In The News

Legality of Preemptive Assassination: FP

Harold Hongju Koh January 14, 2020
US analysts debate the legality of the US military using a drone to hit a convoy carrying Qasem Soleimani and other officials in Iraq. Most indications suggest the strike was illegal, explains Harold Hongju Koh for Foreign Policy. “U.S. officials had no business putting this illegal option on President Donald Trump’s desk, even as an ‘extreme option’ they expected the president would reject,”...

President Tsai Reelected: Taiwan News

Keoni Everington January 14, 2020
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was reelected in a landslide victory with 57 percent of the vote. The economy and excessive Chinese control were top issues. China had cut off contact with the Tsai government; protests disrupting Kong since June also troubled Taiwanese voters. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) told the media Sunday (Jan. 12) that officials from more than 60 countries had...

Iran Nuclear Deal Should Be Kept: TehranTimes

January 13, 2020
Iran’s government censors its media, but cannot totally mask public desire for restraint in relations with the West. US President Donald Trump withdrew from an international agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, on limiting Iran’s nuclear weapons program in exchange for an end to sanctions. Amid tensions with the United States starting in 2020, Iran withdrew from the...

Iran Strikes Iraq Bases: Washington Post

Karen DeYoung, Paul Sonne and Dan Lamothe January 8, 2020
Iran launched more than 10 ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases with US military personnel, described as retaliation for the death of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani at US hands. Analysts describe the missile attack as restrained, though Iran warned it would meet a US response with additional attacks, including countries hosting US bases. Iran claimed casualties; the United States and Iraq...

The President’s Men Must Testify: New York Times

Harold Hongju Koh January 7, 2020
The US House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump after compiling evidence about blocked military aid for Ukraine. The White House ordered staff not to testify, and most complied. The two articles of impeachment “should overrule any ethical or legal objection these witnesses now have to testifying before the Senate,” argues Harold Hongju Koh,...

Iranians Display Unity: Wall Street Journal

Aresu Eqbali and Sune Engel Rasmussen January 6, 2020
The US targeted killing of powerful commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad has united Iranians and their leaders call for retribution. Esmail Qaani vows to carry on Soleimani's work of orchestrating interventions and shadow wars throughout the Middle East, suggests, “The minimum retribution for us is to remove America from the region.” Iran also announced its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear...

End of Oil Dependence and Geopolitics: BBC

James Landale January 4, 2020
Technological advances in renewable energy are putting purveyors of fossil fuels on notice. For example, solar energy is advancing with improved site locations, molten salt and mirrors. Battery and electric vehicle technologies are also advancing, and such developments will impact global politics, suggests James Landale. “From that moment, much of the history of the 20th Century can be seen...