Middle East

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Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, Donald Trump, Egypt, Egypt, Germany, History, International Law, International Trade, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, targeted killings, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United Nations, use of force, vision of peace, Vladimir Putin, war crimes October 27, 2019

Without International Law, “anarchy is loosed upon the world.”

The Second Coming (published 1921) Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;…

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authoritarian regimes, China, coverage of foreign events, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, Deutschland, Dictatorship, Dimming Vision of World Affairs, Donald Trump, Egypt, Egypt, Ethiopia, foreign correspondents, Germany, History, International Law, North Korea, nuclear war, Qatar, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, self-defense, Soviet Union, Spain, syria, U.N. Charter, U.S. Congress, UAE, Ukraine, united arab emirates, United Nations, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes August 11, 2019

Foreign policy without International Law

Since the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and the foundational writings of Hugo Grotius, nations have paid attention to international law in…

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Crimea, Czechoslovakia, Deutschland, Donald Trump, Germany, History, International Law, Qatar, Qatar, Rule of Law, Russia, sanctions, Saudi Arabia, Soviet Union, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Intervention, united arab emirates, United Nations, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin August 21, 2018

50 Years Ago: The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, and its enduring significance

See “August 20, 1968 — “Dubček, Svoboda!” The Trenchant Observer, August 10, 2010. 50 years ago, the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies invaded…

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Angola, China, Crimes Against Humanity, Egypt, Egypt, International Law, Iran, Lebanon, Russia, syria, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. news coverage, United States, Venezuela, war crimes December 6, 2016

Dénouement: Details on make-up and advances of pro-Assad forces closing in on last insurgents in Aleppo; Russia and China veto Security Council resolution

Extraordinary details regarding the composition of pro-government forces supporting Bashar al-Assad and their advances in Aleppo are contained in the following article published in Le…

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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 October 18, 2016

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

Developing Appeasement has many colors and takes many forms. In the last few days, it has taken the form in Europe of shifting the focus…

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Barack Obama, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, History, human rights, International Law, Middle East, Russia, Saudi Arabia, State Department, syria, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes February 10, 2016

Syria: Aleppo and the shame of the world

For background, see (1) Roger Cohen, “America’s Syrian Shame,” The New York Times, February 8, 2016. (2) David E. Sanger, “Russian Intervention in Syrian War…

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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 January 17, 2016

2016: Fateful time for a conversation about international law

Does any of this matter? Do we care any more about whether one country invades another by military force? Does it matter how we respond?…

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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 December 4, 2015

REPRISE: Crumbling world order: Power politics and international law

First published on September 10, 2015 See Stefan Kornelius, “Putins Machtspiele; Ruhe in der Ukraine, Druck in Syrien. Russlands Präsident sendet rätselhafte Signale. Sucht er…

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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 September 24, 2015

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

See Julia Smirnova, “Die wundersame Rückkehr des Wladimir Putin In der New Yorker UN-Woche drängt Putin ins Zentrum der Weltbühne. Durch die aktive Rolle im…

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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 September 20, 2015

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

See MICHAEL R. GORDON and ERIC SCHMITT, “Russian Buildup in Syria Raises Questions on Role,” New York Times, September 19, 2015. Stefan Braun, Berlin, und…