prohibition of the use of force

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…

Crimea, Czechoslovakia, Germany, History, human rights, International Law, Russia, Soviet Union, U.N. Charter, Ukraine, use of force, Vladimir Putin August 24, 2015

REPRISE: August 20, 1968 — “Dubček, Svoboda!”

From August 20, 2011 On this date, 43 years ago, the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies invaded Czechoslovakia, putting down with its tanks…

coverage of foreign events, Crimea, Dictatorship, Dimming Vision of World Affairs, electronic curtain, extrajudicial execution, foreign correspondents, foreign news coverage, freedom of speech, Google, Google filtering, Google indexing, History, human rights, internal supporters of human rights, International Law, Russia, Ukraine, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes March 19, 2015

REPRISE: After disappearing act, Vladimir Putin remains prime suspect in Nemtsov assassination

After disappearing act, Vladimir Putin remains prime suspect in Nemtsov assassination Originally published on March 17, 2015 See (1) Nemtsov assassination represents a stark warning…

coverage of foreign events, Crimea, Dictatorship, foreign correspondents, foreign news coverage, freedom of speech, human rights, internal supporters of human rights, Russia, sanctions, targeted assassinations, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin March 17, 2015

After disappearing act, Vladimir Putin remains prime suspect in Nemtsov assassination

Developing See (1) “Ukraine Update: Overview and signficance of the continuing Russan invasion »Nemtsov assassination represents a stark warning to the opposition: ‘Criticize Putin, especially…

Dictatorship, extrajudicial execution, internal supporters of human rights, International Law, Russia, sanctions, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin February 28, 2015

Nemtsov assassination represents a stark warning to the opposition: “Criticize Putin, especially on the Ukraine, and you may die” (Updated March 6, 2015)

UPDATE (March 6, 2004) See Steffen Dobbert “Interview: ‘Putin hat Nemzow exekutieren lassen.’ Was Putin mit Hitler verbindet, und weshalb nur Russlands Präsident hinter dem…

Barack Obama, Crimea, Deutschland, elections, European Union, Germany, History, human rights, International Law, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, State Department Legal Adviser, U.N. Charter, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes October 20, 2014

REPRISE II: Dare anyone say it? “We applaud the courage of the Ukrainian government and people in defending public order and the sovereignty and territorial independence of the Ukraine.”

October 20, 2014 Since the article below was written, Russia continued its invasion of the eastern Ukraine sending in Russian troops, tanks, artillery and other…

Crimea, Czechoslovakia, Deutschland, Germany, History, human rights, International Law, Russia, U.N. Charter, Ukraine, use of force, Vladimir Putin August 19, 2014

REPRISE: August 20, 1968 — “Dubček, Svoboda!”

From August 20, 2011 On this date, 43 years ago, the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies invaded Czechoslovakia, putting down with its tanks…

Barack Obama, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, Deutschland, European Union, France, Germany, History, human rights, International Law, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, U.N. Charter, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes July 17, 2014

Putin the aggressor, and the downing of Malaysian Flight MH17

Developing One man, President Vladimir Putin, and one country, the Russian Federation, are responsible for launching an invasion of the Crimea and its annexation, and…

Argentina, Barack Obama, Brazil, China, Crimea, Deutschland, European Union, France, Germany, History, human rights, India, International Law, NATO, Nuclear Proliferation, Pakistan, Russia, sanctions, South Africa, U.N. Charter, Ukraine, United States, use of force July 15, 2014

Brazil, Russia and the Crimea: BRICS grouping serves interests of two greatest authoritarian states, as three great democracies ignore aggression

Developing If you want to understand why the future of the international political and legal order is fraught with uncertainty, consider Brazil’s position on the…

Barack Obama, Crimea, Deutschland, European Union, Germany, History, International Law, NATO, Russia, sanctions, self-defense, State Department, U.N. Charter, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, use of force July 6, 2014

REPRISE: Dare anyone say it? “We applaud the courage of the Ukrainian government and people in defending public order and the sovereignty and territorial independence of the Ukraine” — with latest news updates

In what may be a turning point in efforts to defend the country’s territorial integrity and repel Russia’s aggression and military intervention in the eastern…

Barack Obama, Crimea, Czechoslovakia, Deutschland, France, Germany, History, International Law, Justice Department, NATO, Russia, U.N. Charter, U.S. Congress, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United States, use of force July 3, 2014

Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine continues; Europe refuses serious sanctions; Only serious sanctions can stop Russia

Developing For background, see The Trenchant Observer, “The virus of nationalism and military aggression: Adolf Hitler in Vienna, March, 1938; Vladimir Putin in Sevastopol, May…

Barack Obama, Czechoslovakia, Deutschland, Dictatorship, France, Germany, History, International Law, Russia, sanctions, U.S. Congress, Ukraine, United States, use of force June 30, 2014

The virus of nationalism and military aggression: Adolf Hitler in Vienna, March, 1938; Vladimir Putin in Sevastopol, May 9, 2014

The virus of unbounded nationalism and military aggression ravaged Europe, Germany and the world in the 1930’s and 1940’s, leading to World War II and…

Barack Obama, Crimea, Deutschland, Dictatorship, Germany, human rights, International Law, Iran, Justice Department, NATO, Nuclear Proliferation, Russia, sanctions, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, U.N. Charter, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, use of force June 26, 2014

The West, Russia and the Ukraine: Threats, facts on the ground, and sectorial sanctions

The EU and the U.S. are on the verge of deciding, once again, whether they will actually carry out their last round of threats. They…

Crimea, International Law, Russia, sanctions, U.N. Charter, Ukraine, use of force June 25, 2014

New EU Regulation prohibits Importation or financing of imports of goods from the Crimea

The EU has imposed a real sanction on Russia which prohibits the importation to the EU or by any EU national or company of goods…

Barack Obama, Chemical weapons, China, Crimes Against Humanity, extrajudicial execution, France, History, International Law, NATO, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Congress, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, United Kingdom, United States, use of force, war crimes August 29, 2013

Next Steps: Obama, like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, must now take steps to deal with the Syrian crisis—ALL OF IT

The publication by the U.K. on August 29 of a summary of its legal justification for taking military action against Syria is a most welcome…

Barack Obama, China, Crimes Against Humanity, extrajudicial execution, France, History, human rights, International Law, Libya, Libya, NATO, Russia, Saudi Arabia, self-defense, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, Turkey, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S Foreign Relations, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, United Kingdom, United States, use of force, war crimes August 27, 2013

A strong but narrow legal justification for military action in Syria: The key to building a strong coalition

The Necessity and Challenge of Crafting a Strong Legal Justification for Military Action in Syria President Barack Obama is learning, however belatedly, that other nations…

Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Barack Obama, China, CIA, Crimes Against Humanity, extrajudicial execution, France, Germany, Guatemala, History, human rights, human rights reports, Intelligence, internal supporters of human rights, International Law, kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, NATO, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, self-defense, Serbia, South Africa, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, Togo, Torture, Turkey, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Congress, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, United Kingdom, United States, use of force, war crimes, Yemen December 12, 2012

REPRISE: The U.N. Charter, International Law, and Legal Justifications for Military Intervention in Syria—Obama’s Debacle in Syria — Update #90 (December 12, 2012)

This article was first published on September 1, 2012 The situation in Syria (is) unfolding “in front of our eyes”, with the regime deploying fighter…

Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Barack Obama, Brazil, China, Crimes Against Humanity, Dictatorship, Egypt, extrajudicial execution, France, Germany, Guatemala, History, human rights, India, internal supporters of human rights, International Law, Iran, Iraq, Israel, kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Mossad, NATO, Nuclear Proliferation, Qatar, Russia, sanctions, Saudi Arabia, self-defense, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, Togo, Tunisia, 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 States, use of force, war crimes September 1, 2012

The U.N. Charter, International Law, and Legal Justifications for Military Intervention in Syria—Obama’s Debacle in Syria — Update #83 (September 1)

The situation in Syria (is) unfolding “in front of our eyes”, with the regime deploying fighter jets against the people, in addition to heavy artillery…

Czechoslovakia, Deutschland, Dictatorship, France, Germany, History, human rights, International Law, religious belief, Torture, U.N. Charter, use of force August 20, 2011

August 20, 1968 — “Dubček, Svoboda!”

On this date, 43 years ago, the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies invaded Czechoslovakia, putting down with its tanks what its own broken…

Czechoslovakia, Deutschland, France, Germany, History, human rights, International Law, religious belief, Torture, U.N. Charter, use of force August 20, 2010

August 20, 1968 — “Dubček, Svoboda!”

Personal Takes I had a picture of Alexander Dubček on my wall when I was a student studying international law. He represented the hope of…