Pillar: Weighing Strikes on North Korea, Iran, Pakistan
American Bar Association Section of International Law - Hyatt Regency on Capitol HIll
On the Rim of the Abyss: Military Intervention to Neutralize a Potential Nuclear Threat
Many have wondered whether Taliban or al Qaeda may wrest control of nuclear arsenals from Pakistani forces, whether instability in the isolated and disaffected regime in North Korea will alter the likelihood of its use of nuclear weapons and whether a nascent Iranian nuclear capability will emerge in the context of an aggressive Iranian regime.

This panel will discuss whether international controls exist to prevent nuclear weapons from falling into the wrong hands within a sovereign nation. The experts will discuss whether an obligation or a right to intervene militarily arises and the nature of that intervention. They will discuss what constitutes loss of control by a responsible regime, who is charged with making a determination that such a loss has occurred and based upon what information. They will consider whether there exists a moral or ethical imperative to intervene by conventional military means in order to prevent a takeover of nuclear weapons by rogue elements. They will discuss the scenario of a pre-emptive nuclear strike, and what are the means and legal justifications for either conducting or preventing such an option.

Sponsoring Committees:
National Security Committee, Aerospace and Defense Industries Committee, Asia/Pacific Committee, Export Controls and Economic Sanctions Committee

Co-Sponsor:
ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security

Program Chair:
JOHN H. HARRINGTON
The Law Offices of John H. Harrington, LLC
New York, New York

Program Chair & Moderator:
JONATHAN M. MEYER
Attorney at Law
New York, New York

Speakers:
SEAN MURPHY
The George Washington University Law School
Washington, DC

PAUL R. PILLAR
Paul R. Pillar, Georgetown University Law Center
Washington, DC

HARVEY RISHIKOF
National Defense University
Washington, DC

RUTH WEDGWOOD
SAIS Johns Hopkins University
Washington, DC