The overarching question imparting urgency to this exploration is: Can U.S.-Russian contention in cyberspace cause the two nuclear superpowers to stumble into war? In considering this question we were constantly reminded of recent comments by a prominent U.S. arms control expert: At least as dangerous as the risk of an actual cyberattack, he observed, is cyber operations’ “blurring of the line between peace and war.” Or, as Nye wrote, “in the cyber realm, the difference between a weapon and a non-weapon may come down to a single line of code, or simply the intent of a computer program’s user.”
The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs is proud to host a Director’s Seminar on “Protecting Liberty in the Age of Terror” with Professor Philip Heymann and Belfer Center’s Juliette Kayyem.
In November 2004, the Long-Term Legal Strategy Project for Preserving Security and Democratic Norms in the War on Terrorism, directed by Phil Heymann of Harvard Law School and Juliette Kayyem of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, released the results of an eighteen month review of some of the most difficult legal issues posed by America’s security including interrogations, detention and racial profiling. The project convened more than two dozen experts from across the political spectrum – including Michael Chertoff (Nominee for Secretary of Department of Homeland Security) and Rand Beers (Former Democratic Nominee John Kerry’s top National Security Advisor) – to devise clear rules to guide government action in a “war on terror.” Last week, a bi-partisan group of congressional members endorsed their proposals. This session will provide a discussion of some of their findings. Attached you will find the Executive Summary and Introduction in a Word document. Please take a moment to read them before the seminar.
Philip Heymann is the James Barr Ames Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Heymann has served at high levels in both the State and Justice Departments during the Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, and Clinton administrations including Deputy U.S. Attorney General (1993-1994). He is the author, most recently of “Terrorism, Freedom, and Security.”
Juliette N. Kayyem serves as the Acting Executive Director for Research at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She served as a National Security advisor to former Attorney General Janet Reno and as a member of the National Commission on Terrorism. She is also a national security analyst for NBC News.
We hope you can join us for what will be an interesting and informative discussion.
RSVP REQUIRED!