After Afghanistan: Taliban Power, Palestinian Terrorism and Islamist Sacrifice
“History is an illustrious war against death.” – José Ortega y Gasset, Man and Crisis (1958) Afghanistan and “Palestine”: Newly Emerging Linkages At first glance, there are no obvious connections between the Taliban victory over the United States in Afghanistan and Palestinian terrorism against Israel. Upon closer inspection, however, the recent Taliban triumph reflects more [...]
An increasing number of children are being killed and recruited by armed groups in Sahel’s tri-border area in Niger, Amnesty International said in a report on Sunday. The report, titled “I Have Nothing Left Except Myself,” states that children are being killed and targeted for recruitment by armed groups near Niger’s borders with Mali and [...]
Why the US Should Recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan’s Lawful Government
Even though the US State Department is issuing positive statements about the Taliban, it is hard for the US to recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan’s lawful government. The reasons are evident and understandable. First, the Taliban have defeated the US military in a protracted war stretching over twenty years (2001-2021). The hurt in the Pentagon, [...]
JURIST EXCLUSIVE – Law students and lawyers in Afghanistan are filing reports with JURIST on the situation there after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban. Here, a lawyer in Kabul offers his latest observations and perspective on the country’s current economic predicament. For privacy and security reasons we are withholding his name and institutional [...]
Germany court sentences two Syrians for war crimes and terrorism
The Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court in Germany Thursday sentenced two Syrian nationals on war crimes and terrorism-related charges. Khedr A.K. was given a life sentence, mainly for shielding the execution of a detained army officer and membership of a foreign terrorist organization. His co-defendant, Sami A.S., was sentenced to nine years in prison, for filming the crime and preparing the [...]
Most people presumably would consider Afghanistan to be somewhat of a pariah—or even rogue—state when it comes to respect for human rights. But the truth is that Afghanistan is more entwined in international legal regimes than one would expect, meaning it’s also more subject to enforcement measures than one would expect. The so-called “International Bill [...]
US Supreme Court turns away challenge to male-only draft, grants review in second state secrets case
The US Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a second case involving the scope of the government’s ability to invoke state secret privilege and declined to hear a case challenging the male-only military draft on the basis of gender discrimination. When the court last reviewed the male-only draft rule in the 1981 decision Rostker v. [...]
Will Guantanamo Continue As An Unnecessary Presidential Legacy?
Almost five years ago I contributed to a Commentary to JURIST entitled, “Guantanamo: An Unnecessary Presidential Legacy,” which focused on former President Barack Obama’s unsuccessful attempt to shut down the Guantanamo prison facility because of missed opportunities, faulty decision making, internal administration opposition and ultimately partisan political division that resulted in an unnecessary presidential legacy. [...]
Guantanamo Bay detainee Abu Zubaydah, who has been detained for 19 years without charges or a trial, filed a complaint on Friday with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions (UNWGAD) requesting intervention in his case. Zubaydah was captured in Pakistan after the September 11 attacks and was held and tortured by the CIA in [...]
US President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that his administration is withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan beginning May 1. “We will not conduct a hasty rush to the exit. We’ll do it—we’ll do it responsibly, deliberately, and safely. And we will do it in full coordination with our allies and partners, who now have more forces in [...]
