Durham, N.C. - During a two-day conference titled "Strategies for the War on Terrorism: Taking Stock," experts from government, academia and many other disciplines will examine the interrogation of terrorists and other timely issues related to fighting terrorism worldwide.

The entire conference, April 7 and 8 at Duke University, is open to the media. The public is welcome to attend any of the conference's panel sessions, which are free of charge and will be held in Geneen Auditorium in the Fuqua School of Business. The public is also invited to attend the meal presentations, in the R. David Thomas Center, but there is a charge. 

Keynote speakers include U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., who will talk about her legislative proposal to regulate how the government conducts interrogation; Nabil Fahmy, Egypt's ambassador to the United States, who will address how the Arab world views the United States and its policies on the global war on terrorism; and James Pavitt, the former director of operations for the CIA, who will discuss the current terrorist threat facing the United States.

The conference is sponsored by Duke Law School's Center on Law, Ethics and National Security (LENS) and Program in Public Law, and co-sponsored by Duke University's Sanford Institute for Public Policy and Kenan Institute for Ethics, as well as the Triangle Institute for Security Studies.

Experts from a broad spectrum of disciplines will take a comprehensive look at how the Bush administration has approached different aspects of the war on terrorism in its second term, said Duke law professor and LENS Director Scott Silliman, the principal organizer of the conference.

"Although we are obviously still continuing to deal with the insurrection in Iraq, the larger issue facing the country and the international community is the global war on terrorism, which extends far beyond Iraq," Silliman said.

The conference will begin with a panel discussion on the definition and causes of terrorism. All scheduled panelists are experts on radical Islam.

"Terrorism is not a thing in and of itself, but rather it's a tactic used by a person or group to achieve a particular purpose," said Silliman, who served as senior Air Force attorney for Tactical Air Command during the Persian Gulf War. "What forces prompt the use of that tactic? That's what we hope to learn from this first panel and the rest of the conference will build upon this foundational dialogue."

A panel on key policy challenges will examine how the government's approach to the war on terrorism may be affecting the standing of the United States within the international community.

Other panels will look at the debate regarding the "sunset" provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, which will come before Congress in the current legislative session, and the workings of the military commissions authorized by the president to prosecute "enemy combatants" held at Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba. Those commissions are now on hold following a November 2004 ruling by a federal district court judge in Washington, D.C., who said the president could not unilaterally determine that the detainees at Guantanamo Bay are not prisoners of war. The case will be heard on appeal while the conference is in session.

"Interrogating Terrorists: The Torture Debate" will deal directly with one of the most controversial issues in the war on terrorism: Can the president suspend our obligations under international law when he believes it necessary to get information which might, conceivably, thwart a terrorist attack?

"Virtually every day we hear of another allegation of abuse by American officials in interrogation or detention, or instances of what is referred to as 'extraordinary rendition,' in which the United States transports people to other countries where they are subjected to coercive techniques which we could not do in this country," Silliman said.

People who want to attend the conference are asked to register in advance. For the full conference agenda and registration information, visit here.