"The Rumsfeld Memo and the Betrayal of American Values" Philippe Sands Professor of International Law University College London Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes international lawyer Philippe Sands for a discussion of Bush administration policies regarding international law. Sands analyzes the evolution of international law from the Atlantic Charter to the present. Drawing on research in his two books, "Lawless World," and "Torture Team: Rumsfeld's Memo and the Betrayal of American Values," Sands discusses the neo-conservative ideology and practice toward international law. He details the role of a cadre of senior lawyers in the Bush administration who disregarded international law and facilitated the implementation of a torture regime at Guantanamo. In tracing the path of the notorious Rumsfeld memo which approved 18 methods of interrogation of detainees, Sands offers a chilling indictment of the practices and processes of the Bush Administration as it waged its war on terror. He concludes that war crimes may have been committed after 911 and that key players in the administration were guilty of violating the Geneva Conventions and the Torture Treaty and are subject to charges not only in the court of world opinion but also in tribunals invoking universal jurisdiction. http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/iis/Kreisler.html http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/conversations/

David Sheff is the author of Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction, a New York Times #1 bestseller. It was named Best Nonfiction Book of 2008 by Entertainment Weekly and won the 2009 Barnes and Noble Discover Award. In 2009, Sheff was named to Time Magazine's list of the world's most influential people. He has written for the New York Times, Playboy, and Wired, among others. His books include Game Over, China Dawn, and All We Are Saying. http://storyhour.berkeley.edu/ http://www.davidsheff.com/