Expert available to discuss Brussels terrorist attacks

EXPERT ALERT

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Expert available to discuss Brussels terrorist attacks

HOUSTON – (March 22, 2016) – Joe Barnes, the Bonner Means Baker Research Fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and author of “Rethinking U.S. Strategy in the Middle East,” is available to comment on today’s metro station and airport terrorist attacks in Brussels. As of Tuesday 8:45 a.m. CST, Belgian media reported more than 30 people have died and more than 170 have been injured.

“The attacks in Brussels are further evidence, if any were required, of the ability of terrorists to inflict casualties in urban areas,” Barnes said. “While we do not yet know who committed the atrocities, they occurred after the arrest in Brussels of Salah Abdeslam, a suspect in the deadly Nov. 13 attacks in Paris.

“The impact of the attacks – other than the terrible human toll – is as yet unclear,” he said. “But we can expect further calls, in Europe and here, for more aggressive policies aimed at potential terrorists. If immigrants were involved in the plot, the attacks will further roil the European debate on refugees.”

Barnes is also faculty adviser to the Baker Institute Student Forum. From 1979 to 1993, he was a career diplomat with the U.S. State Department, serving in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. His last assignment in the State Department was with the Policy Planning Staff. Barnes is a graduate of Princeton University.

The Baker Institute’s television and radio studio with ISDN is available today for broadcast interviews.

To schedule an interview with Barnes, contact David Ruth, director of national and broadcast media at Rice, at david@rice.edu or 713-348-6327.

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Related materials:

Barnes’ bio: http://bakerinstitute.org/experts/joe-barnes

Barnes’ previous research and publications:

Russia withdraws forces from Syria
Iran Agreement a Done Deal?
Paris attacks: ISIS expands the war
Iran nuclear deal: Good, not perfect
Rethinking U.S. Strategy in the Middle East
U.S. Policy and the Iranian Threat
Iran nuclear deal: More work ahead
Netanyahu’s victory
U.S. foreign policy at a crossroads
Obama’s AUMF meaningless, but a good idea

This news release can be found online at http://news.rice.edu.

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

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