WarCriminalsWatch Events

For nearly ten years, the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, has stood as a symbol of
U.S. post-9/11 detention policies, yet the American people remain divided over what
to do with the prison and prisoners held there.  

Pardiss Kebriaei and Michael Sullivan will share their opposing views on current U.S.
detention policies and security, including Guantánamo Bay prison. Alice Hearst, associate professor of
Government, will moderate.  The program is free, open to the public and
wheelchair accessible.

Kebriaei, a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, has represented
detainees at Guantánamo Bay and has sought accountability for torture and arbitrary
detention.  Sullivan, a partner at Ashcroft Sullivan LLC, formerly served as the
U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts and as the Director of the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.  As a U.S. Attorney, Sullivan prosecuted Richard
Reid, known as the “shoe bomber.”

Organizers hope that the conversation will contribute to
public dialogue on the issue.  Nancy Talanian, a member of Pioneer Valley No More
Guantánamos, said, “Ensuring justice for detainees need not weaken our security, yet
many people see it as an ‘either-or’ proposition.  Conversation is key to building
consensus at the local level and support for positive movement within our federal
government, rather than continued posturing.” 

The program is sponsored by the Smith College Government Department with
Pioneer Valley No More Guantánamos, Smith College Republican Club, and Smith
Democrats.  Refreshments will be served.

More information: 413-665-1150 

Cosponsors:  Alliance for Peace and Justice, American Civil Liberties Union of Mass,
American Friends Service Committee of Western Mass., Amherst Human Rights
Commission, ARISE for Social Justice, Bill of Rights Defense Committee, Center for
Popular Economics, Collective Copies, Committee for a Leverett Peace Commission, GCC
Peace, Justice and Environmental Studies, Mount Toby Friends Peace and Social
Concerns Committee, North Quabbin Women in Black, Northampton Committee to Stop the
Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Northampton Democratic City Committee, Peace
Fellowship of Grace Episcopal Church, Pioneer Valley Green-Rainbow Local, Social
Workers for Peace and Justice, Western Mass. Code Pink, Western Mass. Jobs with
Justice