Drones in the Middle East: their legal, moral and political implications to be discussed tonight at the UB Law School

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The timely and controversial subject of the United States’ drone policy in the Middle East will be debated and explored at a public program to be held at the University at Buffalo Law School at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25, in 107 O’Brian Hall on UB’s North Campus.

The program, “U.S. Drone Policy in the Middle East: the Legal, Moral and Political Implications,” is sponsored by the Law School’s Buffalo Human Rights Center and the Federalist Society.

Capt. Glenn Sulmasy, dean and professor of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, will discuss “Foreign Affairs in Chaos: The Mideast, ISIS and Drones.” Following Sulmasy’s presentation will be commentary by Christopher Rogers, program officer for the Regional Policy Initiative on Afghanistan and Pakistan of the Open Society Foundations, who will give his perspective on the civilian and humanitarian consequences of U.S. drone policy in the Middle East.

Students in the Law School’s Federalist Society organized and co-sponsored the event with the Buffalo Human Rights Center to draw students’ attention to a widely debated issue that has played out on television screens for the past several years, says Kathryn Hartnett, president of the Law School’s Federalist Society.

“With tensions in the Middle East escalating daily, members of both organizations felt it was important for students to hear from foreign policy experts,” Hartnett says, “not only about what is going on in the Mideast, but about the legal and moral implications that the actions of the United States and its allies play in the ‘War on Terror.’

“Allowing Capt. Sulmasy and Christopher Rogers to have a conversation about the use of drone strikes in military operations and to provide differing perspectives will challenge students and audience members to think,” she says, “not only of national security concerns, but the effects that such operations have on the human rights of civilian populations caught in the crossfire.”

UB Law School Professor Tara J. Melish, director of the Buffalo Human Rights Center, will moderate the discussion.

Organizers will provide a light dinner.  The program is free, and the public is welcome.

For more information, email Kathryn Hartnett at kfhartne@buffalo.edu.