Originally published on the CGS blog on August 10, 2007.
After a day that started a bit before 4am I have finally made it to the American Bar Association annual meeting in San Francisco and as ever I am glad that I decided to attend. Naturally I am pleased to be moderating a panel examining the legacy of Nuremberg filled with fantastic legal talent including former Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone David Crane, but beyond this specific session, I am happy to be here because I am reminded of the central role lawyers have played in moderating some of the worst excesses of the Bush Administration.
The ABA has played a vital leadership role in tackling a range of flawed Administration policies over the past few years ranging from the use of torture to the undermining of the ICC. Its members and professional staff deserve considerable praise for doing so at a time when it was not easy to criticize this Administration.
I am happy to report that the ABA is not resting on its laurels. At this meeting the organized bar is grappling with a set of tough issues including the very notion of whether we are involved in a Global War on Terror to issues surrounding Congressional Oversight and Executive Power. These are among a range of critical security and foreign policy questions for the country to consider and should be part of the political discourse in the lead up to the Presidential elections and I am glad the ABA is providing a venue for dialogue. I strongly believe that we need more voices involved in addressing the hard questions about global security and I look forward to connecting with some key ABA members to get their thoughts over the coming days.
