The D.C. Circuit’s decision overturning Salim Hamdan’s military commission conviction on the grounds that “material support for terrorism” is not a war crime under international law is significant in a host of ways. Steve Vladeck lists a few over at Lawfare. Beyond that, it strikes me that the decision offers a handful of indicators Congress might especially note....
The media and blogosphere are predictably -- and justifiably -- abuzz about Candy Crowley pointing out that Romney was wrong when he claimed it took Obama two weeks to label the Benghazi attack an "act of terror." More interesting, though, is the push-back from Romney surrogates like Ed Gillespie, who said afterward that "[s]he was wrong about it, no doubt...
South Sudan's Parliament has ratified a border and oil deal with Sudan, which includes a demilitarized zone between the two states. The EU has placed new sanctions on Iranian oil, gas and tanker companies, the effects of which Iran calls futile. In related news, A NYTimes article describes the impact of European sanctions on Iran's ability to keep the money printing presses going. Invoking humanitarian reasons, the UK...
Apologies for interrupting the book discussion, but I wanted to flag the D.C. Circuit's blockbuster opinion in Hamdan v. United States, which was issued today. The D.C. Circuit has reversed the Court of Military Commission Review and held that material support for terrorism was not a war crime when Hamdan committed the acts for which he was convicted. Here are...
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton assumed responsibility for last month's deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. Commentary on this move from PrawfsBlawg can be found here and Foreign Policy analysis, here. The International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia begins trying its last suspect, Goran Hadzic, today. Also on the ICTY docket today, Radovan Karadzic has begun his defense...
Argentina is, to put it bluntly, one of the world’s greatest sovereign deadbeats, defaulting on its sovereign bonds more than once as well as bearing the distinction of being the world’s number one respondent in ICSID arbitration claims (or at least close to number one). Last week, the ongoing struggle between foreign creditors and Argentina found a new flashpoint as...
From the government brief arguing that the media and witnesses in the 9/11 trial should not be permitted to hear the defendants describe being tortured by the US government: "Each of the accused is in the unique position of having had access to classified intelligence sources and methods," the prosecution says in court papers. "The government, like the defense, must protect...
A Human Rights Watch report outlines Syria’s recent use of cluster munitions in civilian areas, a potential war crime. Turkey has banned Syrian aircraft from its airspace as a show of its increasingly firm stance against President Al-Assad’s regime. The EU plans new major sanctions against the banking sector, industry and shipping in Iran. Iran said that the launch of a drone intro...
This week on Opinio Juris, Eric Posner's Slate article about the legality of US drone strikes in Pakistan attracted the attention of Julian Ku and Kevin Jon Heller. Julian wondered whether Koh's "conversion" on the issue will serve as a shield against international arguments about the illegality of the strikes. Kevin in turn expressed hope that Posner's rejection of the "unwilling or...
The European Union has won the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize for uniting the continent in the face of the ongoing economic crisis. The 10th anniversary of the Bali bombings is being remembered in Bali, Indonesia, and in Australia. The NY Times reports how Indonesian counter-terrorism forces still battle local militant groups. Human rights activists in Iran are reportedly beaten, raped and sleep deprived, according to a...
At his new blog, Derek Gregory posts the following photo, which shows American soldiers applying the "water cure" during the war in the Phillippines, which lasted from 1899-1902: Of course, not everything old is new again. Five Army officers were convicted by courts-martial for using the "water cure" during the Phillippine War, with one reviewing authority unequivocally describing the interrogation method...
Royal Dutch Shell Plc., faces a lawsuit today in a district court in The Hague that seeks to make Shell and other corporations responsible for pollution resulting from three oil spills in 2004, 2005 and 2007 in the Niger Delta. Russia has said it will not renew the expiring 1991 arms agreement with the US requiring the dismantaling of nuclear and chemical weapons, as it...
