Thanks so much to the Opinio Juris folks for the opportunity to participate in this wonderful symposium. Ben's book truly is indispensable -- a must-read for all those interested in these important topics. In particular, Ben's descriptions of the difficult questions, and his narrative of how we got to this unfortunate point with respect to many of them,...
Peggy and Peter, with slightly different emphases, both criticize me for focusing too narrowly on domestic legal policy. As Peggy puts it, by doing so, I "implicitly endorse the notion that the U.S. is unique in its experience of terrorism and the challenge of crafting laws to address it." It's a point worth addressing explicitly. The United States is not the first...
I'm not surprised that Ben (as one of the new foreign policy pragmatists) says he's amenable to international law as part of an anti-terror answer (assuming that that a legal fix of any description is necessary -- I hope we'll hear from Deborah Pearlstein with her argument that we don't need to change international law, either). But it's...
Thanks to Chris and his colleagues at OJ for giving me an opportunity to participate in this important discussion. Today we're focused on broad premises underlying the book, and in particular the utility of using the concept of war in connection with counterterrorism policy. Peggy's most recent post critiques the Bush Administration's emphasis on the war model, concluding that "the framing of...
I will join the chorus of praise for this terrific book. But I want to add briefly to Peter’s critique of Ben’s premise that the current threat from transnational terrorism has us in a “long war,” by looking at what this means for broader foreign policy – one that encompasses, but it is not driven by, domestic legal policy. The book correctly,...
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...
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...
. . . 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,...
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...
I've been spending more time than is probably healthy over the last year researching the Compact Clause. Article 1, Section 10 of the Constitution prohibits U.S. states from entering into any "treaty, alliance or confederation" and bans them "without the consent of Congress" from entering "into any agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power." The Supreme Court...
I don't know how seriously to take Prof. Francis Boyle, who is literally dying to file an application in the ICJ on behalf of Iran against Israel and the U.S. Still, this interview in the Iran English language news site suggests something might happen soon. And Iran might get a sympathetic hearing at the ICJ. And it would raise...
