war crimes

Ukraine War, October 11, 2022 (II): No response from Biden to Putin’s escalations

Developing. We are publishing this article as it is being written. Please check back for updates To see a list of previous articles, enter “Ukraine”…


Ukraine War, October 11, 2022: The Russian people will bear the shame of Russia’s aggression and war crimes for a thousand years

In the beginning, it was easy to think that the crime of aggression against Ukraine and the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by…



Ukraine War, March 6, 2022 (I): (Russian translation by Google ) Война на Украине, 6 марта 2022 г. (I): Цивилизованные страны мира должны создать аналог Нюрнбергской хартии (обновлено 7 марта 2022)

Обновить 7 февраля 2022 г. Крайне важно, чтобы цивилизованные страны мира ясно дали понять, что военные преступления и зверства, совершаемые русскими на Украине, не останутся…



WARNING TO RUSSIAN SOLDIERS ENTERING UKRAINE: Russian soldiers who commit war crimes or crimes against humanity in Ukraine may be subject to trial before the International Criminal Court, and in countries exercising universal jurisdiction; they may never in their lifetimes be able to travel to European and other countries that have ratified the Rome Statute of the ICC, or which exercise universal jurisdiction over such crimes

Russian soldiers who take part in an invasion and commit war crimes, crimes against humanity, or other crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction, within Ukraine, could be subject to trial before the ICC, and in any event before the courts of any countries which prosecute such crimes on the basis of universal jurisdiction.

As a result, Russian soldiers who commit such crimes in Ukraine may never be able to travel to European or other countries which have ratified the Rome Statute, or which exercise universal jurisdiction, without running the risk of being arrested and tried for such enumerated crimes as they may have committed in Ukraine.

This would be be true for the rest of their lives.


Afghanistan faces famine, economic collapse as international community poses conditions for aid

The key point is that the international community should not deny to the people of Afghanistan–the individual life-and-blood human beings–the aid they need to survive, on the theory that withholding aid will make the Taliban respect human rights. For examples of the challenges of survival these human beings face, see Espinosa and Follorou, above.



Afghanistan and the Decline of Enlightenment Values

The withdrawal of the U.S. and its allies from Afghanistan, and its inenluctable consequences, represent a signal retreat by the U.S. and its democratic allies from the defense of democratic values and the ideal of democracy.

The great tragedy is that 20 years of support for the democratic project in Afghanistan had produced impressive progress, in what was necessarily a long-term project. The failure of U.S. military and political leaders to understand and accept the long-term nature of the project—framing the question of Afghanistan as one of “When can we bring the troops home?”–was the fundamental and ultimately fatal flaw in U.S. strategy in the country.

Powerless. That’s how I and many others feel in the face of President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw completely from Afghanistan. Despite the wholly predictable consequences of that decision, Biden remains stubbornly defiant, ignoring or indifferent to the realities unfolding before him.

Powerless, as undoubtedly many millions of Afghans in Kabul, Kandahar, Herat and other cities must feel today.


We have forgotten the lessons of the 20th Century. International Peace and Security cannot be taken for granted. They depend on support of and adherence to international law, and the constant reaffirmation of international law, including human rights law and humanitarian law.

We have fogotten the lesson that aggression and crimes against humanity and war crimes must be vigorously resisted, or their perpetrators, like Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, will triumph.

We have forgotten the lessons of Srebrenica, that crimes against humanity must be resisted, stopped, and punished.

Ultimately, there is no rational defense of stupidity. Stupidity may accompany a lack of empathy or sense of moral imperatives to defend sacred moral values.

Regardless of whether it is the product of callous indifference or brute stupidity, or a combination of the two, Biden’s withdrawal decision seems to be set in stone. And even the rational analysts’s observations, like those of the historians, may fall like ashes into the dark canyon of oblivion.

Will the values of the Enlightenment be saved, resuscitated to light the way of a stumbling humanity which has lost its way?

It all depends on us. With deep faith in humanity, surely on a brighter day, those of us who are creatures of the Enlightenment and who still believe in the highest values of humanity, will again somehow find our way.

For we must.


Taliban take Kandahar prison, Afghan morale in free fall, Biden delusional: Afghanistan Chronicle – August 11, 2021

As the democratically elected government of Afghanistan teeters on the brink in the face of a Taliban onslaught which is the result of President Joe Biden’s disastrous decision to withdraw all U.S. forces from the country, Biden and his foreign policy team are disconnected from reality. In his op-ed in the Washington Post, Max Boot highlights the “delusional” thinking in the Biden administration. This thinking could find no more cogent illustration than the fact that Biden is proceeding with plans to hold a Summit of Democracies in December.

The Silence of the Generals

One question permeates a deafening silence: Where are the retired American generals and defense officials who should be screaming from the rooftops about Biden’s surrender to the Taliban, and his passive acceptance of Taliban war crimes on a growing scale?

These generals and officials fought the Taliban, and watched over 2,500 American soldiers die fighting the Taliban.

Where is their patriotism now? Why don’t they speak out and shout out about what is going on?

If they remain silent, they will take the shame of their silence to their graves.





REPRISE: Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.

Originally Posted By: The Observer January 18, 2016 Today is Martin Luther King day in the United States, a national holiday. It is a good…


Trump’s implementation of Putin’s goals

With the day-to-day revelations about President Donald Trump and his and his associates’ contacts with Russians and their potential conspiracy to intervene in the 2016 U.S. elections, it is easy to lose sight of how pro-Russian U.S. foreign policy under Trump has become, and the ways in which Trump is implementing policies which further Vladimir Putin’s and Russia’s goals.


President-elect Trump, foreign policy, and the defense of core American values

Developing Given Donald Trump’s inexperience in foreign policy, he may not understand or appreciate certain fundamental principles and realities that are essential for the maintenance…


Cherif Bassiouni, top expert on war crimes, confirms Russians and Iranians, including Putin, responsible for war crimes in Syria if they were aware of operations

Developing See Josh Rogin, “Putin and Assad could face justice for war crimes in Syria, Washington Post, October 9, 2016 (7:53 p.m. EDT). Julian Borger,…


Vice-Presidential debate: Pence pushes Kaine and Clinton on military action in Syria

Developing In VP Debate, Pence Reveals Thrust of Foreign Policy Attack Against Clinton During the Vice-Presidential debate between Tim Kaine and Mike Spence, Spence revealed…



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…