Controversial Article on General Mcchrystal

Typing from a German kezboard at the moment, so the kezs are fixed differentlz but I want to rush this; this is the article that has caused an uproar in the Obama administration and may lead to the relievement of General Mcchrstal in Afghanistan. It would be a sad end to one of the most brilliant military leaders of our generation

Suspected Sudan rebel leaders surrender to court

Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus are charged with 3 counts of war crimes and arrived voluntarily at the Hague on Wednesday to turn themselves in.

Maybe this could turn into the turning point in the Sudan conflict if anymore rebel leaders turn themselves into the ICC. I doubt al-Bashir will turn himself in to the court as well, but now that all of the perpetrators of the deadliest attack on African Union peacekeepers are in custody, perhaps things will change.

If the ICC were stronger it could go into Sudan and arrest those responsible, including al-Bashir if they were lucky I think. But they are not and could only wait since Sudan refused to extradite them.

Controversy over Afghan Timetable

In a recently released book, Vice President Biden was cited as saying that July 2011 would mark a significant point of draw down for U.S. Forces. Secretary Gates says that this is not the case, and that the current offensives in Afghanistan have not gone as smoothly as hoped, putting any previously established timetable in jeopardy.

In terms of International Law, I feel this raises a moral question: does the U.S. owe the international community a full withdrawal from Afghanistan in light of the blunders and arguably shaky legal basis for invasion (vis-a-vis Iraq) or should the United States indeed stay the course? The insurgency in Afghanistan is now stronger than it has been in years, and a return to the warlord regime of the Taliban would be devastating not only to Afghanistan and American P.R. , but also the strategic position of U.S. interests and stabilizing efforts in the Middle East? Is there a question of justice if the United States were to leave and leave the region in chaos?

I argue that there is more justice to be done by, "staying the course," at this point in the war, as the injustices that would be inflicted upon the Afghan people would be laid at American feet for starting the war - an effect that could raise questions of human rights violations and American culpability thereof.

A Different Opinion..

The Express ran a short piece on Friday (Jun.18th) that I found interesting -- it was called "Muslim Effort Falls Flat" and reported on a recent Pew poll that found persistent negative views of the U.S., and Obama particularly, across much of the Muslim world. A Google News piece reporting on the same data can be found here. In much of the rest of the world, views of the U.S. and of our president are much higher than they were during the Bush Administration, but despite Obama's "drive to improve relations with the Muslim world," where opinions of the U.S. remain unchanged or even lower as compared to previous years.

Motives behind Gaza Blockade

Here is an interesting article from the AP that hasn't gotten much play. Most telling, regardless of whether there actually is a sinister Israeli document is an Israeli official stating that authorities will continue to ease the blockade but "could not lift the embargo altogether as long as Hamas remains in control" of Gaza. This quite nearly suggests the blockade as means of pushing Hamas out of power, clearly falling in line with the idea of a "limited economic war": Punishing civilians as a means of attacking Hamas. What the article also illuminates is the extent of all that is restricted now in Gaza: Up until two weeks ago soda, juice, jam, spices, shaving cream, potato chips, cookies and candy were all prohibited.

Is the World Cup Bad For South Africa

On June 11th, representatives from 32 nations and millions upon millions of futbol (soccer) fans worldwide descended upon South Africa for the beginning of the month-long World Cup. The World Cup is generally billed as the second largest international athletic competition--following the Olympics--and is being hosted in an African nation for the first time in the 80-year history of the tournament. Even Professor Weekes has made the connection between, "the ways in which the TRC process might have had an effect on the 2010 World Soccer Cup Games now being held in South Africa" (Sunday June 6).

As Rotberg detailed in Truth v. Justice, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was the first step in making South Africa the first African nation to host the World Cup. Writes Rotberg of the need for the TRC to come to terms with the past in order to move into the future, "In the South African case, that meant dealing with outrages committed by whites against Africans, Africans against Africans, Africans against whites, and the African National Congress (ANC)against its own members, as well as with whites coming to terms with the evils of apartheid, perpetrated over more than forty years, with blacks primarily the victims" (Rotberg, 6).

While the strides South Africa has made, which are detailed in the linked article, are immense--especially for only being sixteen years since achieving full democracy--there is always the opposing view. Though this article does not cover it, the full 14-page special report in the print edition (if anyone is interested in reading it or about the Israeli siege...whoever edited this issue must have known about our class...please let me know) details some of the drawbacks and steps still remaining that have been totally forgotten because of the positives that are being paraded.

For Neda

This documentary on HBO illustrates what happened to Neda Agha-Soltan as well as the Iranian election in 2009. After viewing this, I found many themes that we have covered in this class. An article from CNN.com by Mitra Mobasherat describes the film as " the personal story of the woman who unwittingly became the symbol of the post-election reform movement in Iran when her death was captured on a cell phone video and shown around the world." The CNN article also reports that the Iranian government tried to interrupt either electricity or satellite signal when the documentary was shown last week.