The collective efforts of those affected by the bombing of Pan Am 103 on Dec. 21,
1988, drastically changed the way the United States handles victim compensation.
The lessons learned in tort litigation, foreign relations, government regulation and
media coverage are all part of the legacy of the Lockerbie tragedy.
In a discussion, "Pan Am 103: Lessons Since Lockerbie," a distinguished panel of
guests will walk the audience through those lessons. The panel discussion will be held
on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 4 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium; it is free and open to the
public with parking available in the SU pay lots. The discussion will be moderated by
William Banks, professor of law and director of the Institute for National Security
and Counterterrorism (INSCT), and is part of Syracuse University's commemoration
of the 20th anniversary of the tragedy.
The panelists will include: James Kreindler, a member of the Plaintiffs' Committee in
the Pan Am 103 families' suit against Libya; Jonathan Dienst, an Emmy-award
winning reporter who covers justice and law enforcement issues for News 4 New
York on subjects like terrorism, white-collar cases and political corruption; Mark
Zaid, an attorney who specializes in litigation and lobbying matters relating to
national security, federal employment, foreign sovereign and diplomatic immunity,
international torts and crimes, international transactions, the Constitution, and the
Freedom of Information/Privacy Act; Steve Perles, an attorney whose practice has
included Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act litigation involving claims against or in
defense of foreign governments before U.S. federal courts and administrative
agencies; and Robert Monetti, former president of the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103
Inc. and VPAF103 representative to the FAA Aviation Security Advisory
Committee. Monetti's son, Richard, then a 20- year-old SU student, was one of the
270 victims of the Pan Am Flight 103 Lockerbie disaster.
The panel is sponsored by the Syracuse University Pan Am 103 20th Anniversary
Commemoration Committee, the Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics and
the Media, INSCT, Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs, the Campbell Public Affairs
Institute and the Student Association on Terrorism and Security Analysis (SATSA).
For more information on the panel discussion, call Kelly Rodoski at 443-3784.
