National Security Law Commons^™

Torture, Truth Serum, And Ticking Bombs: Toward A Pragmatic Perspective Of Coercive Interrogation, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

The 'War on Terror' has prompted a great deal of discussion about the use of torture as a means of extracting information from those suspected of having perpetrated past acts of violence or planning future ones. Despite the years that have passed since the attacks of September 11, 2001, for both citizens and government officials there is still a strong tension between the competing emotions of anger, revenge, and desperation; it seems increasingly difficult to adhere to international norms governing a nation's moral and legal obligations to protect its citizens from grave danger while continuing to support individual freedoms. Among …

Intelligence And Human Rights: A View From Venus, Peter Gill

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Intelligence and Human Rights in the Era of Global Terrorism. By Steve Tsang (ed.). Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Security International, 2007.

and

War by Other Means: An Insider’s Account of the War on Terror. By John Yoo. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2006.

Less Safe, Less Free: A Progress Report On The War On Terror: Address To The Terrorism & Justice Conference At The University Of Central Missouri, David Cole

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Bush Administration since 9-11 has adopted a strategy, which in some sense depends upon the ability to predict with incredible accuracy at what will happen in the future. It was given its name by the U.S. Attorney General during the first Bush Administration, Missouri’s John Ashcroft, who argued that what we need in the wake of 9-11 is a “preventive paradigm.” The argument is understandable: when facing foes who are willing to commit suicide in order to inflict mass casualties on innocent civilians, it is not enough to bring them to justice after the fact. The perpetrators are dead--and …