The assassination of Osama bin Laden by US special forces certainly has created a political problem for the Republican party. They spent years demagoguing the war on terror, but now the symbol of that struggle is dead. The man who green-lighted the operation wasn't...
*post written with comments from fellow duck Ben O'LoughlinThe world media is reporting that Anwar al-Awlaki has been killed in Yemen – although details are very sketchy at this point. It is very...
Charli has been writing about international justice, arguing against ‘myths’ – and comparing the efforts to bring Mladic to justice as opposed to the rush to shoot Osama bin Laden in the face....
At the risk of beating a dead terrorist horse, I want to cite W. Hays Parks (former Special Advisor to the Office of Legal Counsel on Law of War Issues at DoD, JAG and possible stand in for Clint...
I'll make it quick.1. He's dead. But that won't stop the vast, academic industry around this war. We academics really have done very well out of the war on terror for the most part. We have a strong professional interest in not facing up to the raw strategic reality, that Al Qaeda has become largely a third-order nuisance, dangerous but mainly in terms of baiting us to do stupid things, and a diversion from much more difficult and serious stuff, like the vast imbalance between our power, resources and commitments, the near collapse of our financial system (September 2008, as well as 2001, is...
In the wake of the jubilant response to bin Laden's killing, it is heartening to see such a quick discussion erupt over its legality. The State Department has released its legal rationale for the operation here. The Atlantic Wire summarizes various arguments. Ken Anderson considers what the debate itself tells us about international law development.My views on extrajudicial execution are well known, but I'm not sure I agree with Paul Campos that this event counts as such - whether or not this is understood as a law enforcement operation vs. a military engagement. In the former, officers are...
"You Americans, you think when something dies, it goes away." - Robin Williams in the play "Tiger"In Urdu/Hindi the phrase "Tere bin Laden," which was also the title of last year's hit Bollywood comedy about the American War on Terror, is a play on words which can be read as "Your bin Laden" or "Without you, Laden." Â The phrase succinctly captures the current reality in which bin Laden is both absent and polysemic.As Faisal Devji has argued, Americans and Arabs have tended to forcibly fit this Saudi man -- who swore allegiance to a reclusive Afghan mullah: who lived and fought in Africa and...
My reaction to the news was essentially that of a five year old after a long car ride -- can we be done now? I am very tired of the war on terror, on multiple levels.First, the obvious irritations. The airport security with two children, whose liquids must be regarded a priori as toxic substances. The shoes and the belts. Can't I at least keep my coat on? Don't we have scanners that can pick out an explosive device from my inside pocket? This from the country that put a man on the moon? Yes, I would feel differently if there were another attack tomorrow using fake breast milk as a...
There will be a lot of time to think about Bin Laden's death, but I thought I would add a few quick thoughts while I catch up on the coverage online. There are a bunch of surprises and non-surprises.First, in retrospect, the non-surprises are:Seal Team 6 (the super-special operations forces) did the job, not a drone. This is not a surprise, because the US always wanted to have complete proof that it was Bin Laden and that he was dead. A drone cannot do that.... yet.That the US took the shot. Yes, there are tradeoffs involved, especially backlash against the US and within Pakistan, but...
POTUS speaking to the nation this evening:11:40: "They took care to avoid civilian casualties." Hmm. No word as to whether they succeeded.11:41: "Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader. He was a mass murderer of Muslims." That was good.11:43: "Today's achievement is a testament to the greatness of the American people." I see. Killing this individual is on par with walking on the moon. We can all be very proud. The "war" will continue. My immediate take: they've done a masterful job at playing the media and making a huge story and enormous nationalistic success out of a single operation in a vast...