war crimes

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Barack Obama, Crimes Against Humanity, European Union, International Law, Iran, Lebanon, Russia, sanctions, State Department, syria, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Congress, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes September 22, 2016

Reasoning from conclusions: Blind hope as the basis for U.S. foreign policy in Syria

Developing See Karen DeYoung, “U.S. calls on Russia and Syria to ground all aircraft in northwest Syria,” Washington Post, September 21, 2016 (8:28 PM). Karen…

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2016 U.S. Presidential election, Barack Obama, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, Donald Trump, elections, Hillary Clinton, Intelligence, International Law, NATO, Russia, State Department, syria, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Military, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes September 20, 2016

BREAKING NEWS — U.S. says very high likelihood Russia bombed humanitarian aid convoy in Syria

LATE BREAKING NEWS!!! Developing Eric Schmitt, Michael R. Gordon, and Somini Sengupta, “U.S. Officials Say Russia Probably Attacked U.N. Humanitarian Convoy,” New York Times, September…

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"that spark of the divine", Barack Obama, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, Dictatorship, elections, European Union, History, human rights, internal supporters of human rights, International Law, Iran, NATO, public diplomacy, Russia, sanctions, Soviet Union, syria, Torture, U.N. Charter, U.N. Convention Against Torture, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes August 16, 2016

Beyond Trump and the November elections: Is a coherent U.S. foreign policy possible?

2016 is a good year to be observing what people in the United States are saying about foreign policy. There are new and dangerous currents…

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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, European Union, France, freedom of speech, Germany, History, human rights, International Law, NATO, nuclear war, Russia, sanctions, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, Turkey, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes November 24, 2015

Thinking clearly about Putin and Syria

Barack Obama, John Kerry and other Western leaders should always bear in mind wiho Vladimir Putin is, and what he has done in the last…

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Barack Obama, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, Deutschland, extrajudicial execution, extraordinary rendering, extraordinary rendition, France, Germany, History, human rights, internal supporters of human rights, International Law, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, NATO, Nobel Lecture, Nobel Peace Prize, Nuclear Proliferation, nuclear war, OSCE, Oslo, Russia, sanctions, Saudi Arabia, self-defense, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, Taliban, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, Torture, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United States, use of force, vision of peace, Vladimir Putin, war crimes November 11, 2015

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

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

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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…

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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…

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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…

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Barack Obama, History, human rights, International Law, Iran, Middle East, Russia, Soviet Union, syria, Turkey, U.N. Charter, U.S. Congress, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes September 8, 2015

REPRISE–Syria: Russia and Iran complicit under International Law in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity

Late News—- See MICHAEL R. GORDON and ERIC SCHMITT, “U.S. Moves to Block Russian Military Buildup in Syria,” New York Times, September 8, 2015. Vladimir…

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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…

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Africa, coverage of foreign events, Crimes Against Humanity, genocide, human rights, International Law, Nelson Mandela, South Africa, Sudan, U.N. Charter, United Nations Secretary General, war crimes June 15, 2015

Jacob Zuma flouts South African court order, Constitution and international law, allowing Sudanese president al-Bashir to escape arrest on ICC charges of genocide

Developing See Norimitsu Onishi, “South Africa High Court Says Allowing Bashir to Leave Violated Constitution, June 15, 2015. Isabel Ferrer, “Un nuevo revés para La…