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Search: kony 2012

31 Oct

...the seriousness of Tom’s statement, I am very pleased to learn that the distance between us is actually narrow. [snip] More fundamentally, I am delighted to see that the HRW has given a clear and very constructive answer to my question about intermediate uses of force. I asked whether HRW would support taking out Joseph Kony with a Predator if that were possible. Tom’s answer? “We see this as a law enforcement operation, in the sense that the primary objective should be to capture Kony and others wanted by the...
31.10.10 | |

02 Aug

Syria’s president Al-Assad has praised the government forces, but is keeping a low profile. US president Obama has signed a secret order to provide support to rebel forces in Syria. A video has emerged of men, allegedly loyal to the Syrian regime, being lined up in Aleppo being shot point-blank by rebel forces. In a recent report, Amnesty International has accused members of Syria’s government of committing crimes against humanity in the current conflict. Reuters offers an analysis proffering that there is no good outcome to the...
02.08.12 | |

08 Sep

At the start of the US academic year, Peggy welcomed Stephen Walt’s recommendation, though not his reasons, that wannabe foreign policy wonks study international law, and Roger Alford posted about James Phillips and John Yoo’s analysis of international and comparative law all-stars at the top 16 US law schools. The Republican and Democratic conventions also caught our bloggers’ attention. Julian Ku posted about the strong language in the draft republican platform on protecting American sovereignty and opposing agreements such as UNCLOS, and Peter Spiro doubted whether the idea...
08.09.12 | |

01 Oct

I am very sad to report that the eminent British historian has passed away at 95. He lived an amazing life, as recounted in the Guardian‘s lengthy obituary today. Here is a snippet: If Eric Hobsbawm had died 25 years ago, the obituaries would have described him as Britain’s most distinguished Marxist historian and would have left it more or less there. Yet by the time of his death at the age of 95, Hobsbawm had a achieved a unique position in the country’s intellectual life. In his...
01.10.12 | |

18 Jul

The UN Security Council prepares for a new vote on Syria today, amidst raging battles in Damascus and tension between Russia and the West. Among the battles, a suicide attack in Damascus has killed the Syrian Minister of Defense. Foreign Policy looks in-depth into whether it matters that the ICRC has labeled the violence in Syria a non-international armed conflict. For more from Lawfare on the discussion surrounding the label of NIAC, click here and here. The European Court of Human Rights has asked Poland hand over...
18.07.12 | |

27 May

Cross-posted at Balkinization Bobby Chesney writes back with a thoughtful post responding to my question about whether the United States has forward-going detention needs in its counterterrorism operations that are currently unmet by the 2001 statute known as the AUMF. The question arises in light of Congress’ current debate over whether to pass (as the House already has) new legislation essentially extending and broadening existing use of force authority it passed in 2001. Before I engage Bobby’s suggestions, a quick note principally to our readers not as steeped...
27.05.11 | |

22 Oct

Violence erupted in Beirut after the funeral of the slain intelligence chief, raising fears that Lebanon will be unable to escape the tensions in Syria. Foreign Policy has more here. In Syria itself, violence continues, and Special Envoy Brahimi has once again called for a ceasefire over the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha starting this Thursday. Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has told the special envoy to Syria that the weapons flow to rebel forces must stop. Turkey has called for international intervention in Syria. Jordanian officials have...
22.10.12 | |

13 Dec

Syrian troops have been accused of using Scud missiles in populated areas, according to a US official and Human Rights Watch. The United Kingdom has announced its intent to legalize same-sex marriage in the coming year. Trial Chamber II of the ICTY convicted Bosnian Serb commander Zdravko Tolimir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and sentenced him to life in prison. The European Parliament adopted legislation to create a single European patent, taking effect in 2014. Human Rights Watch has released a report (.pdf) about...
13.12.12 | |

12 May

This week on Opinio Juris, Kevin Jon Heller posted on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s refusal to participate in his Military Commission trial, on the censored time-delayed video and audio feed from the trial and on the irony of an op-ed complaining about “false information about the detention” in the media coverage. Deborah Pearlstein addressed the question whether things might have gone differently had a regular criminal court been the forum for this trial. Kevin also wrote about moves by the Office of Public Counsel for the Defence to disqualify...
12.05.12 | |

22 Mar

In a military coup, soldiers have claimed to have overthrown the president of Mali, Amadou Toumani Toure. Libya resists ICC’s custody claims in cases against Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi and Abdullah Senussi. Al-Qaeda has taken responsibility for dozens of bombings across Iraq, which have killed at least 52, leading up to the Arab League summit in Baghdad. China’s Justice Ministry has ordered all lawyers to pledge their allegiance to the Communist Party. All 15 of the UN Security Council members backed Kofi Annan’s peace plan for crackdown on...
22.03.12 | |

20 Aug

Julian Assange has thanked Ecuador’s president Rafael Correa for the “courage he has shown” in granting him political asylum in his first public appearance from the Ecuadorian embassy in London. While Britain still denies Assange safe passage from London, Correa chastised the UK for their threats to storm the embassy to remove Assange, calling them “vulgar, inconsiderate and intolerable.” He also called on other Latin American countries to rally behind Ecuador in this international “David versus Goliath” movement. Minister of UNASUR, the Union of South American Nations,...
20.08.12 | |

23 Apr

Our own Peter Spiro has penned an op-ed in the NY Times about the upcoming arguments at the Supreme Court about Arizona’s controversial immigration bill, SB-1070. Peter has posted on OJ about it here. Territorial disputes between China and Taiwan, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei may escalate based on Chinese development firms jockeying for position in the disputed islands. Despite tensions, China has lauded its friendship with North Korea. The US has criticized this friendship, and accused a Chinese firm of selling components of a missile transporter...
23.04.12 | |