O.I.L. Media Roundup (23 February)

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Feb 26, 2014 Syria
[Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel meets with Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi, Joint Arab League-UN Special Representative for Syria, April 29, 2013. Image by US Department of Defense via Wikimedia Commons.] [Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel meets with Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi, Joint Arab League-UN Special Representative for Syria, April 29, 2013. Image by US Department of Defense via Wikimedia Commons.]

O.I.L. Media Roundup (23 February)

By : O.I.L Editors

[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Occupation, Intervention and Law and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the O.I.L. Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each biweekly roundup to OIL@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every other week.] 

Palestine and Israel 

Hell Freezes Over (NYT Publishes Glowing Profiles of Anti-Zionists), Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss approvingly assesses a recent New York Times profile of a number of Jewish-observant anti-Zionists.

Israeli Airstrike in Gaza Targets Militant, Kate Linthicum
The Los Angeles Times reports two Palestinians were killed on 9 February in an Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip evidently targeting Abdallah Kharti, a member of the Popular Resistance Committees.

Palestine Has Ever Right to Proclaim Its Status, Gulf News
Gulf News criticizes Israel for failing to allow a number of hospital patients from Gaza into Israel due to their carrying documents marked "State of Palestine," noting that the language in the documents reflect the new status of Palestine as an observer state in the UN General Assembly.


Syria

No More a Haven, The Economist
The Economist provides an overview of the history of the Yarmouk refugee camp for Palestinians in Syria.

Mediator Apologizes to Syrians for Lack of Peace Progress, Oliver Holmes, Tom Miles
Lakhdar Brahimi, the mediator for a round of peace talks in Geneva between the Syrian government and a delegation of representatives from opposition groups, has apologized to the Syrian people for an evident lack of progress.

Thousands Flee Syrian Town as "Major Assault" Looms, Stephanie Nebehay
Nebehay reports for Reuters on Syrians fleeing Yabroud, a town in western Syria, amidst fears that the town might be the target of a military assault by Syrian government forces.
 

Law in the Middle East

My Mother is Trapped by the UAE`s Nightmarish Legal System, Rabbhi Yahiya
Yahiya discusses the legal plight of her mother, accused of kidnapping her child in Dubai while attempting to escape domestic abuse.

Lawyers for Egypt`s Deposed President Morsi Stage Walk-Out, Michael Georgy
The legal team of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi staged a walkout in court, accusing the judiciary of conducting the proceedings in favor of the government prosecuting Morsi.

Bahrain Protest Attracts Tens of Thousands, No Clashes, Farishta Saeed
Saeed reports for Reuters on a peaceful demonstration in Manama, Bahrain, to mark the third anniversary of a series of pro-democracy uprisings.


US Foreign Policy

Afghan Prisoners Freed from Bagram Amid US Protests, BBC News
BBC reports sixty-five detainees have been released from the Bagram detention center in Afghanistan. While the United States sharply criticized the move as aiding those responsible for the deaths of US troops in the region, the Afghan government has stated not enough evidence existed to justify the detentions of those released.

Obama DOJ`s New Abuse of State-Secrets Privilege Revealed, Murtaza Hussain
Hussain revisits the case of Rahinah Ibrahim, a Stanford PhD student placed on a no-fly list in 2005 for reasons the US government has declined to disclose, amidst allegations that Ibrahim may have been on the list for a near-decade due to a clerical error.

Report: Document Shows Surveillance of Law Firm, Associated Press
Leaks from former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden reveal that the agency was involved in surveillance of an American law firm during its representation of a foreign government in trade disputes with the United States.


Turkey

The Last Chance to Stop Turkey`s Harsh New Internet Law, Jenna Krajeski
Krajeski, writing for The New Yorker, covers political protests and the legal battle in Turkey over a proposed law affording the government greater ability to censor internet content.

Turkey Tightens Control over Judiciary, Al Jazeera English
Legislation allowing the Turkish government greater leverage in deciding which judges are appointed and how has passed.

Turkey and Israel "Close to Reviving Ties" Al Jazeera English
Talks between Israel and Turkey to resume diplomatic ties, previously cut after the Israeli May 2010 assault on the Mavi Marmara ship, have reportedly proceeded successfully.


On Jadaliyya

New JADMAG: Gaza Revisited, Tadween Editors

Speaking Love to Power - Love Stories for Social Justice, Visualizing Palestine

The Tunisian Constitution: The Process and the Outcome, Mohamed-Salah Omri

The State of the Western Sahara, Allison L. McManus

Guideline for Advocating for Palestinian Rights in Conformity with International Law, Jadaliyya Reports
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O.I.L. Media Roundup (29 November)

 

[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Occupation, Intervention, and Law and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the O.I.L. Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each biweekly roundup to OIL@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every other week.] 

 

News

Iran and the P5+1

Iran, World Powers Reach Historic Nuclear Deal, Anne Gearan, Joby Warrick
Iran and the P5+1 powers have agreed on a deal wherein Iran receives relief on a number of economic sanctions in exchange for freezing parts of the nuclear program.

Secret US-Iran Talks Paved Way for Nucelar Deal, Julian Border, Saaed Kamali Dehghan
The Guardian sheds light on secret meetings running alongside official negotiations that ultimately brokered the recent Iranian nuclear deal.

Detention and Law

Bahrain: Two Former Guantánamo Inmates Arrested in Saudi Arabia, Associated Press
Two former Guantanamo Bay detainees, have been arrested in Bahrain for plotting attacks against the state of Bahrain.

Guantanamo`s Last UK Inmate Shaker Aamer Speaks from Cell, BBC News
Shaker Aamer, a Guantanamo detainee since 2002, has spoken to US media outlets regarding his treatment in the facility.

Israel Secretly Detained al-Qaeda Suspect Baraq, BBC News
BBC reports that Israel has held Samir Abdul Latif al-Baraq, a man described by Israeli military prosecutors as an al-Qaeda biological weapons expert, in a detention center without charge or trial since 2010.

Kuwait Twitter `Insult` Prison Sentence Condemned, BBC News
Kuwait has sentenced Musab Shamsah, a man accused of making a comment insulting the Prophet Muhammad, to five years in prison, the second man convicted in Kuwait on such grounds.

Syria, Palestinian Refugees Held in Egypt Begin Hunger Strike, Reuters
Fifty-two Syrian and Palestinian refugees have begun a hunger-strike in an Egyptian police station to draw attention to their treatment. 

Afghanistan

US Spent Billions on Afghan Projects That Will Fall Apart When We Leave, A.J. Vicens, Dave Gilson
Vicens and Gilson, writing for Mother Jones, detail a number of infrastructure projects initiated by the US military that are either falling apart or run the risk of doing so. 

Pact May Extend U.S. Troops` Stay in Afghanistan, Tom Shanker, Rob Nordland
The United States and Afghanistan has finalized a bilateral security agreement allowing for a US troop presence through 2024. 

Palestine

Israel Says Separation Wall Will Be Border, Al Jazeera English
Israeli negotiators with the Palestinian Authority have rejected the possibility of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, telling PA officials the border of a Palestinian state would be the separation wall between the West Bank and Israel.

American Studies Association Weighs Academic Boycott of Israel, Nick DeSantis
The Chronicle of Higher Education details plans of The American Studies Association to discuss a resolution calling for an academic boycott of Israel. 
 

Commentary

The "War on Terror"

America`s Army of Lawyers Is Just as Dangerous As Its Drones, Dawood Ahmed
Ahmed argues military prowess alone does not account for US implementation of its drone program in Yemen and Pakistan, pointing out that a US "army" of lawyers have won critical battles in defining the legality of the program. 

Whose Interests Do the US Serve in Afghanistan?, Kathy Kelly
Writing in CounterPunch, Kelly points out the discrepancy between a deteriorating quality of life in Afghanistan and an increasingly expensive US military operation in the same country.

Why Arab Iraq Survives, Fanar Haddad
Haddad discusses the enduring appeal of a unified Iraqi nation-state despite a number of ruptures in post-war Iraqi social cohesion.

Homeland and the Imagination of National Security, Deepa Kumar, Arun Kundnani
Kumar and Kundrani argue in Jacobin that the Showtime television series Homeland approaches the War on Terror with a remarkable lack of empathy for those on the receiving end of its violence.

Syria

Inside Emergency Damascene Shelters, Franklin Lamb
Lamb highlights "solidarity, resistance, and good will" among Palestinian refugees in a shelter for internally displaced Syrians in al Zahera, Damascus.

Lebanon and the Long Reach of Syria`s Conflict, Dexter Filkins
Filkins reacts to the bombing of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut by suggesting the incident indicates sectarian conflicts of Syria have begun to extend their reach to Lebanon.

Palestine

The Life and Death of Juliano Mer-Khamis, Adam Shatz
In London Review of Books, Shatz reflects on the 2011 murder of the co-founder of the Jenin refugee camp Freedom Theater. 

United States Takes a `New Path` Forward in the Middle East, Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss provides an compendium of reactions to the Washington-Tehran deal from Twitter and the blogosphere at large.
 

Blogs

Armed Conflict

The New US-Iran Deal Doesn`t Look Legally Binding. Does it Matter?, Duncan Hollis
Hollis argues on Opinio Juris that the Joint Plan of Action agreed to by Iran and the P5+1 parties contains less than legally-binding language to prevent the plan from qualifying as a treaty or international agreement, which would allow the US to avoid involving Congress in a deal.

Where Is the Moral Rectitude When Political Retaliation Drone Strike Hits Settled Area, Misses Target?, Jim White
White surveys the evidence for arguments that a recent US drone strike in Pakistan was intended as political retaliation for Pakistani demands that the US curb such strikes.

Readings: Christine Fair, “Drones, Spies, Terrorists and Second-Class Citizenship in Pakistan – A Review Essay”, Kenneth Anderson
Lawfare summarizes an academic paper from Fair reviewing a number of books and reports focusing on US use of drones in Pakistan.

Other

Why We Must Boycott Israeli Universities, Colin Dayan, David Lloyd
Layan and Lloyd respond on The Electronic Intifada to a number of criticisms of academic boycotts of Israel.

Period Review Board Hearings Start Up At Gitmo This Week--but Why in Secret?, Daphne Eviatar
Eviatar, writing for Just Security, criticizes a lack of transparency in the Pentagon review hearings for indefinitely held Guantanamo detainees.


Reports

Iran Nuclear Deal: Joint Plan of Action - Full Document
The Guardian provides the full text of the agreement between Iran and the P5+1 countries. 

 


Conferences

Human Rights Interest Group Workshop; 22 November 2013; UC Berkeley School of Law; Register here.