Was the Bush Shoe Thrower Tortured While in Jail?

Muntader al-Zaidi's brother has come out with the allegations of torture, so reports the New York Times. He claims that the now internationally famous shoe thrower was burned by a cigarette shortly after being arrested, and then "beaten so badly his teeth were knocked out." President Maliki has denied that al-Zaidi has encountered any maltreatment. His brother, Uday, further claims that al-Zaidi was stripped to his underwear, and had cold water poured on him in his sleep before being beated with a thick cable.

If these allegations are true, this is a truly sad day for the new Iraq government, and a further discredit to Maliki's leadership. However, there has been no independent verification of these claims and the whole truth remains unknown.

But the fact that such torture would come to no surprise, is itself, very telling.

A Temporary Hiatus

I am still in the midst of finals for the next two days - don't expect any good updates until they are done. Once they are completed, I will officially be halfway done with law school!

Reconciling Raison D'êtat and France's new Human Rights Ministry

France has recently created a new human rights position within its government. However French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner regrets the creation of the position. Why would a champion of human rights disparage such a post?

“There is a permanent contradiction between human rights and the foreign policy of a state, even in France. ....You cannot run the foreign policy of a country solely in function of human rights. Being in charge of a country obviously distances you from a certain naivety.”

However, I am not inclined to agree at all with this analysis. The idea that a country cannot act in its own self interest while at the same time promoting human rights is fairly ludicrous. In fact, the promotion of human rights directly serves the foreign policy interests of the country because it strengthens the state's moral standing within the international community. Such an increased moral standing offers a bully pulpit from which to encourage other nations to fall in line with other wishes (other than human rights) as well. But my question to Minister Kouchner is this: where the hell did you get the word "solely" from? The new Human Rights Ministry in France is not superior to the regular foreign ministry, but rather it goes off on a tangential goal. Nobody ever said France was now going to approach every foreign policy issue in some kind of human rights perspective. That doesn't even make much sense at all! And secondly, who ever said that the pursual of human rights was naive? Surely there is some idealism to the idea that mankind should respect itself, but honestly, any promotion of international law seems to have MANY practical benefits.

I hope Kouchner was either misquoted, or that he misspoke. It truly would be a sad day to see one of the world's premire human rights promoters disparage a field of international law he lent so much of his career towards.

What are your thoughts?

Finals

The law school here at the University of Oklahoma is abuzz with the drama of finals. To my left, sitting at an empty table with documents strewn about him, is a student with his head in his hands. Looks like he hasn't slept in ages. To my right, sitting on an oversized couch with her laptop cord dangerously reaching accross the walkway, is a student who looks intermittently confused and excited. My guess is she is taking CALI exercises, or some type of online quiz.

The parking lot behind the school is as full as I have ever seen it this time of morning. Half the library printers seem to make louder noises from the strain of recent excessive use. I don't remember the last time I saw so many people in the library.

At home I have noticed my fishbowl is lower than its regular level of water. It has been a while since i cleaned it. My pile of laundry is mounting ever higher. My study desk looks like a hurricane ravaged it.

But this description will have to do for now. My Antitrust final is at 2:00pm, and I still need to fully understand Interbrand Vertical Foreclosure.

European Union now Confronting Piracy

A quick google search of "piracy law" will bring you to tons of websites about the piracy of media such as CD's and movies. But actual pirates have made something of a resurgence in our modern world, especially off the coast of Somalia. They have captured all types of ships recently, even including a Saudi Arabian Supertanker.

The surge in piracy has been a cause for alarm, primarily because it was particularly unexpected and sudden. Foreign Policy magazine has even poked fun at Dennis Blair, who has been rumored to be on Obama's shortlist for Director of National Intelligence, for his article in Foreign Affairs last year entitled "Smooth Sailing: The World's Shipping Lanes are Safe." They point out that (quite contrary to Blair's ill fated prediction) more than 50 ships have been hijacked this year as opposed to only 13 last year, and that the threat is very real around the Gulf of Aden in particular. Other reports put the number around 100 this year.

Now that pirates are back, speculation abounds about the proper methods of dealing with the problem. Most notably, Douglas Burgess Jr. penned an op-ed in the New York Times promoting the idea that pirates should be considered terrorists. This idea has been roundly critiqued by Kevin Jon Heller over at Opinio Juris. Today, however, we are starting to see some stronger response by the international community. The European Union, notably, is startring its first anti-piracy operation off the coast of Somalia, which will add to the NATO contingent that has already been dispatched to the region.

These types of operations, in my opinion, do little to address the root cause of the problem. It seems that simple patroling of the Gulf of Aden cannot possibly prevent every possible hijacking, and it also seems pretty expensive in the long term to keep a multinational fleet in the area. If we want to solve the surging piracy problem, we will have to fix the situation in Somalia itself, in which starvation and desparation is causing folks to take to the ocean and take whatever they can get.

Prank Calls and International Hegemony

Some of you may remember Sarah Palin's prank call during the election from the so called "Masked Avengers" who host a radio comedy show in Montreal. She inaccurately believed it was French President Nicolas Sarkozy who was calling her. In fact, President Sarkozy himself has been pranked with a similar call as well. Fortunately this did not end in any serious problems, as the call was generally playful and meant for comedy.

Unfortunately, the copycats are less playful. Asif Ali Zardari, the President of Pakistan, recently took a call from an individual pretending to be India's Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The pranker was successful in fooling President Zardari, making him believe India was imminently taking retaliatory action for the Mumbai attacks. Pakistan's military was put on high alert, and Secretary of State Condileeza Rice recieved a call asking her to intervene. Pakistan maintains that their usual verification methods for phonecalls to the President were followed.

So the ultimate question is this: what is wrong with the screening processes for the calls made to national leaders and their candidates for office? What can be done to fix it?

It is certainly provocative to see two nuclear nations potentially at war over a prank phone call. It is also telling that the first thing Pakistan did in this situation was to call the United States to act as a mediator and intervenor.

Sex Selection in Thailand

Hat tip to the LGBT law blog on this one. Apparantly Australian women are taking advantage of the domestic law in Thailand so that they can select the sex of their baby. This is illegal in Australia and most other nations.

New Drama in Georgia

Georgian PM Grigol Mgaloblishvili is firing a couple of his cabinet members today. The Minister of Defense and Minister of Foreign Affairs will be ousted, in a major "reshuffling" of the cabinet. There is no word as to the reasoning behind this, or if it has to do with ineptitude or political differences.

Hate Crimes Have Decreased Against Arabs

Shortly after 9/11 hate crimes against Arab Americans reached an all time high. Seeking vigilante justice, or simply taking out their broad frustrations against a culture they do not understand, many Americans allowed their prejudices to become actions. Today the Arab-American Discrimination Committee announced, that these types of attacks have significantly declined over recent years. In 2001, shortly after the attacks there were approximately 700 reported hate crimes against Arab-Americans. In subsequent years the number has been between 120 and 130 per year. However, the level in the 90's was around 80 per year.

We still have some progress to be made on this issue, as levels of hate crimes tend to increase shortly after international terrorist attacks such as the London Bombing.

Restoring Image: Joining the International Criminal Court?

Roger Cohen, of the New York Times, has an op-ed posted today urging the United States to join the ICC. The ICC is a permanent international court for war crimes. Although Clinton signed the treaty, Bush withdrew the signature - an action widely seen in International Law as a complete withdraw of intent to ever ratify a treaty. Cohen wants us to re-sign the treaty immediately in order to re-build our foreign relations with nations around the world, and make our image better. Given the fact that every other industrialized western nation has also signed the treaty, and that this is a particular sore spot in our diplomatic relations, widely seen by the international community as a slap in the face to the rule of International Law - I agree. We should strive to become more multilateral in our approaches to things now. Opponents will cry about losing sovereignty. But the proponents will rightly point out, that full and exclusive sovereignty is not only an antiquated idea, it is unwise in out globalized world.

U.S. Will not Sign Cluster Bomb Ban Treaty

Today in Oslo, Norway, the signing period has opened on the Cluster Bomb Ban treaty. Notable signers include Laos and Lebanon, two countries who have had to suffer from the usage of these particularly indiscriminate weapons. More than half the U.N.'s member states will sign the treaty.

The problem with cluster bombs is not just that they target large areas, but that many of the shells do not explode upon impact and lie dormant for years. That is, until some unsuspecting child stumbles over it in a field during peacetime, setting it off, and losing their legs.

President Bush says if the U.S. were prohibited from using these weapons, then national security would be decreased. He has refused to sign the treaty.

Will Obama sign it when he takes office?

Obama to U.S. Diplomats: You are all fired.

January 20 is the day all the "pink slips" take effect for our Ambassadors in embassies accross the globe. Their replacements, presumably, will take their places shortly thereafter. It seems Obama plans to replace nearly all of them. This is a (slight)break from tradition, as many diplomats have been allowed to serve a transitional role for at least a few weeks during past Presidential transitions. Plus, many Ambassadors who have been a part of our professional Foreign Service are generally non-partisan.

Obama Will Be Second Among World Leaders in Salary

Compared to private industry and company CEO's, folks who work in public service typically don't get paid much. Even Prime Ministers and Presidents, whose job responsibilities are enormous, pale in comparison to the folks at Microsoft, GM, and others. The highest paid global leader is Prime Minister Lee Hsien, in Singapore who earns $2.46 Million each year. Second in line is President Bush who makes $400,000 each year. Only three leaders get paid in the $300,000 range (Angela Merkel - Chancellor of Germany, Nicolas Sarkozy - President of France, and Kevin Rudd - PM of Australia.)

Perhaps surprisingly, Vladimir Putin of Russia is only paid $81,190 each year.

What about Holbrooke?

Richard Holbrooke is a very admired man within Diplomatic circles, and within the media. Although you may never have heard of him, you have certainly heard of the conflict in Bosnia during the 90's. He was the guy who brokered the peace accords that ended those aggressions (known as the Dayton Peace Accords). He is a straight talker in every sense of the term, unafraid to break hard truths to U.S. Presidents and foreign leaders alike. He is a realist with no real ideological motives, who breaks through roadblocks and achieves real success. He has experience working with NATO (due to their involvement in Bosnia during the Clinton Administration), and he is confortable in one-on-one talks with foreign diplomats where the stakes are high. He has held various positions in the State Department, and is a former U.N. Ambassador (he was right after Bill Richardson).

So the question is: where the hell is he? Where is Obama going to put him? Will he play a central role in anything?

Personally, I believe he should have been Secretary of State. Seems that is going to Hillary Clinton instead. But it will be a travesty if we don't use this guy for all he is worth. I will be watching to see where he is being put, and I will let you know.

The Rumor is Now in Baghdad

Turns out its not just the crazies on the far right that believe President-Elect Obama is Muslim. Apparantly this patently false rumor has made its way to Iraq, and with greater detail! Not only is he a Muslim, according to certain uneducated Shi'ites in poor areas of Iran and Iraq, but he is also a Shi'ite Muslim. In Sadr City, where the U.S. is particularly hated (and one of the most persistently violent locations in the country) there is a sense that America has in fact been fooled. One man told Time Magazine that "we now have a brother in the White House." Lets see how long it takes the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity to jump on this as some kind of evidence of a conspiracy.

Newspapers in Iran had plenty of propaganda in the run up to the election, much of this may be blamed on that.

Thailand Constitutional Court Ruling

The court's decision is supposed to be posted on the official website of the constitutional court, however they are currently in the process of translating the document to english. It will be posted at this link.

Thailand Supremes Oust Rulers

Electoral fraud is a serious crime in Thailand. The so called People Power Party is ordered dissolved (at least partially) by a court decision in Bangkok today that keeps the PM from power for at least five years. Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat has faced some significant protest in the aftermath of the latest election - in which his party allegedly cheated their way into power by rigging elections. I am looking for the court documents and if I am successful I will post them later.

For now, here is some intresting video.

Special Note on Afghanistan

Only one death is recorded for U.S. troops in Afghanistan last month. The monthly average is 21 deaths. One theory is that insurgents scale back operations in the colder months...but could it be an indication that our operations there are becoming more successful?

Subscription Publications

For anybody wishing to pursue an International specialty in their academic life, whether it be for a Masters Degree or a Juris Doctorate, there are two indispensable periodicals you should make yourself aware of.

1. Foreign Affairs. Published by the Counsel on Foreign Relations, this should be a staple of your regular reading diet. The website is excellent, and with a subscription you gain access to a whole year of back issues and archives of their articles going back into the eighties. This means it can be used for keeping up to date on current events and analysis, but also as a handy research tool when you write papers or wish to bone up on a particular topic. The archivs also have a great search tool which lets you search by topic, such as "terrorism" or "border security", or by geographic region such as "India" or "East Asia."

2. FP: Foreign Policy Magazine. This can be found on most bookshelves, and is a great way to read about world happenings from a U.S. perspective. It focuses mostly on politics and economics, and reads just like any magazine like Newsweek or Time. Because of its relatively short articles, its much more fun than the "treatise-like" lengthy theoretical articles in other publications. The Passport blog on its website is fun as well, and an especially easy way to access the news.

Susan Rice: A Breath of Fresh Air

After having been dissapointed with various previous U.N. Ambassadors over recent years, Susan Rice, Obama's current nominee is a breath of fresh air.

It seems something of a political tradition in the United States to denigrate and make fun of the United Nations. This stems from a general feeling within the U.S. that any cooperation with International Organizations is a defacto relinquishment of sovereignty and thus contributes to a decline in our bargaining power in various international disputes. However, cooperation has myriad benefits in the sense that being seen as a conciliator and contributor to global diplomacy offers the U.S. a greater sense moral leverage when critical events actually happen. When you work hard to ease tension through participation in the U.N., it becomes easer to build coalitions for projects that other nations might otherwise be reluctant to join.

I think that Susan Rice is a pragmatist. She knows that we have significant and undeniable international interests, and is willing to protect and promote them at all costs. But she is also a realist, and unlike many of the Bush appointees, she has a reputation for actually giving a rats ass about the global international community. As a former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, she is intimately familiar with the Rwanda and Darfur problems, and has advocated intervention.

After years of being reluctant to engage in the whole range of issues, from joining the Kyoto Protocol, to preventing Genocide, to the various Human Rights Treaties - perhaps we can have some actual engagement and genuine dialogue.

Regarding Mumbai Terror

This truly is India's version of a 9/11 type of event. The similarities are pretty clear.

1. The attack was on a celebrated and popularly known building.

2. The attack killed civilians.

3. The attackers (with one exception) all died in the attack.

4. There was a significant and notable intelligence failure.

5. Mumbai is the chief finance capitol of the country.

6. The terrorists were Islamic.

7. India is a Democratic Republic, with significantly strained relations with Pakistan and other Muslim countries.

8. The attack was on more than one location, simultaneously.

Overall, I think it is very clear we should stand with India, and both President Bush, and President-Elect Obama have made statements strongly supporting India in the aftermath. The origins of the attackers are unclear, however I see fingerprints of Al Qaeda when I read the news stories. The simultaneous attacks are especially telling. Next Post: Thoughts on Susan Rice.