United States

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Barack Obama, extraordinary rendition, Germany, History, International Law, Nobel Lecture, Nobel Peace Prize, Oslo, self-defense, State Department Legal Adviser, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, U.N. Charter, U.S. Military, United States, use of force, vision of peace November 11, 2019

REPRISE (2019) — Veterans’ Day, 2011: “Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?”

Originally published on November 11, 2011 My uncle died in a field in northern France with a German bullet in his head. To him, and…

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authoritarian regimes, Donald Trump, elections, International Law, Latin America, Rule of Law, Russia, Soviet Union, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, United States, use of force, Venezuela, Venezuela January 25, 2019

Trump Steers Dangerous Course in Venezuela

Developing (uncorrected draft)   Donald Trump has set the United States on a dangerous course in its policy toward Venezuela. The Trump administration seems to…

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authoritarian regimes, Crimea, Dictatorship, Donald Trump, freedom of speech, human rights, International Law, Iran, Lebanon, Nuclear Proliferation, nuclear war, Russia, sanctions, Saudi Arabia, syria, Taliban, Trump and Putin, U.S. Congress, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Venezuela, Vladimir Putin December 26, 2018

Keeping Track of Trump’s Foreign Policy: From the Kerch Strait to Russian sanctions, Khashoggi, Syria, and Afghanistan

U.S. foreign policy under the direction of a malevolent simpleton The great challenge facing observers and critics of U.S. foreign policy is to keep track…

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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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Crimea, Donald Trump, European Union, International Law, Russia, sanctions, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, Trump and Putin, Trump-Putin meeting, U.N. Charter, U.S. Congress, U.S. Constitution, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin July 25, 2018

Text of Crimea Declaration and Pompeo Testimony: U.S. finally states it will never recognize Russian annexation of Crimea

First Hints of Congressional Oversight Produce Significant Shift in U.S. Policy Towards Russia The Senate is to hold a series of hearings on different aspects…

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"that spark of the divine", CIA, debate over the efficacy of torture, Donald Trump, extraordinary rendering, extraordinary rendition, human rights, human rights reports, Rule of Law, Torture, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Torture Convention, U.S. Congress, United States, war crimes April 22, 2018

CIA nominee is presumptive war criminal; multiple reasons to reject Haspel nomination

Developing–preliminary draft We have grown tired under Donald Trump’s relentless assault on our democratic values and the rule of law.  With no responsible officials at…

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"that spark of the divine", Donald Trump, FBI, Google, Google filtering, Google indexing, Intelligence, Justice Department, Philippines, propaganda, Russia, sanctions, State Department, State Department Human Rights Country Reports, U.S. Congress, U.S. news coverage, United States, Vladimir Putin February 5, 2018

Americans Are Lost in the Weeds, and Google Doesn’t Help

Continuing Google Censorship Google continues to censor The Trenchant Observer, not displaying search results on hot topics such as the Christopher Steele Dossier. In fact,…