Legal implications of U.S., global response options to nuclear Iran to be explored at SU

Legal implications of U.S., global response options to nuclear Iran to be explored at SUOctober 18, 2006Jaclyn D. Grossojgrosso@law.syr.edu

How should the U.S. and the rest of the world respond to a nuclear Iran? What actions are allowed under U.S. and international law? What would be the effect of these actions on U.S. nuclear proliferation and international security policy, military strategy and pre-emption doctrine?

These issues are the focus of the Oct. 26-27 event “A Nuclear Iran: The Legal Implications of a Pre-emptive National Security Strategy,” co-sponsored by the Syracuse Law Review and the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism (INSCT). Events are scheduled for the Maxwell School’s Eggers Hall and Grant Auditorium in the College of Law. All events are free and open to the public. Parking is available in SU pay lots.

The symposium will begin with a keynote address by Robert Joseph, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security. Two panel discussions with distinguished guests will take place on the morning of Oct. 27. Later that afternoon, the symposium will conclude with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Seymour Hersh, who will give a keynote address and then moderate a panel discussion on the legality and effectiveness of U.S. responses to a nuclear Iran.

“There is no set of national security issues more timely for serious discussion and scholarly analysis than those surrounding a nuclear Iran,” says Board of Advisors Professor of Law William C. Banks, who is also director of the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism. “The impressive group of scholars and other experts that makes up this symposium represents a range of disciplines and experiences inside and outside government and the academy. The presentations and discussions should be especially well-informed, lively and engaging.”

Participants include legal scholars who specialize in pre-emption, the role of the United Nations, nuclear proliferation and international security policy and the U.S. military’s strategic capabilities, as well as experts in Iranian, Israeli and Middle Eastern politics and history. The participants will discuss such issues as why Iran wants to develop nuclear technology, the regional and international security ramifications of Iran acquiring nuclear technology, the domestic and international legal framework governing nuclear proliferation and the legality and impact of U.S. and international actions to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.

“This symposium brings together law professors and military and policy experts to discuss and analyze how a nuclear Iran would impact the Middle East, and how the U.S. and the rest of the world should respond,” says Aaron Tidman, lead articles editor of the Law Review. “The global reaction to a nuclear Iran affects every American, and the College of Law is in an ideal position to organize and conduct this interdisciplinary dialogue.”

Articles written by the panelists will be published by the Syracuse Law Review in its third book, which will be dedicated solely to this important symposium. For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit http://insct.syr.edu/NuclearIranSymposium.html or http://law.syr.edu.