International Law and the Use of Force: Drones and Real Anarchy Unleashed Upon the World
Recently a number of articles have been published that are of particular interest with respect to the development and use of drones. See William Wan…
United States Foreign Relations
REPRISE: Consorting with the Devil? The Debate over the Efficacy of Torture
Given the renewed debate in the U.S over the efficacy of torture in the wake of Bin Laden’s death, the article republished below, written on…
Bin Laden and the Debate Over Torture–Revived
Some former U.S. officials responsible for torture under the Bush administration have claimed that the trail to Bin Laden was uncovered by the use of…
UPDATE: Anwar al-Aulaqi: Targeted Killings, Self-Defense, and War Crimes
UPDATE The Center for Constitutional Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union have filed suit against the Treasury Department for rules that require them to…
Targeted Killings: U.N. Special Rapporteur Alston Publishes Report to U.N. Human Rights Council
Today, Philip Alston, a highly distinguished human rights expert and U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, published a report addressing international law…
Targeted Killings by Drone Aircraft: A View From India, and Some Observations
….. Quotation “La guerre, c’est une chose trop grave pour la confier à des militaires.” “War is too serious a matter to just be handed…
Viagem de Clinton, Irã (Irão) e Armas Nucleares no Brasil
O OBSERVADOR INCISIVO Ao contrário da Argentina, o Brasil lutou com os Aliados na Europa na segunda guerra mundial. O presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da…
Clinton’s Visit, Iran, and Nuclear Weapons in Brazil
Unlike Argentina, Brazil fought with the Allies in Europe in World War II. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (“Lula”) played a leading role in…
U.S.-Pak Military Deal: Quetta Shura Arrests, Karzai’s Electoral Coup, and the Rule of Law
REVISED February 25, 2010 On February 24, the Crhristian Science Monitor reported from Kabul that Pakistani military sources say they have arrested seven of the…
Karzai’s Electoral Coup, 1000 U.S. Military Deaths and… “What Is It, Again, That We Are Fighting for in Afghanistan?”
“La guerre, c’est une chose trop grave pour la confier à des militaires.” –Georges Clemenceau “Une dictature est un pays dans lequel on n’a pas…
The Clock is Ticking: U.S. Application of the Torture Convention
The U.S. Justice Department issued a report on February 19, 2010 finding that the lawyers who drafted “the torture memos” in the Bush administration were…
Targeted Assassinations: Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, International Law, and Strategic Implications
Recently published details regarding the assassination on January 20, 2010 of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, in Dubai, underline the strategic issues raised by targeted assassinations…
Pakistan Desire to “Mediate” with Taliban Consistent with Earlier Reports of Deal to Support Karzai in Election Settlement
The New York Times reported on February 10 the following: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan has told the United States it wants a central role in…
Commentary on Eikenberry Cables, Intelligence on Afghanistan
A number of articles and comments are appearing which address the significance of the Eikenberry cables. Links to some of the most interesting will be…
Eikenberry Memos Place Spotlight on U.S. Dilemmas in Afghanistan
On January 25 in a story by Eric Schmitt, the New York Times reported on and published the full text of memos written by Ambassador…
MUST-READ ANALYSIS: Juan Cole on “Serial Catastrophes in Afghanistan”
See Juan Cole, “Serial Catastrophes in Afghanistan threaten Obama Policy,” Informed Comment, January 4, 2010
Our Dimming Vision of World Affairs
As we enter 2010 and a new decade, a good question to ask is how well our news organizations are reporting on and how well…
NEWS TO NOTE: “Dirty War” Prosecutions in Argentina
Extrajudicial executions. forced disappearances, and torture caused the deaths an estimated 30,000 individuals in Argentina from 1975-1983, and the psychological and physical wounds of thousands…
Obama — “that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls”
(Contributions to Discussion Invited) President Barack Obama concluded his 2009 Nobel Lecture with the following words: But we do not have to think that human…
Obama’s Nobel Lecture: Setting a Course for the American Ship of State
President Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo is of historic importance. If followed by actions consistent with its tenets, it may be…