Unsurprisingly, after the UN Security Council referred the Libya situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC), John Bolton took the opportunity to criticize the ICC and, more generally, international law itself. He dubs the ICC “one of the world’s most illegitimate multilateral institutions,” argues that the threat of ICC prosecution will not alter Gadhafi’s behavior, […]
I recently read Robert Kagan’s article ‘The Price of Power‘. Here’s his intro: The looming battle over the defense budget could produce a useful national discussion about American foreign and defense policy. But we would need to begin by dispensing with the most commonly repeated fallacy: that cutting defense is essential to restoring the nation’s […]
I just returned from a fourteen-day tour of the Middle East. As dictators falter and topple left and right, this is certainly an exciting time to be in the region. “The new Middle East,” you might call it. Simmering resentment, propelled by youth movements, disappointment in the status quo, and a sense of serious social […]
This piece originally appeared in The Hill’s Congress Blog today. I am repeating it here. The petition to which Dr. Slakey refers seeks to close what some believe is a dangerous loophole in U.S. efforts to prevent the spread of technologies that can be used in covert nuclear weapons programs. It picks up on a […]
Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi continues to show the world if he’s going down it won’t be easy. He’s vowed to fight to the end and is ramping up his military actions. According to recent press reports Libyan aircraft dropped bombs near the oil refinery in the port town of Marsa El Brega. Judging from the conflicting […]
So there’s now officially a debate on the right about the idea of lawfare. One side says: the U.S. is in danger because its weaker enemies are using international law to undermine its objectives. The other side says: there’s nothing to worry about because international law, and even domestic law, is fairly impotent when it […]
Been off the blogging sphere recently because of travel; now that I’m back home in Colorado thought I would give my thoughts on the Libyan situation. As I write this, according to press reports, anti-government forces are in control of most of the eastern portion of Libya, to include a large segment of the oil […]
It is very easy to think you understand what it is the IAEA, or, as it is called in so many media stories, the “UN Nuclear Watchdog”, can actually do to detect a covert nuclear weapons program or the diversion of nuclear material. You envision IAEA safeguards inspectors busting down doors like nuclear superheroes, pointing […]
Here are two radical proposals for Afghanistan. Neither of them has yet been attempted by the United States. They are: engage in counterinsurgency and attempt to make peace deals with the Taliban. As I’ve noted before (here, here, and here), though there’s a lot of talk of counterinsurgency, the current NATO effort does not very […]
It’s hard to throw a virtual rock nowadays at any foreign affairs publication and not find statements of the demise or fall of American power. In many ways, these are accurate statements as American economic power is falling in proportion to some of the rising economies around the world (although it is still top dog […]
Early this morning (2-25-11), Mexican gunmen armed with short rifles and driving trucks equipped with strobe lights, and in one case, missing license plates, once more attempted to box in a US government-owned vehicle (OGV) driven by US anti-drug agents a short distance from the US border on the Mexican side.
One of the Mexican gunmen in the lead vehicle was also, according to reports, wearing a badge around his neck. . .
Though the ultimate outcome of Egypt’s revolution remains uncertain (it’s still possible that it might wind up not being a revolution at all), it is worth asking: what factors make security forces more likely to decide to side with protesters? Michael Auslin flirts with this question in relation to China at the National Review. He […]
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