Category: Treaties

May 26, 2019

An Attack on Iran Would Violate US and International Law

As President Donald Trump, National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rattle their sabers, there is no evidence that Iran poses a threat to the United States. It was Trump who threatened genocide, tweeting, “If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran.” The Pentagon is now considering… Read more »

May 17, 2019

US Illegally Evicts Protectors From Venezuelan Embassy

On May 16, law enforcement agents broke into the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, D.C., and arrested the four remaining members of the Embassy Protection Collective. “We denounce these arrests, as the people inside were there with our permission, and we consider it a violation of the Vienna Conventions,” Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Ron said. For 36 days,… Read more »

March 16, 2019

Tribunal Declares Trump and Duterte Guilty of Crimes Against Humanity

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his government committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, aided and abetted by U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration, according to a recent ruling from the International Peoples’ Tribunal on the Philippines. The tribunal, which was held in Brussels, Belgium, on September 18 and 19, 2018, rendered its 84-page decision on… Read more »

July 25, 2018

Israel Illegally Enshrines Apartheid in Its “Basic Law”

On July 19, 2018, the Israeli Knesset enacted a law that illegally enshrines a system of apartheid. The legislation, which has the force of a constitutional amendment, strips away any pretense that Israel is a democracy. Moreover, it violates customary and treaty-based international law. The “Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People” says,… Read more »

March 13, 2018

US Refusal to Negotiate With Russia Increases Likelihood of Nuclear War

On March 1, 2018, in his annual state of the nation speech to the Russian Federal Assembly, President Vladimir Putin declared that his country has developed an “invincible” intercontinental cruise missile resistant to US missile defense systems. Putin claimed the new weapon can operate at very high speeds and has unlimited range. Although “some experts”… Read more »

October 3, 2017

Trump Threatens Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea

Donald Trump threatened to “totally destroy North Korea” in his address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 19. That threat violates the UN Charter, and indicates an intent to commit genocide, crimes against humanity, the war crime of collective punishment and international humanitarian law. Moreover, a first-strike use of nuclear weapons would violate… Read more »

April 11, 2017

Trump Adds Insult to Injury in Syria

With 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles, each armed with over 1,000 pounds of explosives, Donald Trump went from scoundrel-in-chief to national hero, virtually overnight. The corporate media, the neoconservatives and most of Congress hailed Trump as strong and presidential for lobbing bombs into Syria, reportedly killing seven civilians and wounding nine. “The instant elevation of Trump… Read more »

March 17, 2017

Evaluate New Muslim Ban in Light of International Law

After a federal district court judge and a unanimous three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Donald Trump’s Executive Order (EO) instituting a travel ban was likely illegal, the president suspended it and issued a new EO on March 6, 2017. On March 15, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order in Hawaii v…. Read more »

February 4, 2017

Trump’s Unconstitutional Muslim Ban

On January 27, 2017, President Trump made good on his campaign promise to institute a ban on Muslims entering the US. Trump’s executive order(“EO”) is titled “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States.” The EO bars nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries from the US for at least 90 days. They include Iraq,… Read more »

December 3, 2016

The Remarkable Legacy of Fidel Castro

When Fidel Castro died on Nov. 25 at the age of 90, we lost one of the most remarkable leaders of the 20th century. No other head of state has so steadfastly stood up to the United States and survived. In 1959, the Cuban Revolution, led by Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara, overthrew the ruthless Fulgencio… Read more »