Author is now publishing a book--"The Rape of American Democracy"--and pace of articles may slow. Meanwhile, three big developments: Ukraine, Israel and Gaza, and Trump's trial in Manhattan
The author is currently engaged in a very intense process of publishing a book, which should be available on Amazon within 4- 6/eeks in paperback, hardback, and ePub (ebook) editions. Shortly thereafter paperback and hardback editions should be available through Ingram-Spark to buy or order through bookstores, available for purchase by libraries, and available through international distributors.
The book is:
The Rape of American Democracy: Republican Actions and Democratic Failures, 2016-21. What we knew and when we knew it
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If you want to see other articles I’m writing, sometimes work in progress or just links to the best newspaper articles, see my blog Foreign Policy Decisions at
http://foreignpolicydecision.com
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Meanwhile, there have been three big developments in the news
Three huge developments have been taking place in the last few weeks.
First, NATO countries are beginning to change their policies in ways which violate President Joe Biden’s “red lines” which in turn, based on FEAR, seek to enforce Vladimir Putin’s “red lines”. Specifically, the prohibition against allowing Ukraine to use weapons supplied by the U.S. and other NATO countries against targets in Russia is collapsing. Biden and Germany’s Olaf Scholz are leading a rearguard action to contain the collapse so that only attacks on sites launching attacks against targets in Ukraine are permitted, maintaining the prohibition with respect to attacking targets deeper in Russia, supply routes, and the Kerch Strait Bridge.
This effort is likely to fail over time, as more and more NATO countries adopt the position that the only limitations on Ukraine’s use of these weapons should be those contained in international law and Article 51 of the U.N. Charter. They dismiss American concerns about attacks on Russian oil facilities because they might lead to an increase in the price of oil—and hence an increase in the price of gasoline which could hurt Joe Biden in the November presidential election.
The second big development on the world stage has been the request on Monday, May 20, 2024 by Karim Khan, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the issuance of international arrest warrants against the top three Hamas leaders, and against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant for the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity; and the issuance by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on May 24, 2024 of its third order of interim protection in the genocide case brought by South Africa, including an order to Israel to cease its current operations against Rafa in Gaza.
The ICJ decides cases between states which have accepted the Court’s jurisdiction, as Israel, South Africa a total of 152 countries have done when they ratified or acceded to the 1948 U.N. Convention on Genocide. The ICC has jurisdiction over individuals who have allegedly committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, or acts of genocide within the territories of states which have ratified or acceded to the Court’s charter, the Statute of Rome, or which have otherwise recognized the jurisdiction of the Court.
Palestine has acceded to the Rome Statute, and is considered a state by the ICC for these purposes. While Ukraine has not ratified the Statute of the ICC, it has accepted the Court’s jurisdiction over individuals alleged to have committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide within its territory. This was the jurisdictional basis for the issuance by the ICC of an international arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin.
The third major development in recent weeks has been the trial in Manhattan (New York City) of former president Donald Trump for alleged fraud in making bookkeeping entries which falsely claimed to be payments for legal services to his former lawyer Michael Cohen when in fact they were reimbursements for hush money payments made to “Stormy Daniels” who claimed she had had a sexual liaison with Trump in 2006.
After five weeks of testimony and argument, the case has now, on May 29, 2024, gone to the jury for its deliberations and decisions as to whether Trump is guilty of the 34 charges.
Because Trump may hold the key to the future of Ukraine and the U.N. Charter-based international legal order, and a conviction could greatly affect the outcome of the presidential race in November, the decisions of the 12 men and women who make up the jury are of extraordinary international significance.
The critical question is whether, in the face of overwhelming documentary and testimonial evidence against Trump, there may be a hidden Trump supporter who will hold out and refuse to convict him on any of the 34 charges,, leading to a hung jury and a mistrial. A mistrial would be celebrated by Trump and his supporters as a victory.
Recommended movie for viewing in coming days:
Twelve Angry Men (1957)
(with Lee J. Cobb, Henry Fonda, and E.G. Marshall)
James Rowles is a former Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School and professor of international law at other universities.
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