9/11: Afghanistan 20 Years Later
DATE: Friday, September 10 2021
TIME: 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm
LOCATION: College of Law and Virtual Event
TALK DESCRIPTION:
At the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, this special panel of S. J. Quinney faculty and alumni examines the implications of the attacks and ensuing war in Afghanistan.
With American involvement in Afghanistan now drawing to a close, panelists will discuss their involvement in the Afghanistan War and the global War on Terror, offering personal perspective on 9/11 and the wars it led to. They will reflect on what the Afghanistan War might have accomplished, considering its enormous costs; how we should make sense of 9/11 and subsequent conflicts; and how we might collectively move forward. Panelists include College of Law faculty and alumni with personal experience and professional expertise relating to the war in Afghanistan and the 9/11 attacks.
Opening remarks: Elizabeth Kronk Warner, dean, S. J. Quinney College of Law
Moderator: Jim Holbrook, clinical professor of law emeritus, S. J. Quinney College of Law. Fifty-two years ago, Holbrook served in combat in Vietnam as an artillery fire direction specialist with the 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta region of southwestern Vietnam.
ABOUT THE PANELISTS:
Amos Guiora, professor of law, S. J. Quinney College of Law
Guiora has published extensively both in the U.S. and Europe on issues related to national security, limits of interrogation, religion and terrorism, the limits of power, multiculturalism, and human rights. He served for 19 years in the Israel Defense Forces as lieutenant colonel (retired), and held a number of senior command positions, including legal advisor to the Gaza Strip and commander of the IDF School of Military Law.
David Schwendiman, adjunct professor of law, S. J. Quinney College of Law
Schwendiman served as assistant inspector general/director of forward operations for the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) in Kabul from 2014 to 2015. Prior to that, he served as the DOJ attaché in the U.S Embassy in Kabul from 2011 to 2014. Schwendiman retired from the U.S. Department of Justice in January 2014 after nearly thirty years as an assistant U.S. attorney, first assistant U.S. attorney, and interim U.S. attorney.
Ralph Mercer, S. J. Quinney College of Law (’21)
Mercer served for 6 years with British Intelligence (GCHQ), where he worked mostly on overseas counter-terrorism operations. During his final 2 years at GCHQ, he repeatedly deployed on covert operations to Afghanistan, working in Kabul, Logar, Camp Pendleton, Kandahar, and Lashkar Gah. His work ranged from acting as the on-base British Intelligence Liaison Officer to active operations with UK Special Forces.