Title: The Obama Administration and International Law

Author: Harold Hongju Koh (Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State)
Event: Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law
Location: Washington, DC
Published: March 25, 2010

For the complete text go to:
Url: http://www.state.gov/s/l/releases/remarks/139119.htm

Quote: "We live in a time, when, as you know, the United States finds itself engaged in several armed conflicts. As the President has noted, one conflict, in Iraq, is winding down. He also reminded us that the conflict in Afghanistan is a “conflict that America did not seek, one in which we are joined by forty-three other countries… in an effort to defend ourselves and all nations from further attacks.”
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Splitting the Sky

At the trial on Monday, the police officer who arrested Splitting the Sky (John Boncore) said that he was "protecting Spitting the Sky” from Bush's guards. He went on to say that Bush's protectors carry “lethal weapons” and that they would have used them to kill the accused man had the police not intercepted him. The questions raised by the police officer's testimony were not raised by the defense nor the prosecution. The presiding Judge Manfred Delong, denied the defenses plea too allow for a distinction between “Obstructing a Police Officer” and “Preventing a Police Officer from Performing his Duty.”

Following is an article published in the The Guardian, UK, 4 November 2009 -

But also note this "link" to a Wall Street Journal OpEd article that soft pedals criminal behavior in face of International Law.

Italian court finds CIA agents guilty of kidnapping terrorism suspect

• Italian court convicts Robert Lady and 23 others in absentia
• First prosecution for US abduction of suspects to torture states

John Hooper in Rome
* guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 November 2009 22.50 GMT

Twenty-three Americans were tonight convicted of kidnapping by an Italian court at the end of the first trial anywhere in the world involving the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" programme for abducting terrorist suspects.

"Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities."
- Voltaire, Questions sur les miracles (1765)

Senator Lieberman, Secretary of State Clinton, and former UN Ambassador John Bolton have resumed rhetoric of a United States attack upon Iran. This article will define “War of Aggression” and explain when a war is justifiable under US and international law. Laws are meant to be understood and obeyed. Among the most important for governments and citizens to understand is when war is authorized, and when responses other than war are required. If we wish to call ourselves civilized, we MUST understand the rule of law before we threaten a nation for destruction, death, and cruel physical, emotional and mental agony.
It is edited from my brief, “War with Afghanistan and Iraq, rhetoric for war with Iran”; found here: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/41708.

New York Times: Documents Back Saudi Link to Extremists
June 24, 2009
By ERIC LICHTBLAU

WASHINGTON — Documents gathered by lawyers for the families of Sept. 11 victims provide new evidence of extensive financial support for Al Qaeda and other extremist groups by members of the Saudi royal family, but the material may never find its way into court because of legal and diplomatic obstacles.

The case has put the Obama administration in the middle of a political and legal dispute, with the Justice Department siding with the Saudis in court last month in seeking to kill further legal action. Adding to the intrigue, classified American intelligence documents related to Saudi finances were leaked anonymously to lawyers for the families. The Justice Department had the lawyers’ copies destroyed and now wants to prevent a judge from even looking at the material.

The Saudis and their defenders in Washington have long denied links to terrorists, and they have mounted an aggressive and, so far, successful campaign to beat back the allegations in federal court based on a claim of sovereign immunity.

two honest articles about US torture plans:

http://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2006c/092906/092906s.htm

http://www.antiwar.com/lobe/?articleid=9740

Whacko christian is a 911 truther.

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=111593&ran=56921

Chomsky news:

Chomsky Addresses Crisis in Middle EastAlive and Well, Professor Emeritus
Speaks to Packed Audience in Kirsch Auditorium

http://www-tech.mit.edu/V126/N41/41chomsky.html