Leon Panetta

Barack Obama, CIA, Intelligence, International Law, Libya, syria, U.N. Charter, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, United States, use of force February 7, 2013

Obama rejected proposal of Clinton and Petraeus, backed by Panetta and Dempsey, to arm rebels in Syria

Developing story –check back for updates News Reports and Commentary Michael R. Gordon and Mark Landler, “Senate Hearing Draws Out a Rift in U.S. Policy…

Barack Obama, CIA, extrajudicial execution, Libya, State Department, Taliban, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, U.S. Military, United States, use of force November 14, 2012

Chain-of-command failure? Benghazi and the ghost of “Black Hawk Down”; Obama’s credibility (Updated November 15)

Updated November 15, 2012 Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said, with respect to the American responses to the attacks in Benghazi, that you don’t want…

Barack Obama, China, CIA, Crimes Against Humanity, extrajudicial execution, France, Germany, History, human rights, human rights reports, Intelligence, International Law, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Middle East, NATO, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, sanctions, Saudi Arabia, self-defense, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, Togo, Torture, U.N. Charter, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Security Council, U.N. Torture Convention, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, united arab emirates, United Kingdom, United Nations Secretary General, United States, use of force, war crimes, Yemen August 26, 2012

Continuing massacres in Syria, at Daraya and elsewhere; legal justification for military intervention — Obama’s Debacle in Syria —Update #78 (August 26)

Anxiety over the risks of a regional conflagration deepened further as it became clear that the violence in Syria was intensifying, with more civilians killed….

Afghanistan, Barack Obama, China, Crimes Against Humanity, Dimming Vision of World Affairs, extrajudicial execution, Intelligence, International Law, Iran, Mossad, Pakistan, Russia, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, Taliban, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, United States, use of force, war crimes June 16, 2012

Islamabad, Kabul, Moscow, Damascus and Washington: The cumulative impact of “rookie” errors—Obama’s Debacle in Syria — Update #52 (June 16)

The lack of strategic thinking and stumbling execution of Obama’s foreign policy “juggernaut”–“the gang who couldn’t shoot strait” has led to a complicated, deteriorating and…

"that spark of the divine", Afghanistan, Barack Obama, CIA, debate over the efficacy of torture, extrajudicial execution, foreign correspondents, History, human rights, Intelligence, International Law, NATO, Pakistan, Pakistan military, self-defense, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, Torture, U.N. Charter, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Security Council, U.N. Torture Convention, U.S. Congress, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, United States, use of force, vision of peace, war crimes, Yemen June 1, 2012

President Obama as “Executioner in Chief”

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” –Lord Acton (1834-1902) SOURCES Jo Becker and Scott Shane, “Secret ‘Kill List’ Proves a Test of…

Barack Obama, China, CIA, Crimes Against Humanity, extrajudicial execution, human rights, Intelligence, International Law, Iran, Lebanon, Middle East, NATO, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, State Department, State Department Human Rights Country Reports, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, targeted assassinations, Torture, Turkey, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, united arab emirates, United Kingdom, United States, use of force, war crimes May 22, 2012

U.S. Covert Action in Syria?—Obama’s Debacle in Syria — Update #40 (May 22)

The “Covert Commander in Chief” and America’s real policy toward Syria Indeed, as pointed out in our previous article, statements from Obama and his administration…

Barack Obama, China, CIA, human rights, Intelligence, International Law, Iran, NATO, Nobel Lecture, Nobel Peace Prize, Oslo, Russia, Saudi Arabia, self-defense, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, U.N. Charter, U.S Foreign Relations, U.S. Intervention, United States, use of force, vision of peace January 27, 2012

Obama’s foreign policy juggernaut, including Tom Donilon, and the risks of hubris (updated)

jug[ger[naut n. (altered < Hindi Jagannath < Sans Jagannatha, lord of the world < jagat, world + natha, lord) 1 an incarnation of the Hindu…

U.S Foreign Relations January 12, 2012

New National Intelligence Estimate on Afghanistan not optimistic

A new National Intellligence Estimate on Afghanistan is reportedly not optimistic about the future course of events in Afghanistan, as U.S. and other ISAF forces…

Afghanistan, Barack Obama, CIA, debate over the efficacy of torture, human rights, International Law, Justice Department, Middle East, NATO, Nobel Lecture, Nobel Peace Prize, Oslo, Pakistan, Pakistan military, self-defense, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, Torture, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.N. Torture Convention, U.S. Military, United States, use of force, vision of peace January 5, 2012

The Trenchant Observer

International Law, Politics, and Security