In France, a parliamentary commission will soon meet to investigate whether to ban any cloak that covers most of the face. WUSTL anthropology professor John Bowen, who wrote "Why the French Don't Like Headscarves: Islam, the State and Public Space," has been asked to testify by the parliamentary commission.

References:

1. Sept. 1, 2009 — Burqa Furor Scrambles French Politics in the The New York Times

and 2 others.

Story on James von Brunn, the accused 88-year-old gunman with a violent and virulently anti-Semitic past, who opened fire with a rifle inside the crowded U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday, fatally wounding a security guard before being shot himself. According to a relative, von Brunn attended WUSTL and is an artist.

References:

1. June 10, 2009 — Gunman shoots, kills guard at Holocaust Museum in the Associated Press

and 51 others.

Nancy Benac reports on Obama's Cairo speech in which he tried to explain the American mindset to Muslims and the world of Islam to Americans. Various experts comment on the speech, including WUSTL presidential rhetoric specialist Wayne Fields.

References:

1. June 6, 2009 — Analysis: Obama tries evenhanded approach in the Associated Press

and 51 others.

The "War on Terror" is losing the war of words. The catchphrase burned into the American lexicon hours after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, is fading away, slowly if not deliberately being replaced by a new administration bent on repairing the U.S. image among Muslim nations. Includes comments by WUSTL English and American culture studies professor Wayne Fields, who is an expert on presidential rhetoric.

References:

1. Feb. 1, 2009 — Under Obama, 'war on terror' catchphrase fading in the Associated Press

and 18 others.

Article looks at how Pope Benedict XVI is trying to mend fences within the church, with other churches, and with Muslims and Jews.
WUSTL religious studies professor Frank Flinn comments.

References:

1. April 17, 2008 — The Vatican on Muslims and Jews in the U.S. News & World Report online

WUSTL's Wayne Fields comments on final pitches by Democratic presidential candidates as they head into the last weeks of primary elections.

References:

1. Feb. 27, 2008 — Analysis: Debate Unlikely to Change Race in the Associated Press

and 66 others.

WUSTL American culture studies Professor Wayne Fields comments on President Bush's recent Mideast trip. "President Bush believes in a religion of dramatic revelations — his conversion and 9/11 being the most notable — in which a person's life is transformed or the world is changed," said WUSTL American culture studies professor Wayne Fields. "These moments ... are the sources of the important 'truths' which inform his understanding of life and shape his behavior as well as his rhetoric."

References:

1. Jan. 11, 2008 — A faith-based stop for the president in the Chicago Tribune

and 1 others.

WUSTL English professor Wayne Fields, who is an expert on presidential rhetoric, comments on President Bush's speech on Iraq.

References:

1. Sept. 14, 2007 — Analysis: Bush recasts war rationale in the Associated Press

and 38 others.

Every summer for the past eight years, WUSTL anthropologist Michael Frachetti has come to the desert steppe that rolls like endless yellow waves across this expansive Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan searching for evidence of a vast, connected nomadic society.
His work concerns Bronze Age nomads, and his scholarship is aimed purely at a historical understanding of how a preliterate society functioned more than 3,000 years ago. But his work coincides with a geopolitical reality that has important implications for American foreign policy makers: many of the countries that most trouble the West -- like Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia -- have government institutions that reflect a nomadic past.

References:

1. Aug. 8, 2007 — Ancient Nomads Offer Insights to Modern Crises in the The New York Times

and 1 others.

House Democrats propose a measure to require that U.S. troops be withdrawn from Iraq by fall of 2008. Minnesota's delegation, regardless of party affiliation, stays on the fence, in one instance citing that people's opinions are "all over the map."
WUSTL political science professor Steven Smith comments on Nancy Pelosi's strategy.

References:

1. March 8, 2007 — To set a pullout date or not: That is the question in the Minneapolis Star Tribune online

WUSTL presidential rhetoric specialist Wayne Fields is one of several experts analyzing the content and presentation of President Bush's State of the Union speech.

References:

1. Jan. 24, 2007 — Bush domestic proposals address some Democratic concerns but will still be a hard sell in the Associated Press

and 17 others.

WUSTL political science professor Steven Smith is one of several experts analyzing the content and presentation of President Bush's State of the Union speech.

References:

1. Jan. 24, 2007 — Bush speech lacks knockout blow: analysts in the Agence France Presse -- English

and 2 others.

Several hundred Parisians gathered at City Hall yesterday to pay tribute to a French army captain, Alfred Dreyfus,who was convicted wrongly of treason in a trial that divided France more than a century ago. Anti-Semitism and assimilation are still controversial subjects in France today. WUSTL anthropology professor John Bowen comments.

References:

1. July 7, 2006 — Secularism, the French & Alfred Dreyfus in the The New York Sun

Article covers events from Wednesday in the Saddam Hussein trial.
His savvy take on contemporary Iraqi politics took some observers by surprise.
WUSTL international law professor Leila Nadya Sadat, who watched segments of the trial on the Internet, comments.

References:

1. April 6, 2006 — Hussein presents a spirited defense in the Los Angeles Times

and 3 others.

In current and upcoming speeches, the president wants to convince Americans not only that there is reason for optimism about Iraq's future but that the situation now is better than the daily reports of strife make it appear. President Bush is drawing on his plainspoken manner to defend his Iraq strategy. WUSTL political rhetoric specialist Wayne Fields comments on Bush's strattegy.

References:

1. March 23, 2006 — Bush Pulls Out the Stops to Save Ratings in the Forbes.com

and 57 others.

PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer features a discussion of the trial of Saddam Hussein. Following a background report from Independent Television News, two lawyers give their reactions to the proceedings. WUSTL law professor Leila Sadat is one of the lawyers.

References:

1. Feb. 14, 2006 — Saddam on trial in the PBS – NewsHour

and 1 others.

Roundup of comments by Leila Nadya Sadat, WUSTL law professor and international criminal law expert, about the trial of Saddam Hussein. Defense strategy, the Iraqi war crimes tribunal, and the violence and turmoil surrounding the trial are all discussed. Professor Sadat also helped to train Iraqi jurists.

References:

1. Dec. 8, 2005 — After Hussein Refuses to Attend, Trial Resumes and Adjourns in the Los Angeles Times
2. Nov. 9, 2005 — 2nd Hussein Trial Defense Lawyer Slain in the Los Angeles Times
3. Oct. 20, 2005 — Law Experts Divided Over Legitimacy of Tribunal in the Los Angeles Times

and 2 others.

Europe's 18 million Muslims represent the continent's fastest growing religion; however this community of immigrants who share religious and ethnic bonds has largely failed to integrate into European societies founded on secular principles. WUSTL anthropology professor John Bowen comments on the attempts by European governments to regulate Muslim groups.

References:

1. Feb. 1, 2005 — Identity Crisis: Old Europe Meets New Islam in the Frontline