US Killing of Qasem Soleimani
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Hezbollah's Syrian Quagmire
Hezbollah’s Syrian Quagmire BY MATTHEW LEVITT ezbollah – Lebanon’s Party of God – is many things. It is one of the dominant political parties in Lebanon, as well as a social and religious movement catering first and fore- Hmost (though not exclusively) to Lebanon’s Shi’a community. Hezbollah is also Lebanon’s largest militia, the only one to maintain its weapons and rebrand its armed elements as an “Islamic resistance” in response to the terms of the Taif Accord, which ended Lebanon’s civil war and called for all militias to disarm.1 While the various wings of the group are intended to complement one another, the reality is often messier. In part, that has to do with compartmen- talization of the group’s covert activities. But it is also a factor of the group’s multiple identities – Lebanese, pan-Shi’a, pro-Iranian – and the group’s multiple and sometimes competing goals tied to these different identities. Hezbollah insists that it is Lebanese first, but in fact, it is an organization that always acts out of its self-interests above its purported Lebanese interests. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Hezbollah also has an “expansive global network” that “is sending money and operatives to carry out terrorist attacks around the world.”2 Over the past few years, a series of events has exposed some of Hezbollah’s covert and militant enterprises in the region and around the world, challenging the group’s standing at home and abroad. Hezbollah operatives have been indicted for the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri by the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) in The Hague,3 arrested on charges of plotting attacks in Nigeria,4 and convicted on similar charges in Thailand and Cyprus.5 Hezbollah’s criminal enterprises, including drug running and money laundering from South America to Africa to the Middle East, have been targeted by law enforcement and regulatory agen- cies. -
A WAY FORWARD with IRAN? Options for Crafting a U.S. Strategy
A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? Options for Crafting a U.S. Strategy THE SOUFAN CENTER FEBRUARY 2021 A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? OPTIONS FOR CRAFTING A U.S. STRATEGY A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? Options for Crafting a U.S. Strategy THE SOUFAN CENTER FEBRUARY 2021 Cover photo: Associated Press Photo/Photographer: Mohammad Berno 2 A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? OPTIONS FOR CRAFTING A U.S. STRATEGY CONTENTS List of Abbreviations 4 List of Figures 5 Key Findings 6 How Did We Reach This Point? 7 Roots of the U.S.-Iran Relationship 9 The Results of the Maximum Pressure Policy 13 Any Change in Iranian Behavior? 21 Biden Administration Policy and Implementation Options 31 Conclusion 48 Contributors 49 About The Soufan Center 51 3 A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? OPTIONS FOR CRAFTING A U.S. STRATEGY LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BPD Barrels Per Day FTO Foreign Terrorist Organization GCC Gulf Cooperation Council IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency ICBM Intercontinental Ballistic Missile IMF International Monetary Fund IMSC International Maritime Security Construct INARA Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act INSTEX Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges IRGC Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC-QF Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - Qods Force JCPOA Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action MBD Million Barrels Per Day PMF Popular Mobilization Forces SRE Significant Reduction Exception 4 A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? OPTIONS FOR CRAFTING A U.S. STRATEGY LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Iran Annual GDP Growth and Change in Crude Oil Exports 18 Figure 2: Economic Effects of Maximum Pressure 19 Figure 3: Armed Factions Supported by Iran 25 Figure 4: Comparison of Iran Nuclear Program with JCPOA Limitations 28 5 A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? OPTIONS FOR CRAFTING A U.S. -
Geopolitics, Oil Law Reform, and Commodity Market Expectations
OKLAHOMA LAW REVIEW VOLUME 63 WINTER 2011 NUMBER 2 GEOPOLITICS, OIL LAW REFORM, AND COMMODITY MARKET EXPECTATIONS ROBERT BEJESKY * Table of Contents I. Introduction .................................... ........... 193 II. Geopolitics and Market Equilibrium . .............. 197 III. Historical U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East ................ 202 IV. Enter OPEC ..................................... ......... 210 V. Oil Industry Reform Planning for Iraq . ............... 215 VI. Occupation Announcements and Economics . ........... 228 VII. Iraq’s 2007 Oil and Gas Bill . .............. 237 VIII. Oil Price Surges . ............ 249 IX. Strategic Interests in Afghanistan . ................ 265 X. Conclusion ...................................... ......... 273 I. Introduction The 1973 oil supply shock elevated OPEC to world attention and ensconced it in the general consciousness as a confederacy that is potentially * M.A. Political Science (Michigan), M.A. Applied Economics (Michigan), LL.M. International Law (Georgetown). The author has taught international law courses for Cooley Law School and the Department of Political Science at the University of Michigan, American Government and Constitutional Law courses for Alma College, and business law courses at Central Michigan University and the University of Miami. 193 194 OKLAHOMA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 63:193 antithetical to global energy needs. From 1986 until mid-1999, prices generally fluctuated within a $10 to $20 per barrel band, but alarms sounded when market prices started hovering above $30. 1 In July 2001, Senator Arlen Specter addressed the Senate regarding the need to confront OPEC and urged President Bush to file an International Court of Justice case against the organization, on the basis that perceived antitrust violations were a breach of “general principles of law.” 2 Prices dipped initially, but began a precipitous rise in mid-March 2002. -
Rebooting U.S. Security Cooperation in Iraq
Rebooting U.S. Security Cooperation in Iraq MICHAEL KNIGHTS POLICY FOCUS 137 Rebooting U.S. Security Cooperation in Iraq MICHAEL KNIGHTS THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY www.washingtoninstitute.org The opinions expressed in this Policy Focus are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Washington Institute, its Board of Trustees, or its Board of Advisors. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publica- tion may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. © 2015 by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy The Washington Institute for Near East Policy 1828 L Street NW, Suite 1050 Washington, DC 20036 Design: 1000colors Photo: A Kurdish fighter keeps guard while overlooking positions of Islamic State mili- tants near Mosul, northern Iraq, August 2014. (REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal) CONTENTS Acknowledgments | v Acronyms | vi Executive Summary | viii 1 Introduction | 1 2 Federal Government Security Forces in Iraq | 6 3 Security Forces in Iraqi Kurdistan | 26 4 Optimizing U.S. Security Cooperation in Iraq | 39 5 Issues and Options for U.S. Policymakers | 48 About the Author | 74 TABLES 1 Effective Combat Manpower of Iraq Security Forces | 8 2 Assessment of ISF and Kurdish Forces as Security Cooperation Partners | 43 FIGURES 1 ISF Brigade Order of Battle, January 2015 | 10 2 Kurdish Brigade Order of Battle, January 2015 | 28 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My thanks to a range of colleagues for their encouragement and assistance in the writing of this study. -
The Making and Unmaking of Syria Strategy Under Trump
REPORT SYRIA The Making and Unmaking of Syria Strategy under Trump NOVEMBER 29, 2018 — ARON LUND PAGE 1 The most effective way to change the world these days seems to be to plant a message directly in the brain of its most powerful inhabitant: Donald J. Trump, president of the United States of America. Although the U.S. executive branch always had a fairly free hand in foreign policy, ideas would normally need to snake their way through a whole series of interagency deliberations before landing on the Oval Office desk for a final verdict. But as media leaks and disgruntled former members of the Trump administration have made abundantly clear, decision- making in the current White House is both more temperamental and more personalized, revolving around a president known for forming strong opinions based on ideas picked up from television, friends, and other outside sources. Advocates inside and outside the U.S. government increasingly seem to operate under the assumption that the best way to influence American policy is to sidestep the bureaucracy and speak directly to an audience of one: Donald Trump. And, last September, that’s exactly what two pro-opposition Syrian-Americans managed to do after paying a Republican lobbyist to get seats at an Indiana fundraising dinner.1 President Trump later told the story: I was at a meeting with a lot of supporters, and a woman stood up and she said, “There’s a province in Syria with 3 million people. Right now, the Iranians, the Russians, and the Syrians are surrounding their province. -
Keesep Starts Sunday, Right on Time
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2020 KEESEP STARTS SUNDAY, BREEDERS= CUP BACK TO KEENELAND IN 2022, PURSES MAINTAINED IN 2020 RIGHT ON TIME The Breeders= Cup will return to Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. as the host site for the 2022 Breeders= Cup World Championships, the Breeders= Cup announced Saturday. Keeneland, which is also scheduled to host this year=s World Championships Nov. 6-7, will hold the 39th Breeders= Cup Nov. 4-5, 2022. It will be the third time the Breeders= Cup has been held at Keeneland since 2015. Del Mar will remain the host of the 2021 event. The announcement of Keeneland as host of the 2022 championships was made in conjunction with two other pieces of news: first, attendance at this year=s event will be limited to the connections of race participants and essential staff, and without fans on-site, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Cont. p6 Keeneland sales grounds | Keeneland photo IN TDN EUROPE TODAY by Jessica Martini MAGICAL TAKES CHAMPION THRILLER LEXINGTON, KY - While the coronavirus pandemic wreaked Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) turned the tables on Ghaiyyath havoc with sales across the globe from March through August, (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) to record back-to-back wins in the G1 Irish the calendar will return to some semblance of normalcy when Champion S. the Keeneland September Yearling Sale kicks off right on Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Europe. schedule in Lexington Sunday at noon. ASo many sales companies in the Northern Hemisphere have had to rearrange some things, but we have been very fortunate that the September sale is taking place in September at Keeneland,@ said Keeneland=s Director of Sales Operations Geoffrey Russell. -
The United Nations Human Rights Council: Background and Policy Issues
The United Nations Human Rights Council: Background and Policy Issues Luisa Blanchfield Specialist in International Relations Michael A. Weber Analyst in Foreign Affairs Updated April 20, 2020 Congressional Research Service 7-.... www.crs.gov RL33608 SUMMARY RL33608 The United Nations Human Rights Council: April 20, 2020 Background and Policy Issues Luisa Blanchfield Over the years, many Members of Congress have demonstrated an ongoing interest in the role Specialist in International and effectiveness of the United Nations (U.N.) Human Rights Council (the Council). The Relations Council is the primary intergovernmental body mandated with addressing human rights on a [email protected] global level. The United States was a member of the Council for two three-year terms during the Michael A. Weber Obama Administration, and a third term during the first part of the Trump Administration. In Analyst in Foreign Affairs June 2018, the Trump Administration withdrew from the Council, noting concerns with the [email protected] Council’s focus on Israel, overall ineffectiveness in addressing human rights issues, and lack of reform. Some of the Council’s activities are suspended or being implemented remotely due to For a copy of the full report, concerns about COVID-19. please call 7-.... or visit www.crs.gov. Background The U.N. General Assembly established the Human Rights Council in 2006 to replace the Commission on Human Rights, which was criticized for its ineffectiveness in addressing human rights abuses and for the number of widely perceived human rights abusers that served as its members. Since 2006, many governments and observers have expressed serious concerns with the Council’s disproportionate attention to Israel and apparent lack of attention to other pressing human rights situations. -
Presidential Documents
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Monday, August 2, 2004 Volume 40—Number 31 Pages 1379–1394 VerDate jul 14 2003 12:34 Aug 03, 2004 Jkt 203001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 1249 Sfmt 1249 E:\PRESDOCS\P31JYF4.030 P31JYF4 Contents Addresses and Remarks Proclamations Missouri, Springfield—1385 Anniversary of the Americans With Radio address—1379 Disabilities Act—1380 Communications to Congress Parents’ Day—1379 Termination of the national emergency Statements by the President declared in Executive Order 12722 with Methane to Markets Partnership—1381 respect to Iraq and modification of related Progress in homeownership—1382 Executive orders, letter transmitting Executive order—1384 Supplementary Materials Executive Orders Acts approved by the President—1394 Termination of Emergency Declared in Checklist of White House press releases— Executive Order 12722 With Respect to 1394 Iraq and Modification of Executive Order Digest of other White House 13290, Executive Order 13303, and announcements—1392 Executive Order 13315—1382 Nominations submitted to the Senate—1394 Editor’s Note: The President was in Cleveland, OH, on July 30, the closing date of this issue. Releases and announcements issued by the Office of the Press Secretary but not received in time for inclusion in this issue will be printed next week. WEEKLY COMPILATION OF Distribution is made only by the Superintendent of Docu- PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS ments, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents will be furnished by mail to domestic subscribers for $80.00 per year Published every Monday by the Office of the Federal Reg- ($137.00 for mailing first class) and to foreign subscribers for ister, National Archives and Records Administration, Washing- $93.75 per year, payable to the Superintendent of Documents, ton, DC 20408, the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Docu- Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. -
THE FUTURE of US-IRAN RELATIONS by Jenny Gan
THE FUTURE OF US-IRAN RELATIONS By Jenny Gan INTRODUCTION Over the past fifty years, the United States and Iran have experienced a tumultuous relationship that has sometimes revealed itself as a close international partnership and other times a contentious rivalry. Since 1953, the United States has helped conduct President Trump a coup d’état in 1953 to overthrow Iran’s prime minister, navigated imposing sanctions the US Embassy hostage crisis, and dealt with the Iran-Contra on Iran following scandal (“US-Iran Relations”). Despite a rocky end to the 20th the dissolution of century, following sanctions in the early 2000s, the US and Iran the US-Iran Nuclear entered a state of peace following the rising global concerns over the Deal. development of an Iranian nuclear arsenal (“US-Iran Relations”). Saul Loeb/AFP via However, the United States’ relationship with Iran took a sharp Getty Images turn following rising tensions in the Gulf, including new economic sanctions, explosions targeting oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, and US military drone surveillance over the Strait of Hormuz (“US-Iran Relations”). Tensions rose to a fever pitch after the assassination of Coup d’état – the General Qasem Soleimani by a US drone and resulted in Iran pulling forcible removal of an out of the nuclear agreement while also promising revenge against existing government the United States (Ward). from power through Best described as tumultuous, the relationship between Iran and violent means. the United States has major implications for global peace, as Iran has nuclear capabilities and is a key player in the Middle East, a region where the United States has vested economic and political interests. -
Old Habits, New Consequences Old Habits, New Khalid Homayun Consequences Nadiri Pakistan’S Posture Toward Afghanistan Since 2001
Old Habits, New Consequences Old Habits, New Khalid Homayun Consequences Nadiri Pakistan’s Posture toward Afghanistan since 2001 Since the terrorist at- tacks of September 11, 2001, Pakistan has pursued a seemingly incongruous course of action in Afghanistan. It has participated in the U.S. and interna- tional intervention in Afghanistan both by allying itself with the military cam- paign against the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida and by serving as the primary transit route for international military forces and matériel into Afghanistan.1 At the same time, the Pakistani security establishment has permitted much of the Afghan Taliban’s political leadership and many of its military command- ers to visit or reside in Pakistani urban centers. Why has Pakistan adopted this posture of Afghan Taliban accommodation despite its nominal participa- tion in the Afghanistan intervention and its public commitment to peace and stability in Afghanistan?2 This incongruence is all the more puzzling in light of the expansion of insurgent violence directed against Islamabad by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a coalition of militant organizations that are independent of the Afghan Taliban but that nonetheless possess social and po- litical links with Afghan cadres of the Taliban movement. With violence against Pakistan growing increasingly indiscriminate and costly, it remains un- clear why Islamabad has opted to accommodate the Afghan Taliban through- out the post-2001 period. Despite a considerable body of academic and journalistic literature on Pakistan’s relationship with Afghanistan since 2001, the subject of Pakistani accommodation of the Afghan Taliban remains largely unaddressed. Much of the existing literature identiªes Pakistan’s security competition with India as the exclusive or predominant driver of Pakistani policy vis-à-vis the Afghan Khalid Homayun Nadiri is a Ph.D. -
Sullivan Berkeley 0028E 12548.Pdf
CHAPTER 1 HISTORY OF WAR POWERS: USE AND MISUSE 1.1: INTRODUCTION In a previous paper written for Professor Geoffrey Hazard (“Much Yoo About Nothing”), I discussed legal heavyweight John Yoo and how the U.S. justifies the “war- like” actions of its Government. I argued that the Bush Administration will be remembered not only for its blunder of invading Iraq and failure to find Weapons of Mass Destruction, but also for its redefinition of the declaration of war1 and “torture.”2 I explored how the language used to describe war-making and military activities has been manipulated and reinterpreted to the point where it permits the illegal declaration of war. This chapter seeks to answer what are the limits to the president’s power to commit U.S. military forces to foreign conflicts and whether Congress has the ability to curtail the exercise of that executive power? As part of 1 Draft Memorandum from John Yoo, Deputy Assistant Att'y Gen., Office of Legal Counsel, and Robert J. Delahunty, Special Counsel, Office of Legal Counsel, to William J. Haynes II, Gen. Counsel, U.S. Dep't of Def. (Jan. 9, 2002), in The Torture Papers, (regarding the "Application of Treaties and Laws to al Qaeda and Taliban Detainees"). See also John Yoo, War by Other Means: An Insider's Account of the War on Terror 118-21 (2006); see also Stephen Holmes, John Yoo's Tortured Logic, Nation, May 1, 2006, at 31, 38 (book review) ("By claiming that the Framers themselves would have been perfectly happy with unchecked presidential power, [they] encourage people to believe in the deep fidelity of a constitutionally unleashed President to an ideal America that was always meant to be."). -
Iran I Stany Zjednoczone
IRAN I STANY ZJEDNOCZONE – GENEZA, STAN OBECNY I PERSPEKTYWY IRAN I STANY ZJEDNOCZONE – geneza, stan obecny i perspektywy Autor: dr Robert Czulda, Jakub Gajda Program Polityka Międzynarodowa Warszawa 2019 SPIS TREŚCI I. Polityka Stanów Zjednoczonych wobec Iranu 7 II. Perspektywa państwa członkowskiego Unii Europejskiej 16 III. Wnioski i rekomendacje 17 Bliskie nawiązanie relacji amerykańsko-irańskich wizerunek Stanów Zjednoczonych w Iranie. Od przypada na lata czterdzieste XX wieku. W 1942 tego momentu nawet umiarkowani Irańczycy nie roku, podczas brytyjsko-sowieckiej okupacji Iranu, ufają Zachodowi sądząc, że ani Wielka Brytania, w kraju tym pojawili się pierwsi amerykańscy ani Stany Zjednoczone nie dbają o pomyślność ich żołnierze. W późniejszej fazie szach Iranu narodu, lecz jedynie o własne interesy. Mohammad Reza Pahlawi zbliżył się politycznie i gospodarczo do Stanów Zjednoczonych, widząc w Dzięki wsparciu i namowom Stanów Zjednoczonych nich geostrategiczną przeciwwagę dla mocarstw pod koniec lat pięćdziesiątych Iran zainicjował dominujących od kilku stuleci w regionie Bliskiego cywilny program jądrowy. Wiązało się to z planem i Środkowego Wschodu: spadkobiercy Rosji – monarchy, aby przekształcić Iran w regionalne Związku Sowieckiego i Wielkiej Brytanii. Po II mocarstwo. Jednym z elementów tej strategii była wojnie światowej Iran stał się dla Amerykanów budowa nowoczesnych sił zbrojnych. Ambitne plany ważnym przyczółkiem na Bliskim Wschodzie, Pahlawiego wpisywały się w strategię Stanów dającym możliwość regionalnego oddziaływania,