Let me start by thanking Chris for hosting this discussion, of which I'm delighted to be a part, and by thanking as well all of those who are participating. It really is a wonderful group, and I'm excited about the coming exchange. I wrote Law and the Long War out of a sense of frustration with the debate that has developed over...
We are pleased to host this week a discussion of Benjamin Wittes’ book Law and the Long War. Ben's book is a comprehensive analysis of how September 11th did--and did not--change National Security Law, the disparate group of legal mechanisms related to counter-terrorism. It is also about what the role of law in counter-terrorism should be. It is a book that is sure...
Noted with awe how cool David Cameron is: Mr Cameron gave Mr Obama a selection of CDs by the Smiths, Radiohead and Gorillaz. Snarky comments about what music McCain would give a young, hip Liberal leader from the UK welcome....
Ordinarily I do not blog on articles or discussions that seem to me entirely muddle-headed; life is too short. However. (Admittedly irritating digression: Life is particularly too short here at the Hoover Institution, Stanford, where I am spending a few weeks finishing a book manuscript on US-UN relations in the next administration, whosever it happens to be. The weather in Palo...
Just in case there is some blogger fairness doctrine I don't know about, I should mention that Obama seems to generally favor the ICC -- though he obviously has reservations about U.S. membership. Here is his clearest statement, made last October: Now that it is operational, we are learning more and more about how the ICC functions. The Court has pursued...
No, that's not a snarky question. He has consistently made comments that seem to indicate far more openness to the Court than the typical Republican. In 2002, he voted against the appalling American Service-Members Protection Act (aka "The Hague Invasion Act"). In 2005, he said “I want us in the ICC, but I’m not satisfied that there are enough safeguards.”...
As I write, I am sitting on the balcony of the Castle in Karem Maharal, a few miles north of Caesarea and a few miles south of Haifa. I look out over my balcony at the vineyards drinking Tishbi wine, which has been grown here in Zichron Yaakov for decades. To my left the sun is setting over...
. . . and I bet you are, too. In a recent move ostensibly aimed at shoring up its national identity, Germany has instituted a citizenship test. Naturalization applicants must correctly answer 17 out of 33 multiple-choice questions on German institutions and society. The questions are drawn from a catalogue of 310 questions that test-takers are given in advance. Try your luck here. For most,...
I just wanted to remind everyone that next week we will host a discussion of Benjamin Wittes' book Law And the Long War. Besides Ben, Bobby Chesney (Wake Forest), Geoff Corn (South Texas), Glenn Sulmasy (U.S. Coast Guard Academy), Steve Vladeck (American University), Marty Lederman (Georgetown) and possibly one or two others will be joining us for the book symposium. ...
We are very happy to announce that, as of Monday, Deborah Pearlstein of Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs will be joining Opinio Juris as our newest (OK, only by two weeks) member. A scholar and practitioner in national security law, Deborah served from 2003 to 2007 as the founding director of the Law and Security Program at Human Rights...
I was struck by this piece tucked away in today's Washington Post, noting that Pat Kennedy, Under Secretary for Management at the State Department, had to remind diplomatic personnel in Germany that they were prohibited from attending Barack Obama's speech today in Berlin. It is a mark of just how unprecedented Obama's current overseas visit is, mixing as it does official...
Thailand and Cambodia have both mobilized troops to defend their claims to sovereignty over the Preah Vihear Temple, which is located on their border. The dispute has lingered for decades and was supposedly dealt with by this 1962 ICJ decision which awarded sovereignty to Cambodia. Apparently, Thailand is still not convinced and is prepared to occupy the temple by force (it is only...
