Iraq

Crimea, Deutschland, Donald Trump, Germany, History, International Law, Iraq, Nuclear Proliferation, Russia, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United Nations, use of force, vision of peace, Vladimir Putin March 8, 2020

The forgotten dream of ending war

Those who have known war are sometimes its fiercest opponents. Last night I watched a movie, Butterfly (i Girasoli) starring Sofia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni, directed…

Donald Trump, extrajudicial execution, foreign news coverage, human rights, Intelligence, International Law, Iran, Iraq, Middle East, Rule of Law, self-defense, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Congress, U.S. Constitution, use of force, war crimes

International Law and the targeted killing of Qasem Soleimani

Donald Trump, Iraq, Saudi Arabia

Jamal Khashoggi: The value and cost of one human life

Barack Obama, China, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, France, Germany, human rights, International Law, Iraq, Russia, sanctions, State Department, syria, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes

Watch the ball move: Obama moves attention to Mosul, distracting from abject appeasement by Merkel, EU, and U.S. in response to ongoing Russian war crimes in Aleppo and Syria

Barack Obama, CIA, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, European Union, extrajudicial execution, extraordinary rendering, extraordinary rendition, International Law, Iraq, NATO, Nicaragua, Russia, Serbia, Soviet Union, syria, U.N. Charter, U.N. Torture Convention, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes

2016: Fateful time for a conversation about international law

Barack Obama, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, European Union, Google indexing, History, human rights, International Law, Iraq, NATO, nuclear war, Russia, sanctions, syria, U.N. Charter, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes

REPRISE: Crumbling world order: Power politics and international law

Barack Obama, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, Deutschland, Egypt, France, Germany, History, International Law, Iran, Iraq, Middle East, NATO, Russia, sanctions, syria, U.N. Charter, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes

Obama-Putin meeting at UN: The resurgence of pacifism and appeasement toward Putin and Russia in Europe and the U.S.

CIA, History, human rights, Intelligence, Iraq, Middle East, Russia, syria, U.S. Congress, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, United States, use of force

David Petraeus offers clear policy suggestions on Syria and Iraq in testimony before Senate Armed Services Committee (video and transcript)

Barack Obama, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, History, human rights, International Law, Iraq, Russia, syria, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes

Kerry and Obama’s strategy on Syria: Work through the Russians and thow a “Hail Mary” pass on negotiations

Barack Obama, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, History, human rights, Iran, Iraq, Middle East, nuclear war, Russia, syria, U.S. Congress, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes September 18, 2015

Russia and the U.S. flying missions in Syrian airspace — Failed U.S. Policies lead to dangerous situation as Russia makes strategic military move into Syria

Developing See Louis Imbert (avec Reuters), “Etats-Unis et Russie évoquent la présence de leurs avions respectifs dans le ciel Syrien,” Le Monde le 19 Septembre…

Barack Obama, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, Egypt, Egypt, European Union, extrajudicial execution, Germany, History, human rights, International Law, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Libya, Middle East, NATO, Nobel Peace Prize, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, Taliban, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes September 10, 2015

Crumbling world order: Power politics and international law—the way forward

See Stefan Kornelius, “Putins Machtspiele; Ruhe in der Ukraine, Druck in Syrien. Russlands Präsident sendet rätselhafte Signale. Sucht er einen Weg aus der Isolation? Oder…

Africa, Barack Obama, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, Dictatorship, Egypt, Egypt, Ethiopia, History, human rights, internal supporters of human rights, International Law, Iran, Iraq, Russia, sanctions, Somalia, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, U.N. Charter, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes July 31, 2015

The cold-blooded REALPOLITIK of the American president: Obama’s intellectual calculations in foreign policy, and his heart as cold as stone

Developing Obama seems to have opposed stronger action in Syria and in opposing Russian aggression in the Ukraine out of some demented belief that he…

Afghanistan, CIA, Culture and Communication, electronic curtain, foreign news coverage, freedom of speech, History, human rights, Intelligence, International Law, Iraq, NSA, public diplomacy, religious belief, State Department, syria, Taliban, targeted killings, television, Torture, U.N. Charter, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, U.S. news coverage, United States, use of force June 12, 2015

The missing elements in the war against ISIS — Taking down their websites and engaging in robust public diplomacy

UPDATE June 23, 2015 Europe is setting up a special police unit to monitor jihadist sites and content, andd to remove it. See Richard Spencer,…

Barack Obama, coverage of foreign events, Deutschland, Egypt, International Law, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, Nuclear Proliferation, nuclear war, Qatar, religious belief, Russia, Saudi Arabia, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, Turkey, U.N. Charter, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, Ukraine, united arab emirates, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes March 27, 2015

U.S. strategy and leadership needed: The Middle East and other countries hurtle into the Vortex

On some days, the news is so disturbing that you want to take a broader view of what is going on in a region, or…

Afghanistan, Barack Obama, European Union, extrajudicial execution, extraordinary rendering, extraordinary rendition, France, human rights, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, religious belief, Russia, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, Torture, Turkey, U.N. Convention Against Torture, Ukraine, United States, Vladimir Putin January 8, 2015

Civilization falters, as Russian aggression stands and Islamic terrorism explodes

The Charlie Hebdo massacre by Islamic extremists on January 7 underlines the failure of the West and other civilized countries to win the struggle in…

"that spark of the divine", Barack Obama, Culture and Communication, France, freedom of speech, human rights, Iraq, syria, Torture, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, United States, use of force, war crimes January 8, 2015

The Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, and the torture trail leading to Abu Gharib

See ANDREW HIGGINS and MAÏA de la BAUME, “Two Brothers Suspected in Killings Were Known to French Intelligence Services,” New York Times, January 8, 2015….

Crimea, Guinea, human rights, International Law, Iraq, Liberia, Middle East, Russia, sanctions, syria, U.N. Charter, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin October 13, 2014

Three imperious challenges for U.S. foreign policy: Ukraine, ISIS and Ebola

While the United States has finally, and belatedly, begun military actions in Iraq and Syria to slow the advance of ISIS forces, the country is…

Barack Obama, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, Deutschland, Dictatorship, Ebola, European Union, France, Germany, human rights, International Law, Iraq, Justice Department, Middle East, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, State Department, syria, Turkey, U.N. Charter, U.S Foreign Relations, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes October 11, 2014

A rudderless U.S. foreign policy: Obama flounders in dealing with the Ukraine, ISIS, and Ebola

Draft While the United States has finally, and belatedly, begun military actions in Iraq and Syria to slow the advance of ISIS forces, the country…

Barack Obama, Crimea, Deutschland, European Union, France, Germany, International Law, Iraq, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes September 14, 2014

The Russia-Ukraine War: Putin, cunning judo master, versus Obama, NATO, and EU, conflicted and confused; Protagonists continue battle for Ukraine and vision of world order

Developing Russian President Vladimir Putin, a cunning and brilliant tactician who has now taken on the entire international legal and political order through his invasions…

Crimes Against Humanity, freedom of speech, History, human rights, internal supporters of human rights, International Law, Iraq, syria, U.N. Charter, war crimes August 15, 2014

The Vatican calls on Muslim leaders to condemn violence by jihadists in “the Islamic State”

The Vatical has called on Muslim religious leaders to denounce the crimes committed by the juhaddist so-called “Islamic State” (formerly known as ISIS) See: (1…

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The Trenchant Observer

International Law, Politics, and Security