Let me raise the uncomfortable subject of the Clinton Administration's commitment to international law. Chollet and Goldgeier offer three episodes that I think shed light on President Clinton’s commitment to international law and the use of force. First, with the Rwandan genocide, Clinton failed to intervene in Rwanda or even treat the situation seriously. Tony Lake described...
I greatly enjoyed Chollet and Goldgeier's book on American Between the Wars. I have several thoughts about the book, but I wanted to begin by discussing their thesis that from a foreign policy perspective President Clinton had a disastorous first year in office. They write: "January 1994 brought an end to a very bad first year in...
The Council on Foreign Relations and Opinio Juris are pleased to announce a book discussion with Derek Chollet and James Goldgeier on their recent book, America Between the Wars: From 11/9 to 9/11. Here is a brief description of the book: America Between the Wars shows that America did not change in one day. The tragedy of 9/11 and its...
Happy Fourth of July! There are many things one can be grateful for on Independence Day. One reason to be particularly thankful to live in this country is our nation's recognition of the pursuit of happiness. Happiness includes many things, but the right to enjoy the fruits of our labors is a key ingredient. I therefore found this...
No surprise, the Supreme Court in the Second Amendment case of D.C. v. Heller refrains from any discussion of contemporary foreign or international laws or practices. The Court, per Justice Scalia, does discuss historical comparativism at some length (pp. 19-22), and Justice Stevens in dissent challenges this historical reading (pp. 27-31). But the really interesting part of Heller regarding comparativism...
As Julian notes the Court in Kennedy v. Louisiana ruled that the death penalty for child rape violated the Eighth Amendment. It did so without any reference to international or comparative law or experiences. The focus of the opinion was on a national consensus and the Court's own independent judgment of what the Eighth Amendment requires. Having...
The folks at Pew Research have just released a poll highlighting just how popular Barack Obama is in the rest of the world. People around the world who have been paying attention to the American election express more confidence in Barack Obama than in John McCain to do the right thing regarding world affairs. McCain is rated lower than...
The D.C. Circuit has ruled that the Chabad case against Russia can go forward notwithstanding various FSIA, act of state, and forum non conveniens defenses raised by Russia. It is a very complicated case, but here are the essential facts and holding: Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States is a non-profit Jewish organization incorporated in New York. It serves as...
No tomatoes. Not in my taco salad today, my cheeseburger yesterday, or my Salad Nicoise the day before that. It seems that a salmonella outbreak has been linked to the consumption of tomatoes and the FDA has issued a nationwide warning to consumers to avoid eating tomatoes. The FDA warning "recommends that retailers, restaurateurs, and food service...
I wanted to thank all of our participants for a wonderful "insta-symposium" on Boumediene. I certainly learned a tremendous amount from our guests and greatly appreciate their willingness to participate and thoughtfully engage. I wanted to end by addressing some of the comments expressed concerning the format of these insta-symposia, especially on the issue of diversity. In organizing this...
I want to return to the issue of the Court’s discussion of de facto sovereignty, which has the potential to be one of the most important holdings of Boumediene. The reason it is so important is that the Court’s articulation of de facto sovereignty has the potential to be the new test for the application of constitutional guarantees to...
Beth Van Schaack has a really nice primer on Boumediene available here. She will join us at Opinio Juris for more detailed discussion and analysis of the opinion shortly. ...
