National Security Forum
Pursuing the Balance Between Safety and Liberty
William Mitchell College of Law
National Security Forum
Pursuing the Balance Between Safety and Liberty
Author of Black Hawk Down:
A Story of Modern War
Special Agent in Charge, ICE/DHS
Associate Professor of Law
Wake Forest UniversityLaw School
Professor of Law, Washington University in St. Louis
Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Minnesota
Acting Director, Law and Security Program at Human Rights First
Movie Critic, Star Tribune
Former NSC deputy legal advisor
Former Operations Officer, CIA
Professor, Armstrong University
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and U.S. District Court
Associate Professor of Law,
St. Thomas School of Law;
former staffer at the Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice
Professor of Law, Vermont Law School
Chief economist, American Petroleum Institute
Director of the Minnesota Office of Energy Security
Correspondent, NPR
Journalist, Wall Street Journal
ASAC, FBI Minneapolis
Professor, The S. J. Quinney College of Law
Homeland Security and Justice Department Correspondent, McClatchy Newspapers
Science policy director, Fresh Energy
Attorney, Best & Flanagan
Former U. S. Attorney
Lecturer (Diplomat in Residence)
of Public and International Affairs
at Princeton University;
Former Inspector General of the CIA
Counterterrorism Office,
U. S. State Department;
former senior staffer for
the 9/11 Commission
Former U. S. Attorney
Partner, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi
Professor of Law, University of Minnesota
Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals and former clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger ’31
Professor of Law
Georgetown University Law Center
Former Chief Legal Counsel,
CIA Latin America Division
Former Deputy Legal Counsel,
CIA Counterterrorist Center
Retired Officer,
CIA Senior Intelligence Service
Intelligence Correspondent,
National Public Radio
Professor of Law, Creighton University School of Law
Co-director, Institute for the Analysis of Global Security and chair of the Set America Free Coalition
Lead Defense Counsel in
U.S. v. Zacarias Moussaoui
Professor, The S. J. Quinney College of Law
Retired officer from the CIA
Staff Writer Covering Politics,
The New Yorker
Journalist, New York Times
Fellow, New America Foundation
Former Vice President
Walter L. Brown Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law
Professor of Law, Texas Tech University School of Law
Islamic Studies Professor,
George Washington University
Professor of Law, University of Minnesota
FBI Minneapolis Agent-in-Charge;
Joint Terrorism Task Force
Professor, Lewis and Clark Law School
Journalist, Washington Post
FBI Special Agent
In charge of Robert Hanssen investigation
Professor, LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center
Professor, Pacific McGeorge School of Law
U.S. District Court, Detroit
National security correspondent in Washington, D.C., Star Tribune
United States District Court
Intelligence and National Security Reporter, New York Times
Professor, Duke University School of Law
Professor, Pacific McGeorge School of Law
Church Committee investigator
Lead Prosecutor in
U.S. v. Zacarias Moussaoui
FBI Special Agent in Charge
for Minnesota
U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Ninth Circuit
U.S. District Court, Minneapolis
Associate Professor of Law
American University Law School
Author, Kafka Comes to America
Professor of Law
University of Iowa Law School
Balancing safety and liberty is a constant challenge in the United States and elsewhere. Meanwhile, the dialogue about that issue is in constant transition. These archived summaries of past National Security Forum events and seminars reflect this dialogue among legal professionals and students, members of the law enforcement and intelligence communities, the media, and the public at large.
The National Security Forum sponsored a panel discussion among the nation’s top intelligence reporters at Minnesota Public Radio’s UBS Auditorium. Speakers included Siobhan Gorman from The Wall Street Journal, Mark Mazzetti of The New York Times, and Walter Pincus of The Washington Post. The event was moderated by “Midday” host Kerri Miller.
The National Security Forum held a retreat for many leading legal scholars who study terrorism, international crime, and national security. The group included professors from Washington University in St. Louis, Vermont Law School, and S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. Speakers included Chief Judge Michael J. Davis, FBI Agent Tim Gossfeld, and Los Angeles Times national security correspondent Greg Miller.
Radsan and Amos N. Guiora, a professor of law at the University of Utah and a former legal adviser to the Israeli Defense Forces, debate Fionnuala D. Ni Aolain, a professor of law at the University of Minnesota and a counterterrorism expert; Deborah Colson, acting director of the law and security program at Human Rights First; and Eric S. Janus, president and dean of William Mitchell and an expert on preventive detention; about whether or not the criminal justice system can handle all terrorism cases.
Radsan interviews Tom Gjelten, a correspondent for National Public Radio, about what it’s like covering the CIA, what people need to know about the state of the media, and the differences between Washington, D.C., and Minnesota, which is where Gjelten was raised.
Wax and Radsan debate how far Obama’s counterterrorism policies will differ and should differ from Bush policies. Topics include extraordinary rendition, Predator strikes, aggressive interrogations, and electronic surveillance.
Former U. S. Attorneys Tom Heffelfinger and Todd Jones outlined their predictions for the Justice Department and its priorities under President-Elect Barack Obama. Moderated by the Honorable James Rosenbaum, United States District Court in Minneapolis.
National Security Forum Director and William Mitchell Professor A. John Radsan moderated a discussion on how countries deter, detain, interrogate, and try terrorists. Panelists: Amos Guiora, Univ. of Utah SJ Quinney School of Law, on Israel; Mitchell Professor Jay Krishnan on India; and Radsan on Spain.
A panel of experts explored these issues at a Public Insight Forum April 17 on Energy Security and National Security: Making the Connection hosted by the National Security Forum and Regulatory Law Lecture at William Mitchell, in conjunction with Minnesota Public Radio.
As U.S. Senator, Mondale served in 1975 on the Church Committee, which investigated abuses by U.S. intelligence agencies. He was also chairman of the Senate’s Intelligence Committee´s Domestic Task Force.
Britt Snider was an investigator on the U.S. Senate committee that looked into intelligence agency abuses by the Nixon Administration. The Church Committee found telecommunications companies provided their overseas traffic to the NSA.
Special guest speaker FBI Special Agent Stefan A. Pluta was in charge of the investigation into Robert Hanssen, a double agent for the Russians from 1985-2001. Hanssen was arrested in 2001, and in 2002 was sentenced to life in prison.
Six years after 9-11, national security issues permeate society. Five national security experts discuss executive branch powers, civil liberties, the new Directorate of National Intelligence, and amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Are Islam and Judeo-Christianity doomed to conflict or is there room for conversation? A National Security Forum and The UBS Forum at Minnesota Public Radio discussion, broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio.
What’s the secret to good spy movies? How do they differ from other films? Why do spies fascinate Hollywood – and vice versa? Has the CIA gone Hollywood?
The collision between the First Amendment and executive powers.
Should those who expose secrets be protected or prosecuted?
Trial lawyers, investigators, and reporters who worked on the Zacarias Moussaoui case discuss the complexities of trying terrorists in federal court.
Frederick Hitz, former CIA inspector general, Christopher O'Leary, FBI Minneapolis agent-in-charge, and Judge Michael Davis, U.S. District Court, give their perspectives on what counter-terrorism tactics are acceptable in a democracy.
Michael Hurley, former senior counsel on the 9/11 Commission and now with the Counterterrorism Office, U.S. State Department, discusses the 9/11 Commission’s final report and what we can learn from it.
Robert Delahunty, former staffer at the Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Department and a professor at St. Thomas School of Law, examines measures a president can take to protect national security.
Federal District Judges Gerald Rosen, Detroit, and John Tunheim, Minneapolis, and James Rosen, national security correspondent for the Star Tribune, speak on whether we can trust the courts with classified information.
Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War tells of the operation in Mogadishu that left 18 American soldiers dead and many more wounded and how it affected American foreign policy in Somalia.
William McNair, retired CIA officer, and Professors Neal Katyal, Georgetown University Law Center, and John Norton Moore, University of Virginia School of Law, explore the legality of “War on Terror” interrogation tactics.