PAST EVENT
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
The incoming administration has indicated that one of its first priorities will be to close Guantanamo Bay. The Scouting Report continued its weekly web chat with Brookings expert Benjamin Wittes, who answered questions about how President Obama can put a legal framework in place to end the clash over detainee rights. Politico's David Mark moderated.
Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Benjamin Wittes, November 14, 2008, CBS Evening News
In an interview with CBS News, Benjamin Wittes discusses three possible ways the Obama administration could close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. Read More
PAST EVENT
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Washington, DC
Key legal and constitutional policy issues from the Bush administration will no doubt carry over to the Obama administration: protecting national security with due regard for civil liberties, achieving an immigration policy that secures the nation's borders and treats lawful immigrants fairly, and identifying the proper extent and limits of presidential authority. On November 12, Brookings Visiting Fellow Russell Wheeler moderated a panel of experts to discuss what this will mean for the Justice Department and other law enforcement agencies. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Jonathan Rauch, October 26, 2008, Los Angeles Times
Same sex couples are missing from the advertising wars over Proposition 8, the constitutional ballot initiative on whether to retain or reject same-sex marriage in California. As Brookings scholar Jonathan Rauch, the absence of same sex couples from California's same-sex marriage debate makes for an oddly hollow discussion. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Peter W. Singer, August 2008, The Brookings Institution
Peter Singer analyzes the history of the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy which allows gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans to serve in the U.S. military as long as they stay quiet about their sexuality. Singer argues a world shaped by reality television has created a new generation of troops more open to allowing homosexuals in the military, and that during this difficult time for recruiting and retaining talent, the military should embrace those willing to serve. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Khalil Al-Anani, August 19, 2008, Daily News Egypt
Khalil Al-Anani tackles the question of America’s commitment to democracy promotion, and he questions the strength of that commitment, especially when it comes in conflict with American strategic interests. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Kevin Casas-Zamora, August 05, 2008, The Miami Herald
Brookings expert Kevin Casas-Zamora writes that Latin American democracies must deal seriously with the mounting casualties of violence across the continent. He believes a comprehensive policy of reform among police forces, and the introduction of modern technology as well as more investment in civil society, can create lasting and sustainable solutions to crime. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Cheng Li and Frank Wu, August 05, 2008, The Christian Science Monitor
Brookings China expert Cheng Li and author Frank Wu believe the Beijing Olympics can be a means to foster better U.S.-China relations. They contend that is now time for constructive engagement and strategic dialogue in areas, among others, of trade, the environment, energy, as well as human rights, civil liberties, and the rule of law. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Benjamin Wittes, July 17, 2008, House Committee on the Judiciary
The interrogation programs of both the military and the intelligence community have been criticized at great length for being inconsistent with American values. In testimony before the House Committee on the Judiciary, Benjamin Wittes examined America's interrogation policy in the war against terrorism and offered steps towards a healthier statutory environment. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Benjamin Wittes, Andrew McCarthy and Josh Patashnik, July 03, 2008, The New Republic
Benjamin Wittes discusses recent legal developments in the war on terror with Josh Patashnik of The New Republic and Andrew McCarthy, director of the Center for Law and Counterterrorism at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Read More
PAST EVENT
Monday, June 23, 2008
2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Washington, DC
Benjamin Wittes, Brookings fellow and research director in public law, offered a vigorous analysis of how America came to its current impasse in the debate over liberty, human rights and counterterrorism and drew a road map for how the country and the next president might move forward. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Benjamin Wittes, June 2008, Penguin Press
Six years after the September 11 attacks, America is losing a crucial front in the ongoing war on terror. It is losing not to Al Qaeda but to its own failure to construct a set of laws that will protect the American people. Now, in the twilight of President Bush’s administration, Benjamin Wittes offers an analysis of the troubling legal legacy of the Bush administration, the U.S. Congress and the Supreme Court. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Jonathan Rauch, June 21, 2008, The Wall Street Journal
Jonathan Rauch argues the importance of same sex marriages in America. He writes that marriage stabilizes communities by formalizing responsibilities and creating kin networks, thereby cementing the foundation of civilization. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Benjamin Wittes, May 20, 2008, The New Republic
California Supreme Court struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage, and ruled that civil unions are not a legally adequate substitution for marriage. Are then civil union supporters the legal equivalent of segregationists? The California court thinks so, writes Benjamin Wittes. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Benjamin Wittes, April 28, 2008, The New Republic
The Supreme Court recently handed down a decision upholding as constitutional the specific mixture of drugs by which thirty states put condemned prisoners to death. In this piece, Ben Wittes writes about the Supreme Court's failure to rationalize its decisions about cruel and unusual punishment. Read More