Foreword

• Author: Jacob L. Shuford
• Position: Rear Admiral, US Navy, President, Naval War College
• Pages: ix-ix

Foreword

The International Law Studies "Blue Book" series was initiated by the Naval

War College in 1901 to publish essays, treatises and articles that contribute

to the broader understanding of international law. This, the eighty-third volume of

the series, contains the proceedings from ascholarly conference entitled Global

Legal Challenges: Command of the Commons, Strategic Communications and Natu-

ral Disasters, hosted here at the Naval War College on June 28-30, 2006.

The conference's mission was to examine legal standards (or lack thereof) applicable

to these challenges and to identify common themes that could guide those responsible for

addressing these challenges in the future. By initiating adialogue between the responsi-

ble government officials (military and civilian) and the legal personnel who advise

them, the conference developed anumber of practical suggestions in the form of les-

sons learned. One striking aspect of these lessons is that, though the panels dealt with

apparently diverse topics, the solutions have many common threads and characteris-

tics. In the truly "global" world in which we live, the challenges must be addressed by

solutions that are equally global, coordinated and consistent across the board.

Renowned international scholars and practitioners, both military and civilian,

representing government, non-government and academic institutions from

throughout the world participated in the event. The conference and this "Blue

Book" were cosponsored by the Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict and

the Roger Williams University School of Law, Bristol, Rhode Island, with generous

support from the Naval War College Foundation and the Israel Yearbook on Human

Rights. The International Law Department of the Center for Naval Warfare

Studies, United States Naval War College, hosted the conference.

On behalf of the Secretary of the Navy, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the

Commandant of the Marine Corps, Iextend to all the cosponsors and supporters, the

participants and the contributing authors, our thanks and gratitude for their invalu-

able contributions to this project and to the better understanding of the complex le-

gal issues involved in meeting and responding to future global operational challenges.

JACOB L. SHUFORD

Rear Admiral, US Navy

President, Naval War College