U.N. Torture Convention

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authoritarian regimes, Biden Administration, Donald Trump, elections, extrajudicial execution, Intelligence, International Law, Joe Biden, Political assassination, Rule of Law, Russia, sanctions, State Department Legal Adviser, U.N. Torture Convention, Vladimir Putin March 1, 2021

Khashoggi assassination: To really sanction MBS, minimize U.S. and allied dealings with him

Now, the U.S. can send a subte message to King Salman and the Saudi Royal family by having minimal contact and interaction with the Crown Prince.

The Saudis can choose whoever they want to be King.  But they should know that Americans will never forget or forgive the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi.

If the Saudis enthrone MBS they are likely to have one kind of relationship with the United States. 8ut if they choose someone else to be King, they could have another kind of relationship.

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"that spark of the divine", Barack Obama, debate over the efficacy of torture, extrajudicial execution, extraordinary rendering, extraordinary rendition, History, human rights, internal supporters of human rights, International Law, Nobel Peace Prize, State Department, State Department Human Rights Country Reports, syria, targeted killings, Torture, U.N. Torture Convention, vision of peace, war crimes

REPRISE: “A time to break silence”: Dr. King on the Vietnam war, and President Carter on America’s human rights violations

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Barack Obama, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, Dictatorship, Donald Trump, European Union, History, human rights, Intelligence, internal supporters of human rights, International Law, NATO, Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, Soviet Union, State Department, syria, Torture, U.N. Charter, U.N. Torture Convention, Ukraine, United States, use of force, vision of peace, Vladimir Putin, war crimes

President-elect Trump, foreign policy, and the defense of core American values

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Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, debate over the efficacy of torture, Deutschland, European Union, France, freedom of speech, genocide, Germany, History, human rights, International Law, Libya, NATO, Russia, Soviet Union, syria, Torture, U.N. Charter, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Torture Convention, U.S. Congress, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin

International Law and the Descent toward Barbarism: MSF —“Wars are being fought as in ‘barbarian times’

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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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"that spark of the divine", Barack Obama, CIA, History, human rights, human rights reports, International Law, Justice Department, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, Torture, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Torture Convention, U.S. Congress, United States, war crimes December 31, 2014

Torture is an issue which defines America as a nation

  We now have the published Executive Suumary of the Senate Select Committee on Inteligence Torture Report. In one of Senator Diane Feinstein’s finest acts…

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"that spark of the divine", Barack Obama, Brazil, CIA, debate over the efficacy of torture, Deutschland, extraordinary rendering, extraordinary rendition, Germany, History, human rights, human rights reports, Intelligence, International Law, Justice Department, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, Torture, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Torture Convention, U.S. Congress, United States, war crimes December 10, 2014

Brazil publishes Truth Commission Report; U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Torture Released; U.S. officials debate whether torture “worked”

Developing — preliminary draft See (1) “Comissão Nacional da Verdade entrega a Dilma relatório final das investigawções; Presidente recebeu em audiência no Palácio do Planalto,…

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Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, Deutschland, Dictatorship, elections, electronic curtain, European Union, extrajudicial execution, France, freedom of speech, Germany, History, human rights, human rights reports, internal supporters of human rights, International Law, NATO, OSCE, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, State Department, State Department Human Rights Country Reports, State Department Legal Adviser, Torture, U.N. Charter, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Security Council, U.N. Torture Convention, Ukraine, United Nations Secretary General, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes November 21, 2014

Human rights abuses by Putin’s puppets: The seventh report of the OHCHR on the human rights situation in the Ukraine (with link to full report)

Draft By launching a war of aggression in the Crimea and the eastern Ukraine, in flagrant violation of Article 2 paragraph 4 of the United…

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Barack Obama, CIA, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, Deutschland, Egypt, European Union, extrajudicial execution, extraordinary rendering, extraordinary rendition, France, Germany, human rights, International Law, Libya, Mossad, NATO, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, State Department, syria, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, Torture, U.N. Charter, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Torture Convention, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes September 16, 2014

Order in the World: Things fall apart

One of the wisest and most-experieced journalists reporting on foreign policy, Roger Cohen, who writes an Op-Ed column for the New York Times, has published…

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Barack Obama, CIA, debate over the efficacy of torture, human rights, Intelligence, International Law, Justice Department, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, Torture, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Torture Convention, United States, war crimes August 1, 2014

Obama: “We tortured some folks…It’s important for us not to feel too sanctimonious in retrospect about the tough job that those folks had. And a lot of those folks (our law enforcement and our national security teams) were working hard under enormous pressure and are real patriots.” (full transcript)

Developing Excerpt from President Barack Obama’s press conference today, Fiday, August 1, 2014: Q What about John Brennan? … THE PRESIDENT: On Brennan and the…

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Barack Obama, CIA, debate over the efficacy of torture, extrajudicial execution, extraordinary rendering, extraordinary rendition, human rights, Intelligence, International Law, Justice Department, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, Torture, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Torture Convention, U.S. Congress, United States March 13, 2014

The qualities that are needed in a new CIA Director, Part I (with video links to Feinstein Senate speech and Brennan rebuttal)

(Developing story–check back for updates over the next few days) John Brennan’s battle with the Senate Intelligence Committee over the Torture Report Given his past…

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Barack Obama, CIA, extraordinary rendering, extraordinary rendition, human rights, Intelligence, International Law, Justice Department, Torture, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Torture Convention, U.S. Congress, United States March 12, 2014

On floor of Senate, Senator Feinstein speaks of grave constitutional violations by CIA (with video link)

(Developing) See: Corine Lesnes (Washington), “Menacée par un rapport sur la torture, la CIA soupçonnée de piratage du Sénat américain, Le Monde, 12 mars 2012…

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Barack Obama, CIA, Deutschland, France, Germany, International Law, Justice Department, NATO, NSA, Russia, sanctions, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.N. Torture Convention, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, use of force March 7, 2014

Western diplomats stumble in the Ukraine—-Stop telephone diplomacy, let Germany lead, and publish serious international law memoranda

Updated March 7, 2014 Western leaders have made three major blunders since the Russian military takeover of the Crimea first began on or around February…