Release date: Sept. 9, 2002
Contact: Elaine Justice, Associate Director, Media Relations,
at 404-727-0643 or ejustic@emory.edu

Emory Experts Say Serious Challenges
Remain One Year After 9/11

In the wake of Sept. 11, the United States and the international community face tough challenges and decisions in law, human rights and economics. With the possibility of a war against Iraq looming, the new paradigms the United States and the world now face one year later were discussed by Emory University experts in law, politics and economics during a media forum held Aug. 27 at the university.

Emory experts on the panel expressed skepticism about engaging in a war against Iraq, and that such a conflict would have deep ramifications for the United States at home and abroad.

"The threat from Saddam Hussein has been greatly overstated. Our current policies – which have kept Hussein from striking out for the most part – are better than a preemptive war," said Dan Reiter, associate professor of political science.

"There is very thin evidence tying Hussein to al Qaeda – the ties are actually stronger with Saudi Arabia," Reiter said. "Iraq doesn't pose an immediate threat to the U.S. homeland, which is important because al Qaeda does pose a threat, and should be a high priority. A war on Iraq would undermine the war on terrorism."

David Bederman, professor of law, discussed the international consensus the United States needs in order to wage war against Iraq, and the domestic legal implications of such a war. Here in the United States, "the Bush administration may be politically required to gain Congressional support to wage war on Iraq, but they don't have to legally," he said.

Recently, the administration has been making its case both at home and abroad for a war on Iraq, but overall, "this administration has shown a lack of interest in building support for an invasion of Iraq within the United Nations and NATO, and is not interested in building an international consensus to go to war with Iraq," Bederman said.

"But, without a broad coalition of international alliances, it will make it very difficult in a very practical way for the United States to push in to war with Iraq," Bederman said. "This is not the same environment as in 1991. We have to leave the lines of communication open."

The war on terrorism and new legal developments in domestic security also are affecting civil liberties at home, said Charles Shanor, professor of law, and a specialist on constitutional law, military law and employment discrimination law. He touched on the imprisonment of more than 1,000 detainees without public charges or trial, the U.S.A. Patriot Act and the creation of an Office of Homeland Security.

"The traditional standards for seizure have been abandoned," said Shanor, adding later, "the U.S.A. Patriot Act reintroduces McCarthy-era tactics that raise many civil rights issues." He noted that prior to Sept. 11, racial profiling was opposed by 60 percent of Americans; now the trend is reversed with 60 percent in favor.

The events of Sept. 11 present a particular challenge to courts because they do not fit into the current international laws of armed conflict, since the attacks were not launched by a government, or launched solely within the United States, said Johan van der Vyver, Cohen Professor of Law and Human Rights, who gave an overview of the law of war and provided an update on the International Criminal Court.

"The events of 9-11 made all the textbooks at my disposal obsolete. The attacks were an entirely new form, new level of belligerence that we cannot fit in to the current definitions of armed conflict," said van der Vyver, who teaches courses on international humanitarian law covering the laws of armed conflict. International laws lag behind in specifically addressing terroristic armed-conflict, although international courts are working to regulate terrorism more closely, he explained.

"We cannot sit back because the laws don’t fit. You have to react and work to find a solution," he said.

However, the United States still remains vulnerable to terrorist attack, said Larry Taulbee, associate professor of political science and an expert on terrorism. He added that the concerns and vulnerabilities of today have remained relatively the same for a quarter century. Taulbee said it is difficult to prevent attacks, no matter how proactive people are, due to the numerous facilities containing toxic and combustible materials, the easy access to information via the Internet and other technology, and potentially lethal materials that can be found at any local home supply store.

"Fighting terrorism is like playing goalie in soccer. Nobody remembers how many saves you've had when you miss a goal in the big game," he said.

Experts at the forum also discussed the economic ramifications of Sept. 11, and the diversity and breadth of Islam around the world.

Jeffrey Rosensweig, associate dean for corporate relations and director of the Global Perspectives Program at Goizueta Business School, said he was very optimistic that the U.S. economy would recover after Sept. 11 at first, but that the country's "own corporate malfeasance" has set back that recovery.

"The picture is as uncertain as it has ever been. I have never seen such a lackluster job market in an economy that is supposed to be growing and recovering," he said. "We are one major terrorist attack away from real economic devastation that would take a decade to recover from."

Nevertheless, Rosensweig said he remains "somewhat optimistic" due in large part to the continued infusion of immigrants from around the world who come to America to work, bringing with them talent and earning power.

"This is still a country where people are still beating the door to get in," he said. "We continue to attract the world's most talented people."

Abdullahi An-Na'im, Candler Professor of Law and director of the Law and Human Rights Program, gave an international overview of Islam, as well as the climate in Islamic states and human rights. He noted that 1.2 billion people – one fifth of the world's population – are Muslims, a majority

speak and read English more than Arabic, and there are more Muslims in Sub-Saharan Africa than all of the Middle East.

"It is important to understand the reality and extreme diversity of Islam so as not to ostracize or demonize Muslims from the world stage," said An-Na'im, a Muslim from Sudan. "Islam is not a new phenomenon as Christianity is not a new phenomenon in the world."

At Emory since 1995, An-Na'im has directed a series of multi-year, international research projects funded by the Ford Foundation on women and land rights in Africa, a 40-nation study of Islamic family law involving hundreds of scholars, and a new human rights and Islam fellowship program. In his role as a senior fellow for Emory's new Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Religion, An-Na'im is taking on major explorations of Islamic family law.

The diversity of Islam was also analyzed by Carrie Wickham, associate professor of political science, who discussed mainstream Islamic resistance movements. She is teaching a new seminar this semester on contemporary Islamic politics that will explore the complexity and diversity of Muslim countries. Her first book, "Mobilizing Islam: Religion, Activism and Political Change in Egypt," will be published in October by Columbia University Press.

"As a political force, the militant, puritanical wing has received much of the attention, but that distorts the picture of Islamic political thought as a whole," Wickham said. "The moderate Islamic movements are primarily reformist and reject the use of violence to achieve goals. They attract many Muslims, especially those more educated and moderate, because they see Islamic movements as the only force, and the only means, to address the problems in their countries as advocates of political and social reform."

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