So said Lord Goldsmith, the UK’s former Attorney General, yesterday at the UK’s Iraq inquiry. In 2003, Goldsmith provided the legal okay for the UK to participate in the Iraq invasion. You can find notes on Goldsmith’s testimony at TimesOnline here. Before the invasion, Goldsmith originally believed UN resolution 1441 (downloadable here) did not provide […]
By Aarti Tikoo Singh Twenty years ago, “freedom struggle” in Kashmir meant seeking the political rights and political justice that had been denied by India since Jammu & Kashmir’s accession to the Indian union in 1947. But before the idea could even evolve into a mass awakening movement, it burst into religious extremism and cross-border […]
The UN News Centre reported earlier today that the UN 1267 Committee removed five senior Taliban members from its list of individuals subject to sanctions. You can read the UN Security Council news release here. The 1267 Committee, officially called the “Security Council Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee,” was established by UN resolution 1267 (downloadable […]
From the UN News Centre: Despite the fact that international law clearly prohibits secret detention, the practice is widespread and “reinvigorated” by the so-called global war on terror, several independent United Nations experts stated, outlining a series of steps aimed at curbing this human rights violation. In a 222-page study which will be presented to […]
Topic: Just a Typical Week in the World of Defense Issues Last week was interesting but pretty typical for those involved with monitoring national security issues. Osama Bin Laden crawled out from under whatever rock he’s been hiding under and claimed responsibility for the failed attack on Flight 253 on Christmas Day. While speaking […]
“We face three major strategic challenges: the Iranian nuclear program, rockets aimed at our civilians and Goldstone,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said. Thus, the Israeli government is currently taking action against the third threat enumerated by Netanyahu, the Goldstone Report. The Goldstone Report is the result of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission […]
Israel has a comparative advantage in medical care and specifically in treating trauma victims, which comes not only from its advanced human capital, especially in technology and health care, but also from vast experience treating victims of terror and war. Read the NYTimes article published yesterday on the subject. Israel has been treating Haiti’s earthquake victims […]
…even under Barack Obama. Nice piece in the FT on European angst about American power, and the continent’s inability as yet to offer a unified foreign policy with punch. Ideally, EU foreign and defense policies could serve as a counterweight to the G-2, read: China and the U.S. The latest flare-up of this angst involved a […]
As you’ve probably heard, the Supreme Court finally issued its opinion on the Citizens United case. Read the full opinion here. And for a good round-up of commentary, I recommend SCOTUSBlog. One interesting point made my Lyle Denniston there is this: Another question, and this one the Court explicitly said it was not deciding, was […]
The New York Times published an editorial yesterday analyzing the Republican win in Massachusetts this week and offering advice to President Obama. I’m not sure why the “gray lady” of American journalism is joining the chorus in this country calling for populist policies as a result of the Massachusetts election — sticking it to the banks […]
One of the most interesting exchanges from George Mitchell’s Charlie Rose appearance earlier this month (to which I linked earlier in the week) is this one: George Mitchell: Israel annexed Jerusalem in 1980. Charlie Rose: Annexed is an important word. George Mitchell: Annexed is a very important word. No other country and including the United […]
There is apparently a disagreement within the U.S. government about the validity of the CIA’s 2007 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE). The key bullet points of the NIE, found here, were: We assess with high confidence that until fall 2003, Iranian military entities were working under government direction to develop nuclear weapons. We judge with high […]
The P5+1 (U.S., U.K., France, China, Russia, and Germany) met on Saturday to discuss sanctions on Iran. China signaled dissatisfaction by sending a low-level envoy. The FPA Middle East Blog has the story here.
First this. Now this… The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c John Yoo Pt. 1 www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c John Yoo Pt. 2 www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care […]