As he once put it, “n the great business of settling international controversies without war … essential conditions are reasonableness and good temper, a willingness to recognize facts and to weigh arguments which make against one’s own country as well as those which make for one’s own country.” I couldn’t agree more. And he believed that by educating the American public about international law, the rush to war could be slowed. He saw this organization as a place where the hard issues of the day could be discussed and debated. The first and longest-serving President of the Society, Elihu Root, served as Secretary of War under two Presidents before founding the Society in 1906. The Department of Defense has a long history of engagement with the American Society of International Law. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to speak with you today. Finally, I want to thank all of you – the members of the American Society of International Law assembled here this afternoon – for the warm reception I have received and, more important, for your keen interest in the legal issues affecting the national security of our country. I am grateful, as well, to my colleagues in government, who have contributed to my remarks today in many ways – not least through the wisdom, learning and hard work they have brought to bear in answering the difficult questions we regularly face together. I also want to thank Mark Agrast and Wes Rist, who have done so much to make this event, and my participation in it, possible. And you have done so with an eye to the practical realities faced by the government lawyer, which has made your contributions all the more meaningful. As a leader in ASIL, a professor of international law, and for many years editor of the American Journal of International Law, you have played a central role in shaping our understanding of international law. Thank you, Professor Damrosch, for that kind introduction and for the invitation to be here this afternoon.
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