Location

University of Richmond School of Law

Start Date

11-4-2002 6:30 PM

Description

The 2002 Symposium opened on Thursday, April 11, with a role-playing exercise and town meeting: Assassination of a Terrorist Enemy. In this session, a group of nationally prominent political leaders, policy makers, scholars, and members of the intelligence, military, religious and civil liberties communities engaged in a role-playing exercise exploring a fictional scenario posing the question of whether the United States should undertake an operation to assassinate the leader of a terrorist organization deemed responsible for acts of violence against the United States. The issue was explored through historical, moral, religious, operational, political, diplomatic, and legal perspectives. The final segment of the program included a "town meeting" discussion in which members of the audience participated in the debate and deliberation. These issues were explored the next day of the conference in a series of more specifically focused sessions.

The opening session, on Thursday, April 11 from 6:30-9:00 p.m., featured Jeff Addicott; June Aprille; William C. Banks; Azizah al-Hibri, professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law; Julie Laskaris, Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Richmond; Peter Raven-Hansen, Gary Solis, Porcher Taylor, and Robert Turner. Rodney A. Smolla, the Allen Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law, served as moderator.

The “Roundtable Session I: Policy, Politics, and Operations” session, held on Friday, April 12 from 9:00-10:15 a.m., was led by Jeff Addicott, William C. Banks, Peter Raven-Hansen, Gary Solis, and Robert Turner. John Paul Jones, Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law, served as moderator.

“Roundtable Session II: Moral and Religious Perspectives,” held on Friday, April 12 from 10:30-11:45 a.m., was led by Azizah al-Hibri, Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law. Julie Laskaris, Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Richmond, served as moderator.

“Roundtable Session III: Assassination as an Instrument of Policy and the Law,” held on Friday, April 12 from 1:30- 2:45 p.m., was led by Jeff Addicott, William C. Banks, Peter Raven-Hansen, Gary Solis, Professor John Paul Jones, and Robert Turner. Porcher Taylor served as moderator.

Comments

Suggested reading for the symposium included:

W. Hays Parks, Assassination and the Law of War, 3 Cum Dig. U.S. Prac. in Int'I Law 3411-3421 (1996).

Peter Dale Scott, (CIA) Inspector General's Report on the Plot to Kill Castro, An Introduction (1994).

Gary Solis, Assassination and American Armed Forces, Mil. L. News G (Autumn 2001) (Va. State Bar Mil. Law Sec. Newsletter).

Paul Wilkinson, The Role of the Military in Combating Terrorism in a Democratic Society (The 1995 Mountbatten Lecture at Edinburgh University), 8 Terrorism & Pol. Violence 1-11 ( 1996).

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Apr 11th, 6:30 PM

Terrorism and Assassination: Political Assassination as an Instrument of National Policy - An Inquiry into Operations, Expediency, Morality, and the Law

University of Richmond School of Law

The 2002 Symposium opened on Thursday, April 11, with a role-playing exercise and town meeting: Assassination of a Terrorist Enemy. In this session, a group of nationally prominent political leaders, policy makers, scholars, and members of the intelligence, military, religious and civil liberties communities engaged in a role-playing exercise exploring a fictional scenario posing the question of whether the United States should undertake an operation to assassinate the leader of a terrorist organization deemed responsible for acts of violence against the United States. The issue was explored through historical, moral, religious, operational, political, diplomatic, and legal perspectives. The final segment of the program included a "town meeting" discussion in which members of the audience participated in the debate and deliberation. These issues were explored the next day of the conference in a series of more specifically focused sessions.

The opening session, on Thursday, April 11 from 6:30-9:00 p.m., featured Jeff Addicott; June Aprille; William C. Banks; Azizah al-Hibri, professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law; Julie Laskaris, Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Richmond; Peter Raven-Hansen, Gary Solis, Porcher Taylor, and Robert Turner. Rodney A. Smolla, the Allen Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law, served as moderator.

The “Roundtable Session I: Policy, Politics, and Operations” session, held on Friday, April 12 from 9:00-10:15 a.m., was led by Jeff Addicott, William C. Banks, Peter Raven-Hansen, Gary Solis, and Robert Turner. John Paul Jones, Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law, served as moderator.

“Roundtable Session II: Moral and Religious Perspectives,” held on Friday, April 12 from 10:30-11:45 a.m., was led by Azizah al-Hibri, Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law. Julie Laskaris, Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Richmond, served as moderator.

“Roundtable Session III: Assassination as an Instrument of Policy and the Law,” held on Friday, April 12 from 1:30- 2:45 p.m., was led by Jeff Addicott, William C. Banks, Peter Raven-Hansen, Gary Solis, Professor John Paul Jones, and Robert Turner. Porcher Taylor served as moderator.