Update: Mash also posted an email exchange with Dr. King.A Quick Email Inverview with Dr. David King
[ Dr. David King is Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, where Gen. Moeen attended a class, viewed a presentation from students and answered some questions on October 22, 2007. As there is some controversy about whether Harvard invited Gen. Moeen, or whether he invited himself, and about Dr. King's consulting for Gen. Moeen, we decided to go straight to the source. Following is the email exchange with Dr. King, whose responses are in yellow. Now we know Dr. King is not a consultant in any capacity with any Bangladeshi entity, and that he asked Gen. Moeen to visit his class. Other than that, the invitation from Harvard is still a mystery. -J ]
Thanks for asking. I'm happy to talk, and I'm sorry that my voice mailbox was full. I just emptied it.
Here are some quick answers -- to the extent I know what has gone on --
1. Are you working on electoral reform in Bangladesh as a consultant?
No. I teach a research seminar here on election reform, and when we heard that General Moeen was coming to Harvard, I asked someone here if it'd be possible to have him visit with my students. My students then used Bangladesh as a "case" for a couple of weeks and prepared a presentation for him. The class took place yesterday, at its normal time. General Moeen arrived along with a personal aide, and other than my students, those two were the only ones present. The first I ever heard about being a "consultant" was when I read it on a blog yesterday.
2. Have you been appointed a consultant by Gen. Moeen personally or by the Bangladesh Army?
No, not at all.
3. Have you been appointed a consultant by the government of Bangladesh?
No. And I have not been asked to be a consultant by any person or agency in any way associated with Bangladesh.
4. Are you affiliated with the Ash Institute (there is a Bangladeshi media outlet, BDNEWS24.com, claiming "Professor David King of the Ash Institute, who extended the invitation, told bdnews24.com that Moeen participated in the presentation with enthusiasm.")? I am trying to figure out if BDNEWS24 got the name of the Institute wrong.
Yes, I am affiliated with the Ash Institute, and I ran a conference in June on their behalf. I am associated with several "institutes" or "centers" at Harvard, including Ash, the Institute of Politics, the Center for Public Leadership, the Shorenstein Center, and the Center for American Political Studies. I also hold an appointment in the Government Department. Harvard has a patchwork quilt of institutes and centers. Sometimes they communicate with each other well, but most often they do not.
5. Did you speak to BDNEWS24.com or did they manufacture the quote? It won't be the first time for them.
Yes, they called yesterday afternoon, about an hour after the class ended. The quote seems accurate to me, but I don't recall exactly what I said. They got the spirit of it right, however.
6. Did you invite Gen. Moeen, or were you approached by someone and asked if he could visit?
I don't know who initially invited General Moeen, but I think it was someone up in the "Yard," the main part of Harvard's campus. I heard about the invitation through someone at Ash, because after General Moeen was invited, someone asked Gowher for help arranging the visit. I then invited -- through the Ash Institute -- General Moeen to visit my class, since he would be on campus already. Well, whatever was planned in the Yard fell through and the conference was cancelled. But when an important person is scheduled to come to Harvard, they don't get "uninvited" just because the broader conference fell through. I was nervous that General Moeen might not come, which would have spoiled the "case" we'd been working on in class. Of course, he did come -- and the discussion in our class was thorough and wide-ranging.
General Moeen delivered his prepared lecture today at lunch, before a gathering of Bangladeshi students and community leaders. He fielded challenging questions, but since I am not a Bangladesh scholar, perhaps you'll receive a better briefing from other folks who were in the room.
I hope this helps.
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David C. King
John F. Kennedy School of Government
http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/dking
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