What does the term "weapon of mass destruction" mean to you? A few years ago, I was part of a team of academics involved in a project examining the implications of the so-called "Bush Doctrine" of preventive use of force. The editors of the book we produced, William Keller and Gordon Mitchell of the University of Pittsburgh, wanted us to avoid using the phrase "WMD." In their introductory chapter, Keller and Mitchell noted that the phrase WMD...
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“Disappearing” Intersex, Trans, and Genderqueer Persons
Though it has been in the works for a while, in recent months the TSA has implemented its "Secure Flight" program, where it assumes responsibility for those on "Don't Fly" and "Extra Search" lists. The catch? It does so by asking passengers for extra information when they book their tickets. You might have noticed this on airplane ticket purchases in recent months - you are asked for three pieces of information: your name, your birthday, and...
Open Thinking-Outside-The-Box-on-How-To-Out-Crazy-North-Korea Thread
Daniel Drezner asks whether there are any options for dealing with evidence of North Korea’s involvement on the sinking of the Cheonan besides diddling around in the UN Security Council with a resolution that China may well veto. He rightly suggests that this is essentially a game of chicken that the North always wins because it seems crazier and less predictable than most civilized states (true). He points out the conventional wisdom that war...
What ISA Can Learn from Small Niche Conferences
What you see on the board in the picture is the visual description of my latest research article on weapons advocacy, which will be out later this year in International Organization. Also in the picture are yours truly and Duck co-blogger Drew Conway hob-nobbing. Those things we're waving around as we talk? Yuengling beers. This took place earlier this week at the Networks in Political Science conference at Duke University, and the nature of...
UK Torture Inquiry: Our BFD?
The coalition government here in the UK has announced that there will be an inquiry into torture and rendition alleged to have been carried out since 9/11. This was a major item platform for the LibDems and some Tories, the latter group while conservative, committed to a deep sense of eroding “British values”.It’s early days, and we do not know what such a commission would look like, but if this Guardian article is correct, individuals will be...
What “New Rules of War?”
I’ve been meaning to comment for awhile on the Mar/April print issue of Foreign Policy , and I finally got around to posting my observations at Current Intelligence. In brief, for an issue devoted to transformations in the way we fight, what struck me is how completely the authors and FP editors overlooked the ways in which the trends described relate to the law of war:Even John Arquilla’s lead article misleadingly titled “The New Rules of War”...
Worst. Treaty. Name. Ever.
I’m trying to finish up a paper on the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). But that of course it not the treaty’s full name. No – instead it is: The Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects Has there ever been a treaty with a worse or more awkward name? Apparently there was some issue as to the name during...
Shameless Self-Promotion
My new book, Forgetting Children Born of War: Setting the Human Rights Agenda in Bosnia and Beyond is finally out from Columbia University Press. Basically, it's all you never wanted to know about why children born of wartime rape have been overlooked by the human rights movement for the last two decades, and how this could be changed. Here's what's on the back cover: Sexual violence and exploitation occur in many conflict zones, and the...
“Courageous Restraint” Medal
NATO is considering a medal for soldiers who display "courageous restraint" in their use of lethal force to save civilian lives. According to CNN,"Although no decisions have been made on the award itself, the idea is consistent with our strategic approach," Sholtis said. "Our young men and women display remarkable courage every day, including situations where they refrain from using lethal force, even at risk to themselves, in order to prevent...
Iran’s setbacks: Buying time?
According to Gary Samore, Iran's nuclear enrichment program has had some important recent setbacks. The AP, last week:Setbacks in Iran's uranium enrichment program have significantly delayed its progress toward building a nuclear weapon, President Barack Obama's top nuclear adviser said Tuesday....On Iran's enrichment program, Samore said that Tehran had been set back by problems with its centrifuges and by disclosure of an enrichment plant...
The War at Home
Is this another step in the ongoing "war" between the southwest US and Mexico? or is it, more ominously, a shift to a military approach to the war on terror at home? or is it...well, just Texas?
Nuclear transparency
Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported that the Obama administration has fully disclosed decades worth of data about the size of America's nuclear arsenal: America's official nuclear silence ended Monday when the Obama administration not only disclosed the number of U.S. nuclear weapons available for use in wartime -- 5,113 as of Sept. 30 -- but surprised many by also publishing weapons totals for each year dating to 1962. (Data from...