WarCriminalsWatch Events

OCTOBER 3, 2009

8:30 am – Registration, coffee and tea, bagels and pastries.

9:00 – 9:45 am – Welcome and keynote remarks: Dr. Morton Halperin, Senior Advisor to the Open Society Institute, veteran of Johnson, Nixon, and Clinton administrations, expert on national security and civil liberties.

10:00 – 11:30 – Panel I - War Powers Principles: Constitution, Laws, and the Will of the People. Panelists: Rep. Michael Fisher, Sen. Rich Madaleno, Sen. Jamin Raskin, Leah Bolger, Benson Scotch, Ben Manski, Jean Athey (moderator)

11:45 – 12:30 – Keynote remarks: Jeremy Scahill, author, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army

12:30 pm – Lunch (on your own at area restaurants(subject to change))

2:00 – 3:30 – Panel II  – War Powers in Practice. Panelists:  Don Wallace, John Bonifaz, Marjorie Cohn, David Swanson, Caleb Rossiter, Bonnie Gorman (moderator)

•  How have Presidents, Congress, and the Courts interpreted and applied the Constitution’s war powers clauses?
• How has the principle of checks and balances enumerated in the Constitution’s war powers clauses been applied or been defeated?
• What are the ways in which Congress has sought to exercise its war powers to control, limit, or promote the use of military force? How have laws like the War Powers Act been applied (or not), and with what results? 
  

4:00 – 5:30 – Discussions & Proposals

Facilitated strategy discussions on the War Powers Act, National Guard, Force Structure, and other key issues, leading to proposals for potential adoption by the Conference.  These discussions will address major areas of concern encompassing all of the questions raised earlier in the day:

Any statement of principals or recommendations adopted by the Conference will be forwarded to interested parties in civil society, the media, and government, for endorsement, discussion, and/or consideration.

5:00 – 6:30 - Final announcements, thanks, evaluation sheets.

6:00 – New Location: Post-conference reception at Busboys & Poets (5th and K location)

This conference is organized by the Bring the Guard Home! campaign and the Liberty Tree Foundation, hosted by the National Lawyers Guild at
Georgetown Law School, co-organized by Veterans for Peace and Institute for Policy Studies and co-sponsored by Democrats.com, Progressive Democrats of America and After Downing Street.

Click here for further info.