The Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy held two virtual events just before the 9/11 anniversary last week, focusing on the U.S. response to 9/11 and how it reshaped the law of war and counterterrorism.

On September 9, John Bellinger, Partner, Arnold and Porter, and former Legal Adviser to the U.S. State Department and Tess Bridgeman, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Just Security, and former Deputy Legal Adviser to the White House National Security Council, joined Professor Deborah Pearlstein, co-director of The Floersheimer Center, for a conversation about the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war, marking the end of an era of conflict that saw dramatic challenges to and developments in international law.

The following day, Professor Pearlstein moderated another discussion as Cardozo hosted senior international legal counsel to Presidents Bush and Obama to discuss how the war and U.S. actions post-9/11 shaped the development of international law; the legal issues arising at war’s end; and the role of international law in shaping ongoing U.S. counterterrorism operations in the years ahead. Panelists included Jeh Johnson, Former Sec. of Homeland Security & Gen. Counsel, DOD; Elisa Massimino, Former Pres. & CEO of Human Rights First; Alberto Mora, Former Navy Gen. Counsel; and Ben Powell, Former Gen. Counsel to the Director of National Intelligence.

Professor Pearlstein said regarding the September 10 event, "The event gave us an extraordinary opportunity to hear firsthand what a central role lawyers played – for better and worse – in shaping the U.S. response to the attacks of 9/11."

Click here to watch the recording of the event in full.