Online Journal of Politics and Foreign Affairs
With the attacks on Syrian civilians seemingly getting worse by the day, the United Nations Security Council took up a resolution that would back efforts by the Arab League to bring an end to the crackdown, an effort that collapsed in failure as both Russia and China exercised their veto power: UNITED NATIONS — A [...]
Rick Perry wants a no-fly zone in Syria to prevent ground forces from harming civilians.
We may have entered a new and dangerous phase of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
President Obama explained his position on the Palestinian statehood resolution today, but one wonders if anyone listened.
It’s General Assembly time again in New York City and, along with the ongoing controversy over the Palestinian statehood bid, that means a return visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahdmedinejad, who never ceases to find something offensive or idiotic to say when he addresses the world body. This year, though, there’s a Presidential election going [...]
Foolishly, the Palestinians are going forward with their effort to get Palestinian statehood recognized by the United Nations.
International options with respect to Syria are limited and likely to have little impact on the governments treatment of civilians.
According to The New York Times, Libyan rebels are being accused of attacking civilians in several captured towns: Rebels in the mountains in Libya’s west have looted and damaged four towns seized since last month from the forces of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, part of a series of abuses and apparent reprisals against suspected loyalists that [...]
The US Supreme Court declined to stay the execution of a child raping murderer over a technical violation of a treaty.
Sometimes, you just can’t make stuff like this up: In the latest ‘you’ve got to be kidding’ news from the United Nations, North Korea assumed the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament Tuesday. “Bare months after the U.N. finally suspended Libya’s Col. Muammar Qaddafi from its Human Rights Council, North Korea wins the propaganda coup [...]
If you needed any additional evidence of the irrelevance of the United Nations, this would be it: The brutal crackdown by Syrian President Bashar Assad may finally be getting the attention of world leaders — but apparently not enough to stop Syria from becoming the newest member of the U.N. Human Rights Council. And despite [...]
One wonders if it’s their success at getting the U.N. to intervene in Libya that is causing the Arab League to make this request: CAIRO, April 10 (Reuters) – The Arab League called on the United Nations on Sunday to impose a no-fly zone over Gaza and lift an Israeli siege of the territory after [...]
The conflict between the stated desire to see Muammar Gaddafi removed from power and the actual authority granted by UNSCR 1973 is becoming readily apparent: WASHINGTON — Members of the NATO alliance have sternly warned the rebels in Libya not to attack civilians as they push against the regime of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, according to [...]
Reuters is reporting that the U.S. is now going to start arming the Libyan rebels: (Reuters) – President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, government officials told Reuters on Wednesday. Obama signed the order, known as a presidential “finding”, [...]
The “Obama Doctrine,” such as it is, seems to boil down to moral self-certainty combined with a glaring ignorance of reality. That’s a dangerous combination.
One week in to Operation Odyssey Down, public opinion is, to put it as nicely as possibly, ambivalent.
President Obama’s grand coalition against Libya is a lot less than meets the eye.
So far only one Arab nation has provided material support to the mission in Libya: WASHINGTON — As America’s NATO allies shoulder a greater share of the mission in Libya, the Arab countries that urged the U.N. Security Council to impose a no-fly zone are missing from the action. Except for the small Persian Gulf [...]
The Libyan rebels probably aren’t strong enough to defeat Gaddafi on their own, and the no-fly zone isn’t going to be enough either. Which means this operation is going to be far more extensive than President Obama is willing to admit publicly.
The public, and Congress, are skeptical of the mission in Libya, and the reason for that is because the President has failed to tell us exactly why we’re there and what we’ll be doing.
It has become quite apparent that neither the White House nor our coalition partners have any idea what the path to an endgame in Libya even looks like. That’s not good.
My co-blogger Steven Taylor makes this observation about where Libya finds itself eight years after surrendering ts nuclear weapons research program: It struck me as ironic that just under eight years ago Gaddafi specifically engaged in a course of action clearly intended to forestall US military action against his regime and that, despite that, he [...]
This morning, it took George Will about a minute to lay out the case against Operation Odyssey Dawn: CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: “George. Do you think this was the right thing to do?” GEORGE WILL: “I do not. We have intervened in a tribal society in a civil war. And we’ve taken sides in that civil war [...]
It didn’t take long for others in the world to see the intervention in Libya as an opportunity to plead their own case: Bahrain’s opposition asked for U.N. and American intervention in the government crackdown on the Shiite protests trying to loosen the monarchy’s grip, in a brief protest Sunday in the capital that disbanded [...]
There hasn’t been much talk over the past month about just who the people fighting to overthrow the Gaddafi regime actually are. Undoubtedly, a large part of the uprising is a genuine revolt by the people of Libya against a brutal dictator. However, the rebels also include those whose vision of a post-Gaddafi Libya would [...]
A mere week after calling for a no-fly zone over Libya, the Arab League is now criticizing the nations implementing a no-fly zone over Libya: CAIRO (AP) — The head of the Arab League has criticized international strikes on Libya, saying they caused civilian deaths. The Arab League’s support for a no-fly zone last week [...]
U.S. officials are making clear that the current mission in Libya may not lead to the end of Muammar Gaddafi’s rule. If that’s the case, then why are we there in the first place?
As the opening hours of the U.N. sanctioned action against Libya, the United States has taken its first offensive military action against Libya since the bombing attacks in 1986: U.S. military officials have confirmed the first American tomahawk cruise missiles have been fired at targets inside Libya from ships in the Mediterranean Sea. The move [...]
Faced with a United Nations Security Council Resolution and the threat of international military action, Libya announced today that it was halting all military action against the rebels in the eastern half of the country: Hours after the United Nations Security Council voted to authorize military action and the imposition of a no-flight zone, Libya [...]
Late today, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution authorizing military action in support of the Libyan rebellion: UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council approved a measure on Thursday authorizing “all necessary measures” to protect Libyan civilians from harm at the hands of forces loyal to Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi. The measure allows not [...]
The Obama Administration is asking the U.N. Security Council to authorize direct military intervention in Libya. The question is, why now?
Egypt entered a second day of chaos with all signs pointing to things getting worse before they get better.
Let’s keep our eye on the ball, people.
Should the UN expand the number of permanent Security Council members?
If the United Nations has its way, E.T. will be meeting an obscure Malaysian astrophysicists if he arrives.
More bluster from the Pyongyang regime: UNITED NATIONS — North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations said Tuesday that his country’s military would respond forcefully to any Security Council condemnation over the sinking of a South Korean warship, warning that “our people and army will smash our aggressors.” In a rare news conference, the envoy, [...]
With tensions continuing to rise on the Korean Peninsula and the latest round of talks in China seemingly ending with no real progress, some analysts are wondering if the world is prepared for the effects of a collapse of the Pyongyang regime: [G]iven the worsening economy, the inexperience of the putative successor and the unknown [...]
The New York Times is reporting that there’s been a deal reached among the major powers for a new set of sanctions on Iran: WASHINGTON — The Obama administration announced Tuesday morning that it had struck a deal with other major powers, including Russia and China, to impose new sanctions on Iran, a sharp repudiation [...]
The UN’s number two official in Afghanistan, Peter Galbraith, has been fired after a clash with head of mission Kai Eide over how to handle fraud in the recent presidential elections. Galbraith alleges that Eide is covering up massive corruption for reasons of expediency. My New Atlanticist essay, “Galbraith Fired, Refused to Hide Afghanistan Election [...]
Manfred Nowak, the U.N.’s special rapporteur on torture, proclaimed yesterday that the United States must prosecute the lawyers who drew up the torture memos and that if we fail to do so it is the duty of other states to step in and bring charges. In my New Atlanticist piece, “UN: United States Must Prosecute [...]
Oops. UPDATE (Dave Schuler) The story on this incident appears to be changing: JERUSALEM — Israel’s prime minister says the Israeli military fired artillery shells at a U.N. compound in Gaza after militants opened fire from the location. Ehud Olmert says Israeli forces “were attacked from there and the response was harsh.” U.N. chief Ban [...]
Japan, Austria, Turkey, Uganda, and Mexico will replace Indonesia, Belgium, Italy, South Africa, and Panama in the two year terms for nonpermanent seats on the United Nations Security Council beginning on January 1 of next year: UNITED NATIONS — Japan easily drubbed Iran in the election on Friday for a two-year seat on the Security [...]
French and EU President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a call from the floor of the UN yesterday to expand the Security Council and G8. Declaring that, “The 21st century world cannot be governed with the institutions of the 20th century,” he argued that inclusion of today’s emerging powers is not just “a matter fairness” but a [...]
John McCain is taking advantage of Barack Obama’s “foreign vacation” in Hawaii and using the crisis in Georgia to showcase his foreign policy prowess. He’s dispatched his minions, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, to Georgia. TPM’s Greg Sargent figures, The idea is to showcase himself as a man of action during a time of international [...]
Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has ordered what the press is describing as a “cease-fire” in Georgia. Given that he is not withdrawing Russian forces and is going to keep killing Georgian troops in South Ossetia in violation of international law, however, that term doesn’t quite seem to fit. NYT: The president said Russia had achieved [...]
Georgian forces have been routed and have retreated from their South Ossetia province after being outmatched by the Russians. Now, many Georgians are wondering where their Western allies are. Tony Halpin for The Times of London: As a Russian jet bombed fields around his village, Djimali Avago, a Georgian farmer, asked me: “Why won’t America [...]
Russian tanks have moved into the disputed Caucasus region of South Ossetia, dramatically escalating already high tensions with Georgia. Russian television reports that Russian troops are moving into South Ossetia. The development comes hours after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned Georgia that its attack on South Ossetia will draw retaliation. Channel 1 television showed a [...]
Bernard Finel argues that we have done a poor job of formalizing rules to deal with the fight against international terrorists. Few, even today, question the legitimacy of the U.S. campaign to remove the Taliban. But has this case set a broader precedent? And if so, what are the parameters of this precedent. Does any [...]
