Yemen

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2016 U.S. Presidential election, Culture and Communication, Dictatorship, Donald Trump, human rights, propaganda, Russia, sanctions, State Department, syria, U.N. Charter, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin March 11, 2017

The level-of-analysis problem in assessing and reacting to Trump’s assault on American democracy

The outlines and methods of President Donald Trump’s asault on the institutions of American democracy and their underling traditions and values are now clear.

First, he has conducted an all-out assault on the very concept of the truth.
Third, Trump not only lies about everything all of the time, but also engages in defamation of the leading news media in the United States on a daily basis, having labeled them “the opposition party” and “the enemy of the people.”
We face a dramatic situation.

We have a president who lies about everything all of the time.

We have a presdient and administration which reject the concept of accountability, dismissing criticism will lies and charges of “fake news”. The president openly defies the requirements of the Enmoluments Clause of the constitution…
We have a president who is under strong suspicion of colluding with the Russians in their intervention into the November 2016 elections in the United States, who has not criticized Putin or Russia directly in any significant way…
Given Trump’s ongoing assaults on the pillars of American democracy, and the values which underlie them, Democrats, Independents and Republicans need to start thinking, with great urgency, about how Trump and Bannon can be removed from office–at an early date.

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Barack Obama, coverage of foreign events, Deutschland, Egypt, International Law, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, Nuclear Proliferation, nuclear war, Qatar, religious belief, Russia, Saudi Arabia, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, Turkey, U.N. Charter, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, Ukraine, united arab emirates, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes March 27, 2015

U.S. strategy and leadership needed: The Middle East and other countries hurtle into the Vortex

On some days, the news is so disturbing that you want to take a broader view of what is going on in a region, or…

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Barack Obama, CIA, extrajudicial execution, human rights, International Law, Justice Department, self-defense, State Department Legal Adviser, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, U.N. Charter, U.S. Military, United States, use of force, war crimes February 13, 2014

REPRISE: Anwar al-Aulaqi—Targeted Killings, Self-Defense, and War Crimes

Press reports indicate President Obama is considering adding or has already added the name of a U.S. citizen to the kill list for targeted assassination…

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Barack Obama, China, CIA, Crimes Against Humanity, History, human rights, International Law, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Russia, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, U.N. Charter, U.S Foreign Relations, U.S. Congress, U.S. Intervention, United Kingdom, United States, use of force, war crimes, Yemen May 7, 2013

REPRISE: “Looney Toons” at the White House: New York Times article details Obama’s thinking on Syria—Obama’s Debacle in Syria — Update #45 (May 27, 2012)

Introduction to the REPRISE (May 7, 2013) So, Obama’s “red line” on the use of chemical weapons in Syria turns out to be a red…

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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….

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"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…

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Barack Obama, China, CIA, Crimes Against Humanity, dubai, extrajudicial execution, foreign news coverage, France, Germany, History, human rights, Intelligence, International Law, Iran, Middle East, NATO, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, State Department, State Department Human Rights Country Reports, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, Torture, Turkey, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, U.S. news coverage, United Kingdom, United States, use of force, war crimes May 27, 2012

“Looney Toons” at the White House: New York Times article details Obama’s thinking on Syria—Obama’s Debacle in Syria — Update #45 (May 27)

looney-tunes adj. [after Looney Tunes, trademark for a series of animated cartoons] [Slang] crazy; demented: also loon’ y-tunes *** loony [Slang] adj. loon’i-er, looní-est [LUNATIC]…

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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…

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Barack Obama, China, CIA, France, Germany, History, human rights, International Law, Middle East, NATO, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, State Department, State Department Human Rights Country Reports, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, Torture, Turkey, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, United Kingdom, United States, use of force, war crimes May 21, 2012

Obama clueless on Syria? G-8 endorses UN peace plan—Obama’s Debacle in Syria—Update #39 (May 21)

Latest News Reports and Opinion Clashes over the weekend following the killing of two Sunni clerics at a roadblock in Tripoli, under ambiguous circumstances, have…

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Afghanistan, Barack Obama, CIA, extrajudicial execution, International Law, Justice Department, NATO, self-defense, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, U.N. Charter, use of force, war crimes March 24, 2012

Attorney General Eric Holder offers legal justification for targeted killings of U.S. citizens abroad

On March 5, 2012, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder offered a legal justification for U.S. targeted killings directed against U.S. citizens abroad. For the text…

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China, Crimes Against Humanity, Dictatorship, elections, extrajudicial execution, human rights, International Law, Iran, Lebanon, Libya, Middle East, NATO, State Department, State Department Human Rights Country Reports, State Department Legal Adviser, Torture, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, United States, use of force, war crimes, Yemen December 31, 2011

Government Terror in Syria—Putin, Al Assad, and Security Council Referral to the ICC

The Arab League “deal” with Syria looks increasingly like the African Union peace efforts aimed at blocking Security Council action in Libya. Fortunately, NATO and…

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Afghanistan, CIA, human rights, internal supporters of human rights, International Law, NATO, Nobel Lecture, Nobel Peace Prize, Oslo, self-defense, State Department Legal Adviser, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, U.N. Charter, U.S Foreign Relations, U.S. Military, use of force July 17, 2011

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…

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Afghanistan, Barack Obama, CIA, dubai, human rights, human rights reports, International Law, NATO, Pakistan, Pakistan military, self-defense, State Department Legal Adviser, Taliban, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, U.N. Charter, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, united arab emirates, United States, use of force, vision of peace, Yemen August 6, 2010

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…

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Afghanistan, Barack Obama, CIA, human rights, human rights reports, Intelligence, International Law, Justice Department, NATO, Pakistan, self-defense, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, Taliban, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, U.N. Charter, U.S. Military, United States, use of force June 2, 2010

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…

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Barack Obama, CIA, human rights, International Law, self-defense, Taliban, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, U.N. Charter, U.N. Convention Against Torture, U.S Foreign Relations, use of force April 7, 2010

Anwar al-Aulaqi: Targeted Killings, Self-Defense, and War Crimes

The United States has gotten itself into a terrible jam, having adopted the legal justification of the Bush administration for targeted killings.
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Anwar al-Aulaqi, who resides in Yemen, was previously placed on a target list maintained by the U.S. military’s Joint Special Operations Command…
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If this death warrant is executed in circumstances that do not justify the use of force in self-defense, either at the international or at the domestic level with the permission of the territorial state, its execution may constitute a war crime.
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The United States has now become an official hit squad, which will go out and kill anyone on its list of targetable individuals.

Yet it is hard to see how the United States can kill its way to peace, in Afghanistan or in the struggle against terrorists in different countries throughout the world.
…
Whatever the short-term gains from the current approach, and it is far from clear that it does not create more terrorists than it kills, President Obama and his international lawyers need to rethink their approach to targeted killings.

They need to reexamine the issue, both in order to avoid extrajudicial executions and assassinations, and to shape the standards which will also guide other states in the future in deciding whether or not to put someone on a hit list and then to go out and kill him.

It is time to back off from the Wild West, and to return to civilization and the task of building out a viable international legal order.