NEWS

Feb 22, 2011 - SCHOLARLY POV

Mark P. Jones, Baker Institute fellow in political science and Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies, blogs that Houston will gain an additional seat in Congress because of census gains. But he says it is unlikely that a Hispanic will fill the seat. Party lines and residential housing segregation are some of the contributing issues, Jones writes. “In spite of the fact that Hispanics account for more than one-third of the Houston area’s population…not a single one of these representatives will be Hispanic.” 

Feb 21, 2011 - STUDENT VOICES

Jingyuan Luo, an intern for the Baker Institute Science and Technology Policy Program and a senior at Rice University, blogs about the recent case overturning the notion that genes can be patented. If the case, ACLU vs. Myraid Genetics, is upheld at the appellate level, the biotechnical industry could face serious repercussions, writes Luo, who was recently awarded the prestigious Marshall Scholarship:

“It is likely that companies like Myriad would have less incentive to invest billions of research dollars in developing future diagnostic tests. … How do you incentivize intellectual creativity while also disseminating the results of that creativity?”

• Read Luo’s Feb. 11, 2011, Baker Institute Blog post, “Patenting human genes: Is the U.S. reversing a long-time practice?” 
  

Feb 21, 2011 - OBESITY EPIDEMIC

The Health Economics Policy Program examines the effects of obesity as a public health concern and in the context of public policy.

• Download Baker Institute Public Policy Report 46: Obesity Epidemic - Causes and Current Policy Perspectives
  

Feb 15, 2011 - REMEMBERING RONALD REAGAN

President Ronald Reagan would have celebrated his 100th birthday in 2011, and The Honorable James A. Baker III had the chance to remember his friend, mentor and boss at two recent events.

Baker, who is the honorary chair and namesake for the Baker Institute, served as the 67th secretary of the treasury and as White House chief of staff to President Reagan.

On Feb. 6, Baker delivered the keynote address at a celebration of what would have been President Ronald Reagan’s 100th birthday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library in California.

“Ronald Reagan symbolized America’s optimism in his very being. Absolutely nothing could keep this unsinkable man down. Not the hard times, not the criticisms, not even a would-be assassin’s bullet,” Baker told the large crowd. 

“Of course, there were those who didn’t like Ronald Reagan’s politics or his policies, but they couldn’t dislike the man. They simply could not because he was very simply a beautiful human being in body and in mind and in spirit, and everyone who knew him would agree with that statement.”

Baker also had the honor on March 10 of accepting a posthumous award to President Reagan from the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation at Texas A&M University. The 2011 George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service recognizes an individual's or group's dedication to public service at the local,  state, national or international levels.

"Few Americans have had as great an impact on their country and, indeed for that matter the world, as Ronald Wilson Reagan. His legacy remains as strong today, if not stronger, as it was when he left office," Baker told the audience at Texas A&M.

• View video of The Honorable James A. Baker, III’s Feb. 6, 2011, address at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library.

• View video of The Honorable James A. Baker, III's March 10, 2011, address at the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation at Texas A&M University.

Feb 10, 2011 - STUDENT VOICES

Jessica Phillips, a Baker Institute intern for the Baker Institute Homeland Security and Terrorism Program, comments on the effectiveness of the court system when considering terrorists. Phillips writes specifically about Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, the first U.S. Guantanamo Bay detainee to be tried in civilian court. “…this debate emphasis,” she writes, “just how difficult it is to adequately discourage terrorism while fostering an environment that does not infringe on the civil liberties that make this country unique.”

• Read "Terrorist's trial highlights struggle for justice"
  

Feb 10, 2011 - SCHOLARLY POV

In a Feb. 2, 2011, Baker Institute Blog post, Christopher Bronk, Baker Institute fellow in information technology policy, writes about the recent cancellation of the Secure Border Initiative Network (SBINet) project and discusses other possible border surveillance programs. “Border security is a job that can only be addressed by people, process and technology,” he writes. “My advice…Talk with the Marines and Army.”

Read “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss: Border surveillance tech redux”

Feb 08, 2011 - COMPREHENSIVE TAX REFORM IN 2011

Two distinguished economists at Rice University’s James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy have issued a report calling for the most comprehensive reform of the nation’s corporate and personal income tax system since Ronald Reagan was president.

The report by John Diamond, Ph.D., the Baker Institute’s Edward A. and Hermena Hancock Kelly Fellow in Public Finance, and George Zodrow, Ph.D., the Allyn R. and Gladys M. Cline Chair of Economics at Rice University and a Rice Scholar at the Baker Institute, examines the conditions that led to the passage of the 1986 Tax Reform Act (TRA86), the last major effort to update the U.S. income tax system.

Titled, “Fundamental Tax Reform: Then and Now,” the report then compares those circumstances to today’s environment and concludes, “the conditions are right for another sweeping reform of the tax system and, indeed, the case for reform may be even stronger than it was prior to the passage of TRA86.”

• Download “Fundamental Tax Reform: Then and Now.”
• View a video of John Diamond, Ph.D., and George Zodrow, Ph.D., discussing “Fundamental Tax Reform: Then and Now” with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian.
  

Feb 07, 2011 - THE U.S.-ISRAEL RELATIONSHIP

Speaking at the Baker Institute on Feb. 7, His Excellency Michael B. Oren, the State of Israel’s ambassador to the United States, traced the “close spiritual and philosophical” relationship between the United States and Israel -- one that dates to the American colonists, who felt deeply tied to Biblical Israel, and continues to this day, as both countries face dramatic new challenges in Middle East.

"I don't have to stress what has gone on in the Middle East in just the last four or five weeks," the ambassador said, referring to -- among other recent developments -- massive anti-government riots in Egypt and an uprising in Tunisia. The events will "reverberate throughout the region in ways which none of us know," he added. "Together we face all of these challenges ... Together we aspire to dream of a Middle East in which our children, our grandchildren, can live in peace, prosperity and permanent legitimacy."

Oren also addressed the misnomer that Israel doesn't have "friends." Rather, Oren said quite the opposite is true. Citing positive relationships with China, India, Egypt and Germany, Oren said that trading is up, tourism is up and Israel's economic situation is the best it has been in its 62-and-a-half years.

• View a webcast of Ambassador Oren’s address.

 

 

His Excellency Michael B. Oren, Israel's ambassador to the United States, responds to audience questions about the U.S.-Israel relationship.

 

Ambassador Oren speaks to audience members after his presentation.

 

 

Feb 01, 2011 - STUDENT VOICES

Last summer, Baker Institute intern Tom Campbell '11 traveled to Egypt with nine other Rice University students as part of the institute's new Public Diplomacy and Global Policymaking in the 21st Century Program. The group organized a colloquium with students at American University Cairo (AUC), and in January 2011, the AUC students reciprocated with a visit to Rice.

In this Jan. 31, 2011,  Baker Institute Blog post, Campbell discusses the current crisis in Egypt from the perspective of his own encounters with Egypt and the Egyptian people. Drawing on the collective learning experiences from these respective visits, Campbell concludes that “the people agitating for freedom and for a new day for Egypt are everyday people like you and me.”

• Read Campbell’s post “What I’ve learned about the crisis in Egypt” on the Baker Institute Blog.
  
• Read a KHOU story about former Baker Institute intern Sean Graham, who is currently working in Cairo. Campbell, as well as students Robin Richards and Marc Sabbagh, is interviewed.

Jan 28, 2011 - CRISIS IN GAZA

 

The Israeli-Hamas cease-fire has held so far, but "the important thing is to build on this truce … to get a viable Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement in place," founding director Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian said in a Nov. 24, 2012, CNN interview.  If the truce is "only to be broken a year or two down the road, then I do not think this is a successful outcome."

In a previous interview with CNN, the ambassador described the violence in Gaza as "a play enacted time and time again ... There is no military solution."  A peace agreement, he said, is "the only structural way out."

In an interview with The Daily Wrap, The Wall Street Journal’s nationally syndicated show, Djerejian noted challenges unfolding in the region, including the lack of forward movement in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations; the Palestinian Authority’s move to seek nonmember state status for Palestine in the United Nations; the ongoing crisis in Syria; the ticking clock of Iran’s nuclear threat; and the countries whose national security interests are impacted by these developments. "This is a time for very coordinated multilateral action on the part of key countries," he said.

• View Djerejian's Nov. 19, 2012, interview with CNN's Judy Woodruff, above. 
• Listen to Djerejian’s interview on the Wall Street Journal Daily Wrap. The ambassador's segment starts at 20:48.
• View Djerejian's Nov. 17, 2012, CNN "Saturday Morning" interview on the violence in Gaza here.
• View Djerejian's Nov. 24, 2012, CNN interview on the Gaza cease-fire here.
  

 

 

A full list of Ambassador Djerejian's media clips is below.

• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Egypt
• Syria
• Middle East
• Iran
• Libya
• President Obama's June 22, 2011, speech on the way forward in Afghanistan
• President Obama's May 19, 2011, Middle East policy speech
• Osama bin Laden

 

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

• Read Jerusalem Post op-ed "Why U.S. engagement in Israeli-Palestinian peace is needed," written by Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (March 20, 2013).
  
• Israeli newspaper Haaretz interviewed Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian about 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. The interview is available in English and Hebrew (Dec. 25, 2012).
  
• Read Palestine News Network article "Why the Stars are Lining Up For Palestine," in which Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian is quoted (Dec. 13, 2012).
  
• Watch a CNN interview (video) on the Gaza cease-fire with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Nov. 24, 2012).
• Listen to an interview with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian on the Wall Street Journal Daily Wrap. The ambassador's segment starts at 20:48 (Nov. 20, 2012).
• Watch an interview on CNN (video) with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian, who comments on the current crisis in the Gaza Strip (Nov. 19, 2012).
• Listen to an interview on CNN's "Saturday Morning" (audio) in which Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian discusses the Gaza crisis and how it will affect the Middle East (Nov. 17, 2012).
  
• Read a Gulf News op-ed asking, "Why the American silence on Israel?," which quotes Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian about the role of the United States in the Middle East (Aug. 23, 2012).
  
• Watch an interview (video) with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian during the IFRI World Policy Conference 2011 about how the Arab Awakening and events in the Middle East will affect Israeli-Palestinian relations (Dec. 10, 2011). 
• Read New York Times article "The Israel peace plan that still could be," which cites the Baker Institute Conflict Resolution special report “Getting to the Territorial Endgame of an Israeli-Palestinian Peace Settlement” (Feb. 7, 2011).
  

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Egypt

• Read CNN Opinion piece "Don't blame Muslim Brotherhood for Morsy power grab," in which Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian is quoted (Nov. 27, 2012).
  
• Read Daily News Egypt article "One man, one vote, one time," which cites Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian's Meridian House Speech, delivered on June 2, 1992, when he was assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs (Nov. 25, 2012).
• View a Bloomberg interview (video) with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian that discusses the effects of Hosni Mubarak's resignation on Egypt and the Middle East (Feb. 11, 2011).
• Read a Bloomberg article, "Obama Says Egypt Forever Changed by 'Moral Force,'" which quotes Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Feb. 11, 2011).
• Read a Bloomberg article, "Biden Says Egypt Is Sign of 'Transformative Times,'" in which Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian is quoted (Feb. 10, 2011). This article appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle and Businessweek.
• View a FOX News interview (video) with former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III, discussing U.S. relations with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (Feb. 2, 2011).
• Read a Council on Foreign Relations interview, "Egypt Is a 'Textbook' Foreign Policy Dilemma," with former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III (Feb. 2, 2011).
• Read a New York Times article about "Frank Wisner, the Diplomat Sent to Prod Mubarak," which quotes founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Feb. 2, 2011).
• View a Today Show interview (video) with former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III, about who will rise to power in Egypt, and what this will mean for the Middle East (Feb. 2, 2011).
• Read the Bloomberg article, "Obama Tell Mubarak Egypt's Transition to New Government 'Must Begin Now,'" in which Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian is quoted (Feb. 1, 2011).
• Read The Atlantic article, "'Our S.O.B.s' and America's Revolutionary Dilemma Abroad," which quotes Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Feb. 1, 2011).
  
• Read a FOX News article, "Who is Mohamed Elbaradei?" which quotes Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Feb. 1, 2011).
• Read "Danger and Opportunity in Egypt," by Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian, on the Baker Institute Blog (Feb. 1, 2011).
  
• View a FOX News interview (video) with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Jan. 30, 2011).
• Read the Bloomberg article, "Obama's Words Put to Test in U.S. Response to Egypt Anti-Mubarak Uprising," which quotes Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Jan. 31, 2011).
• Read The New York Times article, "With Egypt, Diplomatic Words Often Fail," with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Jan. 29, 2011).
• View a CNN interview (article, video) with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Jan. 28, 2011).
• View a CNN international interview (video) with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Jan. 28, 2011).
• View a Bloomberg News (article, video) with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Jan. 28, 2011).
• Read the post "Is $100 WTI Inevitable for 2011?" by Amy Myers Jaffe, the institute's Wallace S. Wilson Fellow in Energy Studies, on the Fuel Fix Blog.
• Listen to an American Public Radio's Marketplace interview with Amy Myers Jaffe, the institute's Wallace S. Wilson Fellow in Energy Studies, on what the crisis in Egypt means for the oil market (Feb. 1, 2011).
• Read information technology policy fellow Chris Bronk's blog on Egypt's decision to censor the Internet, "Short circuiting a revolution in Egypt" (Jan. 28, 2011).
• View a KHOU story, "Friends wait on word from Rice student," which states that former Baker Institute intern Sean Graham is currently working in Egypt (Jan. 30, 2011).

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Syria

• Watch an Al Arabiya interview with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian, in which he discusses his recent report "Syria at a Crossroads: U.S. Policy and Recommendations for the Way Forward" (May 2, 2013).
  
• Watch Al Jazeera (Arabic only) interview with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian on the crisis in Syria (April 22, 2013).
  
• Read Foreign Policy op-ed "A coordinated U.S. strategy in Syria," by Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian and Middle East scholar Andrew Bowen (April 5, 2013).
  
• Read StarTribune (Minneapolis) editorial "No end in sight as toll rises in Syria," which quotes Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Jan. 3, 2013).
  
• At a plenary session of the World Policy Conference in Cannes, Baker Institute founding director Edward P. 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 story, available in French here. The English translation is available here (Dec. 12, 2012).
  
• Watch a France 24 News interview with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian on the political transitions in the Arab world, the crisis in Syria and Israeli-Palestinian peace (Dec. 12, 2012).
  
• Listen to BBC World Service podcast "The House of Assad," in which Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian is interviewed (Sept. 24, 2012).
• Listen to the interview on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Aug. 30, 2012).
• Read The Daily Beast article "U.N. Syria Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi's Tough Assignment," which quotes Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Aug. 27, 2012).
• Watch an interview on Al Jazeera English with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian, in which he talks about prospects for peace talks in Syria (Aug. 21, 2012).
• Read the Council on Foreign Relations interview "The U.S. role in a changing Mideast" with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Aug. 17, 2012).
• Read the Houston Chronicle interview "Former envoy talks Syria, chess game of Diplomacy" with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Aug. 11, 2012).
• Watch "An Interview With Ambassador Edward Djerejian on the Current Developments in the Middle East" on China US Focus. Djerejian shares his opinion on the unrest in the Middle East, specifically addressing the current situation in Syria. He also addresses the China-U.S. bilateral relationship (Aug. 9, 2012).
  
• Read The Daily Beast article "Manaf Tlass — Our man in Syria?," in which Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian says that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad squandered the chance to lead reforms in his country (Aug. 6, 2012).
  
• Read Reuters article "Insight: Cautious on Syria, Obama moves to help rebels," in which Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian is quoted about the Obama administration's involvement in the crisis in Syria (July 27, 2012).
• Read CNN article "Syria: As al-Assad's grip loosens, what could come next?" which quoted Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (July 25, 2012).
• Read the Foreign Policy Middle East Channel blog post "The unexceptional Islamists," which cites Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian's Meridian House Speech, delivered on June 2, 1992, when he was assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs (July 24, 2012).
• Read UPI article "Djerejian: Most telling symbol of Arab spring was a placard reading 'Enough,'" in which Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian comments on the political uprisings in the Arab world, as well as what's next for Syria and the Bashar Al Assad regime (June 24, 2012).
• Listen to an interview on BBC Radio's "Up All Night" with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian on the civil unrest in Syria (June 5, 2012).
  
• Listen to an interview on Public Radio International's "The Takeaway" with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian, in which he discusses if Syria has become President Obama's Bosnia (June 5, 2012).
• Read the ABC News article "A massacre in Syria brings foreign affairs into the race, briefly," in which Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian is quoted on why civil unrest in Syria would affect its neighbors in the Middle East and the rest of the world (June 2, 2012).
• Read the US News and World Report article, "Russia's Putin — not sanctions — could end Syrian violence." Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian is quoted on the role the Russian leader should take if his country is to be a superpower (May 31, 2012).
• Read The New York Times article "For the White House, a wary wait as Syria boils." Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian is quoted on what might possibly galvanize international support for an intervention in Syria (May 31, 2012).
  
• Read CNN article "Analysts: Syria has 'nothing to lose, something to gain' from Annan plan," in which Baker Institute founding director Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian comments on the Syrian government's acceptance of a U.N. special envoy's peace proposal (March 28, 2012).
  
• Read CNN's "Syria: Who would take over after al-Assad?," which quotes Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (March 27, 2012).
  
• Watch an Al Jazeera interview (video) with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian on civil unrest in Syria. The ambassador's remarks have been translated to Arabic  (Feb. 27, 2012).
• Read an issue of the Baker Institute Update newsletter that features commentary from Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian on the turmoil in Syria (Feb. 8, 2012).
• Listen to an "On Point with Tom Ashbrook" interview (audio) on the mounting crisis in Syria with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Feb. 7, 2012).
  
• Read "Al-Assad missed chance to reform Syria," a commentary on CNN by Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Feb. 6, 2012).
  
• Read an  interview in the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian about the unrest in Syria (Feb. 1, 2012). Please note that this article is in Hebrew.
  
• Watch Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian's interview on CNN (video) about the uprising in Syria and President Bashar al-Assad's regime (Jan. 13, 2012).
  
• Read Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian's interview with Al-Hayat on the ongoing crisis in Syria (Sept. 15, 2011).
  
• Watch an Al Jazeera interview (video) with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian on U.S. policy toward the Syrian crisis (June 28, 2011).
  
• Watch a CNN interview (video) with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian, in which he comments on the latest speech by Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (June 22, 2011).
  
• Watch an Al Jazeera English interview (video) with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian, who discusses the demonstrations in Syria (June 21, 2011). A news article is also available.
  
• Listen to NPR Morning Edition segment "'Coordinated Response' Needed to Syria's Crackdown," an interview with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (May 12, 2011).
• Listen to a BBC Radio interview (mp3) with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian about the protests in Syria (April 28, 2011).
• Read a Voice of America News story "Syria Popular Uprising Fails to Force Authentic Reform," which quotes Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (March 31, 2011).

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Middle East

• Watch a WPC-TV interview with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian. Djerejian, who was in Cannes for the World Policy Conference 2012, commented on the turmoil in Syria, the Arab Awakening and the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace (Dec. 9, 2012).
  

• Listen to a Minnesota Public Radio "Daily Circuit" interview with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian and New York Times writer Robert Worth. Djerejian discusses how ongoing violence, among other issues, has changed the nature of U.S. diplomacy overseas, as well as what these shifts mean for the future (Nov. 28, 2012).

• Read The Sacramento Bee/McClatchy Newspapers story "Obama struggles for unifying strategy post-Arab Spring," which quotes Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Sept. 21, 2012).
  
• Read The New York Times article "Diplomats Pulled 2 Ways, Between High Walls and Open Doors," in which Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian is quoted on his experience as a U.S. ambassador to Syria and to Israel (Sept. 13, 2012).
  
• Read "Assessing U.S. Leadership in Mideast," a Council on Foreign Relations interview with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Sept. 22, 2011).
  
• Read the Voice of American News article "Former U.S. ambassador optimistic about Arab democracy," in which Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian discusses the way forward for the democratization of the Middle East and how the West should respond (Sept. 6, 2011).
  
• Read a Washington Post op-ed "Grounds for U.S. military intervention," in which former secretaries of state James A. Baker, III, and Henry Kissinger discuss how the United States can successfully approach Middle East policy with a balance of realism and idealism (April 11, 2011).
• Read "Handling the Middle East's 'Tectonic' Shifts," a Council on Foreign Relations interview with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (April 1, 2011).
• Read an article in The New Republic that discusses what America has learned through various diplomats, including Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian, speaking to the Muslim Brotherhood (March 3, 2011). A subscription is required to read the full article.
• Read the McClatchy Newspapers article "Like new Middle East, Obama doctrine is a work in progress," which quotes Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (March 4, 2011).
• Read a Boston Globe article, "Critics question billions in aid routed back to U.S. contractors," which quotes founding director Edward P. Djerejian (Feb. 3, 2011).

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Iran

• Read Houston Chronicle op-ed "Candid talk about Iran's nukes," in which Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian provides highlights of a recent report, signed a bipartisan group of former U.S. national security and foreign policy officials, on "Weighing the Benefits and Costs of Military Action against Iran" (Sept. 28, 2012).
  
• Read the Financial Times Deutschland interview "Fight over nuclear programs: 'We need Iran in the international community,'" with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian. Please note that this article is in German (May 25, 2012).
  

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Libya

• Read Foreign Policy blog post "The thankless task of the Foreign Service officer," in which Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian comments on late ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens (Sept. 14, 2012).
  
• Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian is quoted in BusinessWeek article "Libya: Can It Become an Oil Superpower?" (Aug. 24, 2011).
  
• Read the CNN op-ed "Keys to a brighter future for Libya" by Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejiand (Aug. 23, 2011).
  
• Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian is interviewed (video) on CNN about the outlook for Libya and the rest of the world, including Syria, as Col. Moammar Gadhafi's government nears collapse (Aug. 22, 2011).
• Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian is interviewed (audio) about U.S. intervention in Libya's political crisis on National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation" (March 28, 2011).
• Read a Bloomberg News story "Obama Under Pressure to Clear 'Ambiguity' From Libya Strategy," in which Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian comments on U.S. involvement in Libya (March 25, 2011).
• Read the Voice of America article, "U.S.-Libya relations rocky during Gadhafi's leadership," which examines the relationship between the two countries from a historical perspective. Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian is quoted (Feb. 25, 2011).
  
• Watch an Al Jazeera English interview (video) with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian, who discusses the demonstrations in Libya (Feb. 23, 2011).
• Read the Washington Post article "U.S. struggles with little leverage to restrain Libyan government," which discusses diplomatic challenges the Obama administration faces in Libya. Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian is quoted (Feb. 22, 2011).

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President Obama's June 22, 2011, speech on the way forward in Afghanistan

• Read the Houston Chronicle editorial “Pulling back,” which discusses President Obama’s plans to pull troops out of Afghanistan and Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian’s perspective (June 23, 2011). 
• Read KTRH AM 740 NewsRadio story "Military Experts Sound Off on President Obama's Troop Withdrawal Strategy," which quotes fellow in homeland security and terrorism Joan Neuhaus Schaan (June 23, 2011).

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President Obama's May 19, 2011, Middle East policy speech

• Read International Business Times article "Peace deal only if 1967 borders are considered: Rice varsity report," which discusses the Baker Institute special report "Getting to the Territorial Endgame of an Israeli-Palestinian Peace Settlement" (May 20, 2011).
  
• Read Reuters article "Obama measures democracy pitch for wary Gulf allies" to learn what Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian has to say about President Barack Obama's recent speech on the Middle East (May 20, 2011).
  
• Read Christian Science Monitor article "Obama Middle East Speech: U.S. is with street protesters, not palace dictators," in which Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian is quoted on maintaining the Unites States' Middle East policy balance between "values, principles and security concerns" (May 19, 2011).
  
• Read National Journal article "Obama's Middle East Speech: Historic Opportunities, Uncomfortable Truths," which quotes Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (May 19, 2011).
  
• Watch an interview with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian on Bloomberg TV’s "InBusiness" ahead of President Obama’s speech (May 19, 2011).

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Osama bin Laden

• Read Politico article “News of Osama bin Laden’s death unlikely to impact gas price debate,” which quotes Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (May 3, 2011).
• Read Baker Institute Blog post “The next move for Al Qaeda” by Rice scholar Richard Stoll (May 3, 2011).
• Watch an interview with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian on Bloomberg TV’s “Bloomberg Bottom Line with Mark Crumpton” discussing the international reaction to Osama bin Laden’s death (May 2, 2011).
• Listen to Bloomberg Radio interview (AIFF) on the death of Osama bin Laden with Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (May 2, 2011).
• Read Houston Chronicle article “Reaction to terrorist’s death from around Houston, Texas,” which quotes Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian (May 2, 2011).
• Read Baker Institute Blog post “Bin Laden is dead: Now what?” by fellow Joe Barnes (May 2, 2011).
• Read Fuel Fix Blog post “Al Qaeda, oil and summer air conditioning” by energy fellow Amy Myers Jaffe (May 2, 2011).
• Read Houston Chronicle article “President picked up where Bush left off,” in which political science fellow Mark Jones is quoted on the death of Osama bin Laden (May 2, 2011).
• Read National Journal article “If History Is Guide, bin Laden Killing May Not Boost Obama,” in which Rice scholar Richard Stoll is quoted (May 2, 2011).

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Jan 26, 2011 - STUDENT VOICES

In a Jan. 26, 2011, Baker Institute Blog post, Rahul Rekhi, a Rice University sophomore and member of the Baker Institute Student Forum, voices his thoughts about President Barack Obama’s recent State of the Union address, focusing specifically on Obama’s education proposals.

Writing from his perspective as a bioengineering and economics major, Rekhi comments on Obama’s plea for schools to place more emphasis on math and science, as well as other issues faced by American education.

• Read Rekhi’s Jan. 26, 2011, Baker Institute Blog post, "Why Congress should support President Obama's education proposals."

• Watch President Obama’s January 25, 2011, State of the Union address.

Jan 24, 2011 - Baker Institute ranked among top 30 U.S. think tanks

The James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy has been ranked one of the top 30 think tanks in the United States and among the top 20 university-affiliated think tanks in the world.

The 2010 Global Go To Think Tank Rankings, released in January 2011, are organized by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Rankings criteria includes an institute's ability to retain top scholars, the quality of research, access to policymakers and ability to influence policy decisions.

"The Baker Institute's ranking is a reflection of the relevance and timeliness of the public policy studies and recommendations produced by the institute's fellows and scholars," said Ambassador Edward Djerejian, the founding director of the Baker Institute. "It also reflects, as well, the quality of the programs and events that the institute's staff organize to extend our outreach to the Rice students and faculty, to the Houston community and to national and international audiences through our state-of-the-art communications facilities."

According to the rankings report, there are an estimated 6,480 think tanks in the world, with the majority in the United States and Europe. Texas alone has 47 think tanks. Just under 5,500 think tanks participated in the 2010 survey.

• Learn more about the rankings by downloading the "2010 Global Go To Report – Think Tank Index."

Jan 20, 2011 - CENTRAL AND SOUTH ASIAN PRIORITIES

On Jan. 19, members of the Houston and Rice University communities gathered at the Baker Institute for an address by The Honorable Robert O. Blake, Jr., assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs.

A career Foreign Service officer who previously served as ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives, Blake discussed the Obama administration’s priorities in South and Central Asia. These objectives include supporting international efforts in Afghanistan; building a strategic partnership with India; and developing more durable and stable relations with Central Asian countries. He also delved into energy resources in Central Asia, an issue of particular interest to Houston.

• Read a transcript of Blake’s remarks
• View the archived webcast of Blake’s presentation

In recent years, the Baker Institute has featured a number of events regarding Central and South Asia. In 2010, His Excellency Husain Haqqani, ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, spoke on “The Evolving Relationship Between Pakistan and the United States”; and retired CIA officer Milton Bearden discussed U.S.-Afghanistan policy options. Her Excellency Meera Shankar, ambassador of India to the United States, addressed “India and the United States: A Partnership for Prosperity” in 2009. The institute has also featured His Excellency Syed Mustafa Kamal, former mayor of Karachi; Gretchen Peters, author of the book “Seeds of Terror”; and His Excellency Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi, foreign minister of Pakistan.

 

The Honorable Robert O. Blake, Jr., and The Honorable Edward P. Djerejian meet with students before Blake's lecture at the Baker Institute.

 

The Honorable Robert O. Blake, Jr., assistant U.S. secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, speaks at the Baker Institute on Jan. 19, 2011.

 

Jan 19, 2011 - Baker Hall west wing named in honor of Lee and Joe Jamail

The Baker Institute dedicated the Lee and Joseph D. Jamail West Wing of Baker Hall on Tuesday evening, Jan. 18, at a ceremony marked by gratitude and good memories.

"It is a particular honor for me to know that the names of Lee and Joe Jamail will be a permanent fixture right next to mine here in Baker Hall," said James A. Baker, III, the institute's namesake and honorary chair. "Now each time I look at its west wing, I will be reminded of how blessed I am to have such a friend as you, Joe."

A $1 million gift from the legendary Texas lawyer, donated in honor of Baker's 80th birthday, will enable the institute to expand into an area currently occupied by another Rice University department. As a result, "our research and policy programs will be enhanced," said Baker Institute founding director Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian. "We'll be able to hire new fellows, open new workspaces for graduate students and Rice student interns, and take our existing policy research programs to new heights. We are profoundly grateful for (Jamail's) generous support over many years."

Jamail said he never expected the institute to name a wing after him and his late wife, Lee. "It's a great honor for me, and I know for Lee, to have our names associated with Rice University and the Baker Institute, and with Jimmy and Susan Baker," he said. "You've made me and my family very proud, and I know Lee would be proud of this honor."

Baker noted that although he is a Republican and Jamail is a Democrat — and neither has "shied away from brass-knuckle partisan political scrapes" — theirs is a decades-long friendship. Both were born and raised in Houston, served at different times in the U.S. Marine Corps, attended The University of Texas Law School and carpooled their children to and from the Kinkaid School, Baker said. When Jamail represented Pennzoil in a landmark lawsuit against Texaco, he teamed up with lawyers from Baker Botts.

"There are few people on this good Earth with whom I feel more comfortable than Joe Jamail," Baker said. "I'm sure that's one of the main reasons, if not perhaps the main reason, that we're naming the west wing for Lee and Joe Jamail. Joe is a man of crisp intellect, a terrific lawyer, a man of unfettered passions and unlimited energy. Sharing a drink and a good conversation with Joe is as close to good as it ever gets to me."

 

Jan 19, 2011 - TEXAS STEM CELL POLICY

Emerging stem cell treatments have been heralded as revolutionary for medicine and biotechnology, but more research still needs to be done to utilize these cells for therapies. Many barriers still stand in the way of these studies: discussions over ethical issues surrounding the use of human embryonic stem cells; policy issues regarding science funding and regulation; and economic pressures. These factors affect federal and state policy on stem cell research.

Texas is one of many states that has no existing stem cell policy. In a recently published report, the International Stem Cell Policy Program, part of the Baker Institute Science and Technology Program, examines the current economic and political conditions that would affect stem cell policy in Texas. The authors highlight future potential for this area of research to have a positive impact on medicine and on the state.

• Read  “Stem Cells and Biomedical Research in Texas.”
• Learn more about the International Stem Cell Policy Program.

Jan 14, 2011 - Gary Hale named nonresident fellow in drug policy

Gary Hale, formerly of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), is the Baker Institute’s new nonresident fellow in drug policy.

An alumnus of the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Leadership, he joined the DEA in 1979 while serving as a task force agent and narcotics officer detached from the Laredo Police Department. Later, he held various assignments in Washington, D.C.; Bogotá, Colombia; and Mexico City, Mexico. In 1990, Hale received the DEA Administrator’s Award, the agency’s highest recognition. He transferred to Houston in March 2000 as the chief of intelligence and retired in July 2010.

“With decades of service as an intelligence officer with the DEA in the U.S. and Latin America, and now in his position as a key consultant and adviser to both the U.S. and Mexico regarding the violent drug wars in Mexico, Gary Hale brings a level of empirical knowledge and practical experience that should prove extremely valuable to the institute’s drug policy, Latin America and homeland security programs,” said William Martin, Harry and Hazel Chavanne Senior Fellow in Religion and Public Policy, who also runs the institute’s Drug Policy Program. “I’m delighted to have him on board as a colleague.”

In November 2009, Hale was a panelist in the Baker Institute discussion “Cannabis, Cartels and Crime: Would Legalization Help?” He was a guest on Dean Becker’s “Century of Lies” radio program later that month as part of a program including Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian.

The Baker Institute has also added Nicolas Shumway, Rice University dean of humanities and the Frances Moody Newman Professor of Humanities, to its roster of Rice scholars. Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, his scholarship explores Latin American history and culture, as well as advocacy and politics in the foreign-language classroom. Shumway received his doctorate and master’s degrees at the University of California, Los Angeles, and his bachelor’s degree at Brigham Young University.

Jan 12, 2011 - 9/11: NINE YEARS LATER

On May 3, 2003, then-President George W. Bush declared victory in Iraq, a “Mission Accomplished” banner prominently displayed behind him. In a December 2010 paper, Baker Institute history fellow Douglas Brinkley explores the realities that belie Bush’s premature evaluation of a mission that, more than seven years later, has yet to end.

Read the rest of Brinkley’s “Nine Years Later” series on the 9/11 terrorist attacks and their aftermath:

• "Nine Years Later: The Tragedy of September 11, 2001" (published September 2010)
• "Nine Years Later: The September 11 Attacks and the Iraq War" (published November 2010)

Jan 12, 2011 - SCHOLARLY POV

John Diamond, Edward A. and Hermena Hancock Kelly Fellow in Public Finance, outlines the urgent need for U.S. tax reform in a Dec. 19, 2010, Houston Chronicle op-ed. One potential reform strategy — proposed in a recent National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform report — involves lowering taxes and reducing tax expenditures, he writes. While the report failed to win enough commission votes to be sent to Congress, it received widespread bipartisan support. “Whatever pathway we choose,” Diamond said, “ it is critical that we implement a broad-based, low-rate tax system that is designed to increase economic growth.”

• Read “Let’s redesign the U.S. tax code.”

Jan 03, 2011 - THERE'S STILL TIME TO DONATE FOR 2010

The tax bill signed by President Barack Obama late last year extended the charitable IRA rollover through Dec. 31, 2011, and made it retroactive beginning Jan. 1, 2010. The bill also allows qualified individuals to make a new IRA rollover gift retroactive to 2010 as long as you make your gift by Jan. 31, 2011.

If you would like to take advantage of this brief window to make 2010 qualified distributions to the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, thereby sheltering your IRA-required minimum distributions from income tax, contact Vince McElligott at 713-348-2923 or by email at vmcelligott@rice.edu.

Dec 20, 2010 - STUDENT VOICES

In a Dec. 17, 2010, blog post, Rice University student and Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps member Grant Parks provides an overview of Admiral Gary Roughead’s frank discussion at the Baker Institute about the evolving role of the U.S. Navy on the world stage. Far from being an “anachronism in the post-Cold War global order,” the Navy is expanding its humanitarian and nuclear deterrent capabilities, explains Parks.

• Read “Admiral Roughead: The Navy is adapting to modern challenges” on the Baker Institute Blog.
• Watch the archived webcast of “Navy Global Influence and the Emerging Security Environment,” Admiral Roughead’s Nov. 2, 2010, address at the Baker Institute.