Monthly Archives: September 2011

Thoughts from the Labour fringe: Sri Lanka.

Posted on September 29, 2011 by

I spent the first part of this week on the fringe of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.  Here are some thoughts as they relate to my project.  A meeting that couldn’t fail to have made an impression on anyone … Continue reading →

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The war on terror enters its second decade (ii). War, hierarchy and continuity.

Posted on September 28, 2011 by

Over at Lawfare Robert Chesney has a post on the latest military commission charges.  These involve the case of the alleged USS Cole bomber al-Nashiri.  These charges are crucial for one of the arguments I’m advancing in my forthcoming book, which is … Continue reading →

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“Debased Realism” and “selective opposition to tyranny”

Posted on September 22, 2011 by

George Eaton at The New Statesman has an interesting post on the shift in Prime Minister Cameron’s rhetoric.  Gone is the explicit realism of 2006.  Cameron is now “a full-blown convert to liberal interventionism”.  Yet this rhetorical shift is not enough for … Continue reading →

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The war on terror in its second decade. Continuity we have to believe in (IV)

Posted on September 20, 2011 by

In my last project, “Law, War and the State of the American Exception”, I looked at the Obama administration’s policies in four areas where its predecessor challenged or violated international law. One of these was the use of force, in … Continue reading →

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Are we going to see an ‘unreasonable veto’?

Posted on September 19, 2011 by

On the 6th February 2003 Tony Blair said this on BBC’s Newsnight Supposing in circumstances where there was a clear breach of Resolution 1441 and everyone else wished to take action, one put down a veto. In those circumstances it … Continue reading →

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The UN Security Council and Syria

Posted on September 9, 2011 by

The Washington Post has an interesting editorial on the situation in Syria.  It essentially calls for regime change, arguing that the removal of the Assad regime is the only sure way to stop the killing.  It adds, however, that foreign … Continue reading →

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Manningham-Buller’s second Reith lecture

Posted on September 8, 2011 by

If you liked the first Reith Lecture by Eliza Manningham Buller then you’ll probably also like the second.  I attended last night’s recording at the Leeds City Museum and there’s plenty in there to discuss.  The headline grabber will be … Continue reading →

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Gaddafi, Niger and the ICC

Posted on September 6, 2011 by

The media reports about Gaddafi possibly being in Niger are fascinating.  Firstly, the BBC reporter in Benghazi suggested that a deal might have been done with NATO to allow the guy to cross the desert.  If this is the case … Continue reading →

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Labour and Libya

Posted on September 4, 2011 by

Shadow Foreign Minister Douglas Alexander has an interesting piece in The Independent today.  The following is noteworthy in the context of my present project: … while Iraq should inform us, it should not paralyse us. So – notwithstanding the difficulty of … Continue reading →

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Released letter on Iraq

Posted on September 2, 2011 by

 This is the first chance I’ve had to comment on the letter from Blair’s Private Secretary Matthew Rycroft to the FCO, which was reported on earlier this week.  It seems to confirm the thesis I advance in my BJPIR article … Continue reading →

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