EXPERTS ADVISORY
University of Michigan experts are available to talk about a range of issues related to the 9/11 terror attacks and the quarter century since.
Javed Ali, associate professor of practice at the Ford School of Public Policy, began teaching in 2018. His government career in Washington, D.C., spanned from 2002-18, where he held positions in the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Department of Homeland Security before joining the FBI.
Before his government career started, he was in Washington on the morning of the attacks, and passed the Pentagon about 30 minutes before the third hijacked plane hit the building. A few minutes later, he could see the smoke rising from the Pentagon in the aftermath of the attack.
Based on his experience in Washington and the additional insights he’s developed since teaching at U-M, he’s had time to reflect on what the attacks meant for the country. He says one of the most important developments was “the government’s ability to degrade and disrupt the abilities of terror groups from directly attacking the U.S.—at least at the scale and impact of 9/11—driven by new laws, tools and capabilities.”
On the other side of the spectrum, he says, “the post-9/11 era created ethical and moral dilemmas associated with mass surveillance measures, detention and interrogation programs, and military operations that put hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops in harm’s way and killed or wounded civilians and noncombatants. In addition, the direct financial costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan totalled in the trillions of dollars, according to some estimates.”
Event: 25 years after 9/11: Reflections on the U.S. war on terror
Contact: [email protected]
Juan Cole, professor of history at the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, studies the ongoing political change in the Middle East.
“Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States is still mired in the Middle East, this time in a war with Iran, a country that held candlelight vigils for the U.S. in 2001, since its Shiite Muslim population had also been targeted by al-Qaeda,” he said. “America’s debt has ballooned from its expenditure of trillions of dollars on unnecessary wars. The U.S. political class cynically blamed Iraq for 9/11, leading to an 18-year quagmire in that country that helped create new al-Qaeda offshoots such as ISIL.
“Tens of thousands of veterans suffer from war injuries or PTSD and suffer high suicide rates. Police departments that received excess war materiel became distant from their own communities and often seemed like occupation forces themselves.
“The wars and occupations manifestly failed, diminishing U.S. standing in the world.”
Contact: [email protected]
Mike Barger is a clinical assistant professor of business administration at the Ross School of Business and former executive director of Ross Online. His resume includes a 13-year career in the U.S. Navy as a pilot, flight instructor and, ultimately, chief instructor at the Navy Fighter Weapons School (commonly called TOPGUN). He left the Navy to be a founding member of JetBlue Airways and created JetBlue University, the company’s centralized training department.
“Twenty-five years later, I still think first about the people who lost their lives, the families changed forever and the extraordinary courage shown on Sept. 11th and in the days that followed,” he said. “From a leadership perspective, 9/11 also taught me something I have carried ever since: A crisis begins affecting people long before leaders fully understand what is happening.
“At JetBlue that morning, we had emergency plans, but no playbook for the world we suddenly entered. We still had to make consequential decisions with incomplete information, care for our customers and crewmembers, collaborate with our industry colleagues and regulatory partners—all while learning and adapting as events unfolded. That experience now shapes how I study and teach crisis leadership at Michigan Ross.
“Leadership in turbulent times is not about the elimination of uncertainty. It means taking action before the path forward is perfectly clear, while remaining ready to adjust as understanding improves. It is the disciplined work of creating clarity, confidence and forward momentum for others while never losing sight of the people who are living with the devastating consequences of the crisis.”
Contact: [email protected]
Michelle Kees, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the Medical School, is the faculty lead for the Eisenberg Family Depression Center’s outreach and education initiatives, including a program named in honor of Todd Ouida, a young U-M alumnus who lost his life on 9/11 after overcoming anxiety disorders in childhood.
“The Ouida family transformed the unimaginable loss of their son, Todd, on 9/11 into an extraordinary legacy of hope for children and families,” she said. “For more than two decades, their support has helped us advance research, clinical care, and education in child mental health, while keeping Todd’s story and his experience with anxiety at the heart of this work. Their generosity has touched generations of clinicians, researchers, and, most importantly, the children and families we serve.”
As a child psychologist whose own work was funded by one of the first Ouida awards two decades ago, Kees says that the 9/11 anniversary presents a special challenge and opportunity to young people and their parents.
“For children and teens who are encountering 9/11 for the first time, it’s important to remember that they may experience the events very differently than adults who lived through them. Parents can help by limiting repeated exposure to graphic or frightening images, checking in about what their children are seeing and hearing, and creating space for questions and conversations.
“It’s also OK to share your own memories, keeping in mind that children benefit most when those conversations leave them with a sense of safety, connection and reassurance about the present.”
Contact: Kara Gavin, [email protected]
Yasmin Moll is an associate professor of anthropology at the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. She is an expert on religion, media and politics in the Middle East and the author of “The Revolution Within: Islamic Media and the Struggle for a New Egypt.”
“With rising social polarization, misinformation and the normalization of Islamophobia in American media across the political spectrum, the tragic memory of 9/11 is being weaponized to target, delegitimize and even criminalize Muslim-American civil rights organizations, social justice activists, elected officials and ordinary people,” she said.
Contact: [email protected]
Source: https://news.umich.edu/9-11-at-25-u-m-experts-can-discuss/