I see that I'm quoted by Mark Mazzetti and Scott Shane in their New York Times article today, "CIA Had Plan to Assassinate Qaeda Leaders" (July 13, 2009). I'm trying hard to maintain radio silence and not blog, in order to let my shoulder heal up, but let me say something briefly about this. First, I'm delighted, of course, that...
Marc Lynch at Foreign Policy.com has written one of the best blog posts I have read in a long time: Jay-Z vs the Game: Lessons for the American Primacy Debate. Lynch combines a music obsessive's knowledge of rap with an international relations scholar's understanding of power politics. This is a story of rising challengers, sneak attacks, structural power, transition narratives,...
This according to Newsweek: Holder, 58, may be on the verge of asserting his independence in a profound way. Four knowledgeable sources tell NEWSWEEK that he is now leaning toward appointing a prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration's brutal interrogation practices, something the president has been reluctant to do. While no final decision has been made, an announcement could come in...
Yesterday the Obama Administration released the report of the Intelligence Community Inspectors General. It is an important and interesting story about the Bush Administration's Presidential Surveillance Program (PSP). Jack Balkin has more here and here and Andy McCarthy here. The most gripping story in the report is the fight between the White House and the Department of...
PBS will be airing an important documentary about the ICC, The Reckoning, on July 14. Here is PBS's description of the film, which is directed by Pamela Yates, who received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2008: Over 120 countries have united to form the International Criminal Court (ICC) — the first permanent court created to prosecute perpetrators, no matter how powerful, of...
First of all, welcome back! I always enjoy your contributions to OJ (and your scholarship generally), even when I disagree with you. So I hope you won't think me too ungracious a host if I raise some (pointed) questions about your most recent post. I would be genuinely curious to hear your responses. I am, as I have pointed out ad...
The U.S. and Europe have been vigorously insisting that Israel stop all "settlement growth," including "natural growth." There has been some question as to what those terms mean. In a June 16 press briefing, Sen. George Mitchell said that Israel must stop “natural growth” in settlements, and specified that he means “births” as well. Here is the State Department's transcript...
As widely reported, in Moscow yesterday President Obama and Russian President Medvedev signed a Joint Understanding for the Start Follow-on Treaty. Here's how the White House fact sheet describes it: On April 1, Presidents Obama and Medvedev agreed in London that America and Russian negotiators would begin work on a new, comprehensive, legally binding agreement on reducing and limiting strategic offensive...
The National Research Council of the National Academies has just about finalized a lengthy report on cyberattacks--Technology, Policy, Law, and Ethics Regarding U.S. Acquisition and Use of Cyberattack Capabilities. William A. Owens, Kenneth W. Dam, and Herbert S. Lin edited the study on behalf of a 14 member committee and a 5 member staff. It should be available in hard...
I have ignored Obama's refusal to take concrete steps to end formal discrimination against gays and lesbians, because it's not really the subject of this blog. But I have followed his gradual abandonment of his campaign promise to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" with increasing concern. It seems clear that he has no real stomach for taking on the military...
Ordinarily I wouldn't post the table of contents for a symposium in an international law review, but let me herewith make an exception: 10 Chicago Journal of International Law 1 (Summer 2009) Symposium: GREAT POWER POLITICS The Language of Law and the Practice of Politics: Great Powers and the Rhetoric of Self-Determination in the Cases of Kosovo and South Ossetia Christopher J. Borgen 10 Chi...
With the Supreme Court term now complete, I thought it would be useful to give a brief year-end review of the Court's decisions. The Supreme Court produced no blockbuster cases this year on any subject related to our discipline. It was truly a sleeper year. There were three cases addressing immunity; two cases addressing asylum, one case...
