Latest in Syria
Here is the Winter 2018 Supplement for Bradley & Goldsmith, Foreign Relations Law: Cases and Materials (6th ed. 2017). These materials cover, among many other things, the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Hawaii (the “travel ban” case), which is excerpted with questions; the Supreme Court’s decision in Jesner v.
After more than seven and a half years of death and destruction, the prospect of accountability for the Syrian conflict is not completely hopeless.
Counterterrorism officials must be on alert for the next cause that, like in Syria, produces a surge of foreign fighters and terrorism. But they should not assume past is prologue.
The group has gone underground. It’s time to think about where it might show up next.
On Thursday, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel issued the following memorandum opinion on the April 2018 U.S. airstrikes against three Syrian chemical-weapons facilities.
When the United States uses military force, especially under controversial circumstances, it should explain the legal basis for its actions.
There is no apparent domestic or international legal authority for the airstrikes conducted in Syria on April 14.
Below is a transcript of President Trump's remarks announcing airstrikes in Syria this evening. The government has also released an assessment of the use of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, also included below.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release April 13, 2018
Israel has officially acknowledged a September 2007 strike that destroyed the Al-Kibar nuclear reactor in Syria. The operation is a data point on state practice on preemptive self-defense against nuclear threats.
Is Russia losing control of the war in Syria?