Thread by @IAmNickReynolds

Here at the University of South Carolina Law School for a panel on Ukraine featuring alums @LindseyGrahamSC and @RepJoeWilson, along with top instructors at the school.

Relevant updates below. #SCPol

Joel Samuels, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and an expert on international law, calls the invasion of Ukraine by Russia unprecedented in his lifetime.

"There has been an event that is shaken my understanding of the world post World War Two like this invasion."

Saying that this invasion has challenged the natural order of the international legal system.

Called this an "existential threat," to our ability to keep the peace, and raises serious questions about whether we can enforce the laws when broken.

You can watch here by the way.

southcarolinalaw.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/…

Steven Austermiller, of the USC Rule of Law Collaborative, now giving his opening remarks.

Says that there has been work over the last several years in Ukraine to establish and maintain order even in fraught regions that has led to a national cohesion that might surprise Putin.

Graham: "There's two ways to govern the world: the rule of law or the rule of god. And you see the rule of god being applied today. I've seen the consequences of the rule of god."

Says that maintaining the legal infrastructure in Ukraine is vital to avoiding societal collapse.

Cites his experience in the Middle East, and the presence of religious militias there that formed in the wake of widespread distrust in institutions there.

"It is much easier to knock down a building and kill somebody than it is to build up institutions. I've learned that."

Said that the groundwork for the Ukrainian invasion was laid in the 1990s, when the nation surrendered its nuclear arsenal in exchange for sovereignty guarantees from the US, UK, and RUS.

If Russia is allowed to renege on that, what does that say to other major powers?

"China is licking their chops," Graham said.

Called this a "dress rehearsal" for an invasion of Taiwan.

"If you can let Putin get away with this, then the idea of western civilization as we know it will cease to exist."

Reaffirms that he does not support a no-fly zone over Ukraine yet, but would if Russia employs chemical weapons. foxnews.com/politics/graha…

Said there is clear course for the international community to pursue criminal charges against Putin. If they don't, the system is "all talk."

"There is no legal problem. There is a venue we can use," he added. "It's a problem of will."

Reaffirms that Putin has "got to go," and that the only way to create change is to create an environment where change is inevitable. This includes the use of "crushing" sanctions.

"The longer this goes, the more Putin sees cracks in his armor in Russia," he said.

Joe Wilson now making his remarks. Calls this a "worldwide" conflict, drawing the involvement of numerous governments. Has also unified Congress.

"Putin didn't mean to do this, but he got Democrats and Republicans together. I have never seen Congress more unified."

Wilson said he's going to push to get a bust of Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy installed in the U.S. Capitol, along wartime heroes like Winston Churchill and others.

Now taking questions.

"What do we do with Russia beyond this?" one man asks. Says the democracy in Russia more closely resembles the age of the czars. Says they keep sending the same people. (Relevant, given Graham's call for regime change.)

Graham says he has faith in the Russian people, but institutions are weak. Raises Wilson's point about how cell phones changed the nature of discourse, citing the Arab spring.

"I think there's a Russian spring coming. We need to get as much information in there as possible."

On whether regime change could lead to someone worse than Putin taking power.

"I'm willing to take that bet," Graham said.

"The hard part is when these dictatorships fall," said Graham. Cites the fall of Saddam and its implications on Iraq.

"Without force of arms, there is no hope. But victory comes from the follow-up, when institutions are built to withstand the next demagogue."

Says the U.S. needs to be involved "on the ground" in helping to build that infrastructure.

Wilson said there's ample opportunity to. "It's a police state with Starbucks," he said, and an active young population.

"It isn't about identifying the next leader of Russia," says Samuels.

The nation is so large that it is ungovernable, and to-date, only a strongman has been able to control it.

Says we can't be afraid of the "little moments" in building those institutions.

A Ph.D. student whose parents fled the Soviet Union is speaking. Said she has relatives in Ukraine and Russia currently.

Asks about what kind of support they would offer to students here, and whether they would be sent back.

Graham said he doesn't support sending back Russian students. Says closing down corporations like McDonalds or Starbucks aren't symbolic -- they are an effort to reduce quality of life among the populous and turn the Russian people against the oligarchy.

"A lot of the wealth that has been achieved through thievery and intimidation needs to be seized," he said.

That includes freezing the assets of children of these oligarchs in the U.S., forcing them out of the country.

Graham says we need to do "all we can" to provide Ukraine with weapons they can use on the battlefield.

Criticizes the slow-walking of providing MIGs to Ukraine, wants to increase efforts to infuse funds into the Ukrainian economy, and increase provisions like missiles.

Said that economic sanctions in Russia have to be unending.

"20 years of rape, pillage and plunder is enough," he said. " [...] Enough already. If he gets away with this and he's still standing, this will be a sad chapter in the history of Russian civilization."

Also said if China is avoiding sanctions, we need to impose additional sanctions on China.

He also said it was important to let Russian military commanders know that they will be held accountable for war crimes. Indictments will chill intl. travel.

"It's more than symbolic."