CIA Drone Strikes and the Public-Authority Justification
In a pair of posts ( here and here), Kevin Heller at Opinio Juris explores a very interesting question: What exactly is the domestic legal foundation for the CIA’s use of lethal force given that the 2001 AUMF refers explicitly to US armed forces only? As he points out, the question matters especiall ...
Al-Shabaab Names New Leader, Vows to ‘Punish’ U.S. and Renews Allegiance to al-Qaeda
Somali al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab quickly promoted a new leader for the organization and vowed retaliation for the “American Crusaders’ aerial bombardment” that killed Ahmed Godane on Labor Day. The White House confirmed Godane’s death yesterday, calling his “removal… a major symbolic and operati ...
Saturday, September 6, 2014
It’s gloriously sunny today, but the temperatures are cooling. I have two laundries on the line and most of the windows open, but my toes are a bit cold in sandals. Jay arrives from Korea at midnight tonight. It’s his first trip back to Canada since he left Ottawa at the end of May, 2010. I’m excite ...
How our ‘allies’ in Kuwait and Qatar funded Islamic State
In the great jihadi funding bazaar that is the Gulf state of Kuwait, there’s a terror finance option for every pocket, from the private foundations dealing in tens of millions to the more retail end of the market. Give enough for 50 sniper bullets (50 dinars, about £110), promises the al-Qaeda and I ...
Reflexiones del Sábado 30/8/2014
Mientras que los descerebrados del Estado Islámico continúan con sus barbaridades, la guerra religiosa entre sunnitas y Shiitas sigue con sus atentados, incluso contra recintos que para unos y otros deberían de ser sagrados, por ser centros de oración; el sábado pasado los shiitas explosionaron un c ...
Almost Doesn’t Count
The following is a repost of an article that I wrote in October 2006, after reading an article by Seymour Hersh in The New Yorker, about Donald Rumsfeld and his designs on the military. Almost Doesn’t Count Kevin Miller It turns out the outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld who Many say that th ...
Intelligence Gaps Crippled Mission to Rescue U.S. Hostages Held by Islamic State
It wasn't just intelligence gaps, but White House indecision as well. At the Wall Street Journal, " Intelligence Gaps Crippled Mission in Syria to Rescue Hostages James Foley, Steven Sotloff": How intelligence gaps foiled an Army Delta Force raid to rescue James Foley and Steven Sotloff http://t.co/ ...
What Way Naval Drone Aviation?
082414 “This Week in Defense News with Vago Muradian” Roundtable Discussion with Kathleen Hicks, Director of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Joel Rayburn, Fellow at the National Defense University; Janine Davidson, Senior Fellow for Defense P ...
Ukraine, Iraq and a Black Sea Strategy | Stratfor
Stratfor By George Friedman The United States is, at the moment, off balance. It faces challenges in the Syria-Iraq theater as well as challenges in Ukraine. It does not have a clear response to either. It does not know what success in either theater would look like, what resources it is prepared to ...
Mass grave found in northern Iraq
Mass grave found in northern Iraq A mass grave is found in northern Iraq, believed to contain 15 Shi'ite truck drivers killed by Islamic State militants. Sarah Toms reports. Video provided by Reuters Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/1rRrusc
Baird’s ‘one voice’ in Iraq with Liberals and NDP a notable non-partisan change in tone for the Tories
IRBIL, Iraq — Moments after climbing into a bunker manned by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird looked behind him and gestured, saying, “Paul and Marc, come on.” Seconds later, amid the sandbags, Kurdish fighters and ...
