S. national security. Our credibility is forever tarnished if not eroded."

William Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs, says "since 9/11, no one has been killed in this country in a terrorist attack by anyone who emigrated from any of the seven countries," on President Trump's travel ban.

"Universities are not taking a collaborative role" in helping vets find the most efficient path to a degree, says Corri Zoli, director of research at the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism.

“Morally you don’t have the right to torture people. Inhumane treatment is not a good thing,” says Bill Smullen, director of Maxwell's National Security Studies program.

“When I talk about the consequences of not acting on climate change, I talk about freedom, liberty and property," Robert Wilson, associate professor of geography, says. "I tell them, ‘The greatest threat to property in the coming decades is climate change.'"

Sarah Pralle, associate professor of political science, says Republican opposition to climate change evidence and advocacy is not new. What's different now, she says, is that "they have a bigger platform and megaphone in the voice of Donald Trump" and the executive power to disrupt federal scientists' work.

William Banks, director of the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism, was quoted in The New York Times article, "Trump Orders a Wall Built, but Congress Holds the Checkbook." In theory, Mr. Trump could order the military to spend extra money to protect national security, then move around the funding within the bureaucracy to pay for a wall built by the Department of Homeland Security, Mr. Banks said.

Margaret S. Thompson, associate professor of history and political science, believes the nearly 3 million women and men who came out to Women's Marches nationwide will impact the future. “If even 10% of those actually become actively involved, in talking with their representative and lobbying for policies that they think are important, we’re going to see some remarkable change.”

Alan Allport, associate professor of history, analyzes that the British government has been “cagey” on what it intends to do with EU citizens. Glyn Morgan, associate professor of political science, adds that Britain is expecting to get support from the United States during its transition away from the EU’s single market system.