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Events
Andrew Light Speaker Tour in Europe May 14, 2013 / Berlin, Germany; Brussels, BelgiumGMF Senior Fellow Andrew Light participated in a speaking tour in Europe to discuss opportunities for transatlantic cooperation on climate and energy policy in the second Obama administration.
In this podcast, GMF Vice President of Programs Ivan Vejvoda discusses last month's historic agreement to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
Anchor Elaine Reyes speaks with Andrew Small, Transatlantic Fellow of the Asia Program for the German Marshall Fund, about Beijing's potential role in brokering peace between Israel and Palestine
Events
U.S. Attorney General discusses the Rule of Law in the War on Terror October 25, 2006 / Berlin
On October 25, GMF Berlin, together with the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, hosted a major policy speech by U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales on "The Rule of Law in the War on Terror." Gonzales, in his first visit ever to Germany, delivered a 30-minute address to an audience of 160 high-ranking policymakers, legislators, and journalists, and took questions for another 20 minutes in the Atrium of Deutsche Bank.
In his address, Attorney General Gonzales stated that the purpose of this visit was to "have a dialogue with the people of Germany about our efforts in the war on terror." Gonzales said, "We consider the German government (and) the German people as friends and allies of America." Yet while America and Germany face "similar challenges," he said, "there are differences in tactics." Gonzales explained that America's response to terrorism remains "fundamentally shaped" by the 9/11 attacks: "For those of us who work at the United States Department of Justice, every day is September 12, 2001," he said. He added that Al-Qaeda is "in a state of armed conflict with the United States and, I would submit to you, with its allies," and pointed out that the U.S.-led invasion of the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan in 2002 was a "clear recognition of that state of armed conflict." Gonzales said that a "fundamental disagreement" between the United States and its European allies remains on "whether we are still at war." Yet, while the U.S. does believe itself at war, "that does not mean the rule of law has no place." Rather, it means "that a different set of rules is applicable."
Gonzales proceeded to deliver an extended explanation and defence of the new U.S. Military Commissions Act, as signed by President Bush on October 17. He pointed out that the U.S. has transferred "approximately 340" individuals from Guantanamo in the process of determining their enemy combatant status, and remarked that the "U.S. has received little help from our European allies" regarding the repatriation of European citizens detained in the prison. The Attorney General also rejected criticism of the Act's restrictions on habeas corpus (a right, he said, never extended to alien combatants captured outside U.S. territory under U.S. constitutional law). He emphasized that the Act "plainly and unequivocally bars all evidence collected through torture." The Attorney General ended his remarks with an appeal to "trust and understanding" between America and Germany, saying, "I am sure there are lessons we can learn from you. And I hope in our discussions that you may find that there are some things that you may learn from us as well."
(Photo compliments of John Self, U.S. Embassy Berlin)
