23 January 2013
The New York Times reports that militant factions in Africa represent a new face of terrorism — groups that are violently anti-American but not under the command and control of al Qaeda (AQ) leaders in Pakistan.
The increasing role of such groups was also noted by the independent inquiry into the attack on the United States diplomatic mission in Benghazi in September 2012. This inquiry had noted that the context in which the global terrorism threat, as most often represented by al Qaeda is ‘fragmenting and increasingly devolving to local affiliates and other actors who share many of AQ’s aims, including violent anti-Americanism, without necessarily being organized or operated under direct AQ command and control.’
Source: The New York Times | Panel Assails Role of State Department in Benghazi Attack
Source: The New York Times | North Africa Is a New Test
10 April 2011
In follow-up to Security Council Resolution 1975, and in response to recent attacks against civilians and the United Nations mission, the international forces in Ivory Coast recently launched operations against the Gbagbo camp. The “unusually robust” reaction seems to have been triggered by the attacks by the armed forces loyal to Gbagbo directed against the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) Headquarters. The impartiality of a UN operation directly targeting Gbagbo has been quickly questioned, but it can easily be shown that “the fact that Gbagbo’s troops attacked the UN justifies the punishing response”. These events prompt two questions of international law. (more…)
22 March 2011
In international military operations, the determination of international responsibilities for the wrongful acts committed during operations depends on cooperation settings, and notably on arrangements regarding command and control over the troops. Regarding those terms, the operation undertaken in implementation of UNSC Resolution 1973 is conspicuously unclear. (more…)