In March and again in July, Professor Corn took part in two fact-finding visits to Israel with retired generals, admirals, diplomats, and national security advisors from the United States and NATO countries.
During the first visit, organized by the JINSA Hybrid War Task Force, the team held meetings with Israeli political and military officials at both strategic and tactical levels, as well as with representatives of non-governmental and United Nations organizations. They produced a report that provides observations and assessments of the Israeli campaign in Gaza from the viewpoint of U.S. military leaders. Professor Corn’s second visit was as a member of the High-Level Military Group, which included retired generals, admirals, and diplomats from the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, Finland, and the Netherlands. This group also engaged with Israeli political and military officials, including participating in extensive briefings by operational commanders involved in hostilities and humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza. This included meeting with Israeli commanders and troops inside Gaza along the entire border with Egypt, where efforts to discover and destroy the extensive network of infiltration tunnels built by Hamas to traverse that border underground were ongoing. A significant outcome of this visit was submitting an Amicus Curiae brief to the Pretrial Chamber of the International Criminal Court, explaining why the Court should reject the Prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants against the Israeli Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. Professor Corn provided legal expertise for both projects based on his experience as both a practitioner and scholar. This podcast captures many of his views.