China
What China's Anti-Terrorism Legislation Actually Says
Benjamin Bissell Wed, Dec 30, 2015, 4:35 PM
A primary text analysis of what the final Chinese anti-terrorism legislation includes.
Ben Bissell is an analyst at a geopolitical risk consultancy and a Masters student at the London School of Economics. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Virginia with majors in political science and Russian in 2013. He is a former National Security Intern at the Brookings Institution as well as a Henry Luce Scholar, where he was placed at the Population Research Institute in Shanghai, China.
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Iran Deal
Saudi-Israeli Diplomacy After the Iran Deal?
Benjamin Bissell Fri, Jul 24, 2015, 2:37 PM
If Twitter is to be believed, the Iranian nuclear deal is already creating waves in the Middle East and upending old regional axes. Earlier today, Jacky Hugi, the Middle East editor for Israel’s Army Radio, posted a picture of a Mercedes with diplomatic license plates driving around Tel Aviv. Unremarkable, until you realize which country the car was supposedly representing: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
China
A Sea Change for the Rule of Law in China
Benjamin Bissell Mon, Jul 20, 2015, 10:30 AM
Over the past fortnight, the Chinese government has waged a judicial blitzkrieg across the country, arresting over 190 prominent human rights lawyers. The campaign is part and parcel of Beijing’s efforts to consolidate power---which can be seen in sweeping legislation enacted last month.
The Week That Was
The Week that Was: All of Lawfare in One Post
Cody M. Poplin, Benjamin Bissell Sat, Dec 13, 2014, 9:55 AM
This week, unsurprisingly, Lawfare spent much of its time focused on the release of the SSCI’s report on the CIA’s post-9/11 detention and interrogation program. Before the report came out on Tuesday, Ben promised no preemptive commentary and outlined what the readership could expect from Lawfare on the subject.
Today's Headlines and Commentary
Today's Headlines and Commentary
Cody M. Poplin, Benjamin Bissell Thu, Dec 11, 2014, 1:40 PM
Today, the New York Times brings us news that when the CIA first received detention and interrogation authorities in 2001, the Agency initially planned to create a system of worldwide jails that would abide by the standards of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
Interrogation: Abuses
Findings, Conclusions and Areas of Dispute Between the SSCI Report, the Minority and the CIA: Part 3
Wells Bennett, Cody M. Poplin, Benjamin Bissell Wed, Dec 10, 2014, 7:49 PM
Below you will find the third in our running comparison of broad areas of agreement and disagreement as between the Executive Summary to the Senate Intelligence Committee's Study on the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program, the report by the Committee's Minority, and the response by the CIA itself. The Study, you'll recall, sets forth twenty broad "findings and conclusions," many of which the Minority and the CIA address.
Today's Headlines and Commentary
Today's Headlines and Commentary
Benjamin Bissell Wed, Dec 10, 2014, 2:46 PM
The news cycle over the past day has been dominated by the release of the extensive report on CIA intelligence-gathering techniques, popularly known as the “torture report” or the “CIA report.” The New York Times writes that the review portrays a broken CIA that was devoted to a failed interrogation program.