Digital Commons Network^™

Strengthening Security And Oversight At Biological Research Laboratories, Michael Greenberger

Michael Greenberger

With the advent of the Anthrax attacks in the fall of 2001, this Nation has been confronted with a serious policy conundrum. On the one hand, we have strengthened programs that encourage the use of our best scientific resources to develop countermeasures to the weaponization of highly dangerous biopathogens. On the other hand, research on those countermeasures requires the use of the very biopathogens we seek to defeat. There have been many mishaps in the handling of those pathogens, which raises the frightening prospect that the research may be as (or more) dangerous than the potential bioterrorist acts themselves. Indeed, …

Indefinite Material Witness Detention Without Probable Cause: Thinking Outside The Fourth Amendment, Michael Greenberger

Michael Greenberger

A constitutional issue recently addressed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in United States v. Awadallah, 349 F.3d 42 (2003), has not received the widespread attention of high-profile litigation concerning the Justice Department's other controversial counter-terrorism policies. It is equally important. The issue arises out of Attorney General Ashcroft's announcement shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 that the aggressive detention of material witnesses [was] vital to preventing, disrupting or delaying new attacks. Since that time, the Department of Justice has used the federal material witness statute (18 U.S.C. Section 3144) to arrest …

Blood Libel: Radical Islam’S Conscription Of The Law Of Defamation Into A Legal Jihad Against The West—And How To Stop It, Robert A. Pate

Robert A Pate

On May 19th, 2009, a panel of distinguished legal professionals assembled in Washington, D.C. at a conference, entitled Libel Lawfare: Silencing Criticism of Radical Islam, to discuss radical Islam’s exploitation of Western libel laws to silence authors and journalists who seek to expose terror-financing networks and criticize radical Islam. The debate also embodied a cresting wave of public concern about the surprising ways Western laws enable this assault.This paper seeks to call attention to two critical mistakes, which were perpetuated by panelists at the conference and which are consistently present in current libel lawfare scholarship. Foremost, no one has yet …

In Search Of Justice: Increasing The Risk Of Business With State Sponsors Of Terror, Gabriel C. Lajeunesse

Gabriel C. Lajeunesse

If the aims of tort law are deterrence, compensation, and provision of equitable distribution of risks, U.S. anti-terrorism laws have been marginally effective at best. Though Congress has passed legislation providing causes of action to U.S. victims of terrorism, compensation of victims is often difficult and terrorists are rarely deterred. Attempts to provide such recourse include the Antiterrorism Act of 1991 (“ATA”), the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”), and the Flatow Amendment to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSIA”). These attempts, however, are not enough. Until international banks and insurers realize the potential risk of doing …

Military Might And Political, Economic, And Social Institutions: A Global Time Series Empirical Test Of Terrorism, Jibey Asthappan

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

"This study, in an effort to uncover root reasons for terrorism, will delve into the issue of terrorism by testing if economic, social, and political factors have an effect on terrorism. It is the intention of this study to suggest policies that address the source of terrorist motivations rather than the symptoms. Using data from RAND and the World Bank that spans 12 years⁸, the researcher uses a negative binomial time series analysis to answer several hypotheses probing the relationship of political, social, and economic institutions’ effect on terrorist incidents. Establishing that terrorism is a rational behavior is …

The Gaza War Of 2009: Applying International Humanitarian Law To Israel And Hamas, Justus Reid Weiner, Avi Bell

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article explores the many international legal issues raised by the Palestinian-Israeli tension along Gaza's borders. It first examines legal issues raised by Palestinian conduct and then turns to legal issues raised by Israeli conduct. As will be demonstrated, criticisms of Israeli behavior ... lack any basis in international law. By contrast, Palestinian behaviors that are rarely criticized constitute severe violations of international law.

Rail Passenger Selective Screening Summit, Mti S-09-01, Mti

Mineta Transportation Institute

This publication is an edited transcript of the Rail Passenger Selective Screening Summit, which was co-sponsored by MTI and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) in Chicago, Illinois on June 18, 2009, during APTA´s annual Rail Conference. The workshop was moderated by Brian Michael Jenkins, director, Mineta Transportation Institute's National Transportation Security Center of Excellence (NTSCOE). Speakers included Bruce R. Butterworth, co-author, Selective Screening of Rail Passengers; Greg Hull, president, American Public Transportation Association (APTA); Paul MacMillan, chief of police, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Transit Police Department; Ron Masciana, deputy chief, Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), New York; Jesus Ojeda, security …

An Overview Of Tolls To Statutes Of Limitations On Account Of War: Are They Current And Relevant In The Post-September 11th Era?, Hon. Mark Dillon

Hon. Mark C. Dillon

The devastation of the attacks that occurred at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 included costly disruption to the operation of courts in the City and State of New York. A court facility at Five World Trade Center was destroyed. Attorneys were among the 2,752 persons killed in the event. Law offices were destroyed. Key litigation witnesses and documents were lost forever. Thousands of attorneys were unable to access their work for days. State courts in Manhattan did not reopen for business until September 17, 2001. Amidst the turmoil and confusion, there was a defined set of potential …

Strengthening Security And Oversight At Biological Research Laboratories, Michael Greenberger

Congressional Testimony

With the advent of the Anthrax attacks in the fall of 2001, this Nation has been confronted with a serious policy conundrum. On the one hand, we have strengthened programs that encourage the use of our best scientific resources to develop countermeasures to the weaponization of highly dangerous biopathogens. On the other hand, research on those countermeasures requires the use of the very biopathogens we seek to defeat. There have been many mishaps in the handling of those pathogens, which raises the frightening prospect that the research may be as (or more) dangerous than the potential bioterrorist acts themselves. Indeed, …

Community Policing Within A Counter-Terrorism Context: The Role Of Trust When Working With Muslim Communities To Prevent Terror Crime, Basia Spalek

basia spalek

Recently, community-based models of policing have gained increasing prominence within the context of counter-terrorism, an area that has traditionally been dominated by ‘hard’, top-down models of policing. The following article draws upon a research study that examined community policing within a counter-terrorism context within the UK in order to help shed light upon how police officers might work with communities in order to prevent terror crime. The article focuses in particular upon the notion of trust within a counter-terrorism context and reflects upon the importance of cultural intelligence for policing within a counter-terror context, a context marked by suspicion, distrust …

Fear Or Rage?: Assessing Public Opinion And Policy Responses To Terrorist Attacks, Gabriel Rubin

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Mass fear has been posited as the main emotional outcome of terror attacks. Indeed, the term “terrorism” itself emphasizes that such attacks are meant to stoke fear. Yet, a critical piece of the post-terror attack dynamic has been largely ignored: the public rage that comes in response to terror attacks. Witness the call for politicians to step down after the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai or the placard reading “Nuke ‘Em Till They Glow” at the 2001 World Series. It is the contention of this paper that, after a major terror attack has occurred, the public is more angry than …

Narco-Terrorism: Could The Legislative And Prosecutorial Responses Threaten Our Civil Liberties?, John E. Thomas, Jr.

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

"Applying Carl Schmitt To Global Puzzles: Identity, Conflict And The Friend/Enemy Antithesis,", Emma R. Norman

Emma R. Norman

This paper demonstrates the broad appeal and usefulness of the political and legal thought of Carl Schmitt to scholars of international relations by applying his seminal friend-enemy antithesis to current global problems as well as to current IR theories used to negotiate them. I argue that Schmitt’s contemporary appeal lies, first, in his insistence that collective identity is necessarily formed through conflict (enmity); and second, that identity lies at the very base of what motivates behavior on the international stage (at the sub-national, national and transnational levels). By implication, Schmitt’s theories offer some fresh insights into the sources and nature …

Piercing The Corporate Veil In An Era Of Globalisation And International Terrorism And The Emergence Of The Lawyer As Gatekeeper And Whistleblower, John H. Farrar, Christoph Pippel

John H. Farrar

[extract] Concern about the abuse of the corporate form has led to some useful European research, and the topic has received attention from the OECD. Since September 11 2001, we have had greater concentration on the financing of terrorism. This has led to international initiatives which have in turn resulted in domestic legislation. The legal and self regulation adopted by this and recent measures such as the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 resulting from collapses such as Enron, is beginning to have an impact on the traditional roles of lawyers. New responsibilities are being imposed on lawyers to act as …

Norm Internalization Through Trials For Violations Of International Law: Four Conditions For Success And Their Application To Trials Of Detainees At Guantanamo Bay, Vijay M. Padmanabhan

Vijay M Padmanabhan

Norm internalization is an objective for trials for violations of international law, which seeks to use the trial to demonstrate to a target audience, usually the community of the defendant, the costs of violating international law, and the stigma of being a violator. The purpose of this exercise is to internalize in that audience a respect for international law and for the norm in question that drives the audience not to repeat the violation in the future. Some scholars have argued that this purpose should be the primary purpose behind international criminal trials. Others have argued that it should, at …

Afghanistan And The Nature Of Conflict, Charles Garraway

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Patterns Of Differential Involvement In Terrorist Activities: Evidence From Dhkp/C And Turkish Hezbollah, Ismail Yilmaz

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the patterns of involvement in terrorist activities for the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) and Turkish Hezbollah members. The study is based on the assumption that terrorists differ in terms of their involvement in terrorist activities. In this sense, there are full-time and part-time terrorists. Full-time terrorists act professionally and do the assignments given by their commanders. Part-time terrorists, on the other hand, act on a non-professional basis and have their own motivations to participate in terrorist activities. For part-timers, there are various factors that may have an effect on their degree of involvement in terrorist activities. …

An Application Of Anomie And Strain Theories To Terrorism: Suicide Attacks In Turkey, Ozgur Nikbay

Theses and Dissertations

A suicide attack is an extreme modus operandi of terrorism. This research examines the application of two similar sociological theories to terrorism and specifically, to suicide terrorism. Three models are built to test if Merton‘s strain theory can explain the propensities of provinces to produce terrorists and suicide bombers in the first phase. Next, in Phase 2 one model is built on a combination of altruistic and fatalistic type variables to test if Durkheim‘s anomie theory can explain the probability of a terrorist to become suicide bomber or not. The analyses of models 1, 2, and 3 are performed in …

Terrorism Risk In A Post-9/11 Economy: The Convergence Of Capital Markets, Insurance, And Government Action, Robert J. Rhee

Robert Rhee

September 11 changed the American economy and the global insurance market. The insurance industry no longer covers terrorism risk for "free." The traditional insurance mechanism alone cannot spread the risk of repeated catastrophic losses. Beyond the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 lingers the questions of a longterm solution and government's role therein. Government can assume different roles: reinsurer, wealth (re)distributor, regulator, or a combination thereof. This article suggests that the government should foster a regulatory and tax environment in which the private sector can develop a capital market solution for terrorism risk. Securitization is an alternative to reinsurance and …

Insurance For Acts Of Terrorism, Robert J. Rhee

Robert Rhee

This chapter discusses insurance case law arising from acts of terrorism, including those arising from the September 11 attacks. It analyzes the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (TRIA), as amended by the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2005 and the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007, as well as the administrative program created by the legislation. Examples are provided and NAIC Policyholder Disclosure Notice forms are included. Policy considerations surrounding TRIA are also discussed including insurance industry strategies, the difficulties of assessing terrorism risks, the effect of TRIA subsidized insurance on the market, and the benefits and …

Catastrophic Loss, Alternative Risk Transfer, And Terrorism Insurance, Robert J. Rhee

Robert Rhee

This paper constitutes a compilation of summary entries on catastrophic loss, alternative risk transfer, and the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 and the Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act of 2005, along with references and further reading.

Francis Gates V. Syrian Arab Republic, 2008 Wl 4367284 (D.D.C. 2008), Gabriel C. Lajeunesse

Gabriel C. Lajeunesse

On September 26, 2008, Judge Rosemary M. Collyer, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, handed down a judgment for over $400 million to the survivors of Jack Armstrong or Jack Hensley, two American contractors brutally murdered by al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI). The judgment was rendered against the Government of Syria—held liable for the murders in a federal cause of action under the recently amended Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) for Syria’s material support to AQI.

A Narrative Account Of The Wider Impact Of The 7 July 2005 London Bomb Attacks, Shahid Bux, Sarah M. Coyne

Faculty Publications

The London bombings on 7 July 2005 highlighted the prevailing terrorist threat to the UK. The present study addressed the psychological response of community (n=294) indirectly exposed to the attacks to discern he broader impact and effects of terrorism. Qualitative content analysis was used to develop a profile of emotions and responses to the attacks. This was supplemented by the use of linguistic analysis demonstrating the enormous heterogeneity and complexity of responses to terrorism. In light of previous work on the wider impact of terrorism, the present study highlighted a relatively restrained impact of terrorism. Notwithstanding this observation, responses were …

Targeted Killing In U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy And Law, Kenneth Anderson

Working Papers

Targeted killing, particularly through the use of missiles fired from Predator drone aircraft, has become an important, and internationally controversial, part of the US war against al Qaeda in Pakistan and other places. The Obama administration, both during the campaign and in its first months in office, has publicly embraced the strategy as a form of counterterrorism. This paper argues, however, that unless the Obama administration takes careful and assertive legal steps to protect it, targeted killing using remote platforms such as drone aircraft will take on greater strategic salience precisely as the Obama administration allows the legal space for …

Preserving Our Institutions: The Continuity Of The Presidency (Second Report), Continuity Of Government Commission, The Brookings Institution, American Enterprise Institute

Reports

The report addresses Presidential succession after a terrorist attack.

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict In American, Arab, And British Media: Corpus-Based Critical Discourse Analysis, Magdi Ahmed Kandil

Applied Linguistics and English as a Second Language Dissertations

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the longest and most violent conflicts in modern history. The language used to represent this important conflict in the media is frequently commented on by scholars and political commentators (e.g., Ackerman, 2001; Fisk, 2001; Mearsheimer & Walt, 2007). To date, however, few studies in the field of applied linguistics have attempted a thorough investigation of the language used to represent the conflict in influential media outlets using systematic methods of linguistic analysis. The current study aims to partially bridge this gap by combining methods and analytical frameworks from Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Corpus …

Combating A Religious Radical Ideology V. Suppressing Islamic Opposition: Jordan’S Approach To Counterterrorism, Abeer Ghazi Jarrar

Cornell Law School Inter-University Graduate Student Conference Papers

In the aftermath of 9/11, criminal law reform in Jordan was part of the worldwide expansion of criminal laws facilitated by UNSC Resolution 1373 that was enacted under mandatory Chapter VII of the UN Charter. The introduced criminal law amendments were largely offered as a symbolic response to 9/11; it was built on the assumption of inadequacy of criminal law without fully understanding the dimensions of deterrence. Probably with the exception of the new laws against the financing of terrorism, the state had a whole range of extraordinary measures available if not morally, then practically, to counter terrorism.

Jordan’s experience …

An Exploratory Analysis Of The Psychological Dimensions Of Airline Security And Correlates Of Perceived Terrorism Threats: A Study Of Active American Airlines Pilots., Paul Martin Borowsky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The September 11, 2001, terrorist attack resulted in a myriad of new policies designed to enhance aviation security. These policies ostensibly considered the origins of the exact threat facing the United States. Missing, however, were the inputs from rank and file pilots of the airlines that policy makers were attempting to protect. This exploratory study distributed a 50-question survey designed to measure pilot perceptions of security risk and threats. Univariate descriptives were used to examine the extent to which sample data approximated the population of interest. Factor and reliability analysis were used to document the multidimensionality of the constructs and …

Peace Is Not The Absence Of Conflict, But The Presence Of Justice, Reid C. Pixler

Northern Illinois University Law Review

An issue seldom, if ever, addressed regarding the conflict in Iraq is the role of the Iraqi criminal justice system in addressing acts of terrorism. The figures of "detainees" or "enemy combatants" held by the United States have been widely published, but little comment has been made regarding the challenges facing a small judicial system attempting to function in a war zone. Most of the judges assigned to the major crimes courts live in the same community where the court is located and have modest, if any, special security for their families. This short account details the conflict between the …

Estimating The Macroeconomic Consequence Of 9/11, S. Brock Blomberg, Gregory Hess

CMC Faculty Publications and Research

We perform an empirical investigation to estimate the macroeconomic cost of September 11 attacks on the United States economy. We estimate the impact of the attacks to be approximately a 0.50 percentage point decrease in GDP growth or $60 billion. Our upper bound estimate of the impact of September 11 is approximately twice that or $125 billion.