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On Thursday August 12th, CBC News reported that the Quebec Court of Appeal rejected an attempt by the West Bank village of Bil'in's council to sue two Montreal-based companies that operate in the West Bank. As the article summarized, "Quebec's highest court said lawyers for Bil'in never presented evidence proving Israel's courts were unwilling or unable to deal with the issue." In fact, Israel's High Court of Justice ("HCJ") heard and dismissed three petitions by the plaintiffs in 2006 and 2007.
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By Aaron Eitan Meyer | August 13, 2010 | Permalink
On August 5th, the Associated Press ran an article with the worrying title "Chinese missile could shift Pacific power balance," referring to the new Dong Fen 21D, a missile that "that could be launched from land with enough accuracy to penetrate the defenses of even the most advanced moving aircraft carrier at a distance of more than 1,500 kilometers (900 miles)." As the article went on to note, "Beijing has grown increasingly vocal in its demands for the U.S. to stay away from the wide swaths of ocean — covering much of the Yellow, East and South China seas — where it claims exclusivity."
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By Aaron Eitan Meyer | August 6, 2010 | Permalink
By | August 2, 2010 | Permalink
The first two articles below explain how the release of classified information by Wikileaks may potentially set the stage for lawfare applications, while the third article responds to 'war crimes' charges against coalition forces in Afghanistan, though it does not directly consider the lawfare implications of such claims.
1) "Wikileaks & Lawfare," by James W. Huston, JamesWHuston.com (U.S.), July 27, 2010. An attorney and best-selling author, Mr. Huston has dealt with lawfare in several of his novels, notably in his 2003's Secret Justice and the recently released Falcon Seven, the latter of which knowledgeably deals with a chillingly realistic lawfare scenario involving the International Criminal Court. In his most recent article, Mr. Huston highlights the connection between lawfare and orchestrated media, warning that, in light of Wikileaks' release of edited video and unilateral assertions of 'war crimes,' it may have (intentionally) opened up the stage for false and politically motivated prosecutions. Huston properly questions Wikileaks' motivations and terms the incident not only one of the largest leaks in American military history, but "a prime example of lawfare." A series of similar (and often doctored) videos/photos plus false allegations of 'war crimes' levied against Israeli forces have been used to justify legal attacks on Israeli officials throughout Europe and at the U.N. The risk with this recent Wikileak incident is that U.S. and Coalition forces will now likewise be targeted. The article is available in its entirety at: http://www.jameswhuston.com/
2) "Analysis: Goldstone comes back to bite the Brits," by Robin Shepherd, The Jerusalem Post (Israel) July 26, 2010. Wikileaks' release of classified documents relating to the war in Afghanistan demonstrates how coalition forces have been operating against Taliban terrorists, facing the same terrorist and asymmetric warfare tactics Israeli forces faced during Operation Cast Lead – and responding in similar fashion. In his article, Mr. Shepherd succinctly explains how the politicized analysis of the Goldstone Report can and will be transplanted and used against coalition forces; "International laws, norms and procedures to a great extent operate on the basis of precedent. So when Britain and other European countries allowed the Arab dictatorships to push a report through the United Nations specifically designed to criminalize the Israeli military's attempts to deal with terrorists hiding behind a civilian population in Gaza, they simultaneously set a precedent for all countries, including their own." Lawfare Project Director Brooke Goldstein made a similar argument in her speech on the Goldstone Report delivered at Fordham Law School, which is available at http://www.thelawfareproject.
3) "Allegations of Civilian Casualty in Logar Province Are False," by American Forces Press Service, July 27, 2010. False and recklessly made allegations of 'war crimes' have often been used to delegitimize and otherwise impede Israeli counter-terrorism operations. In response to "allegations in the media regarding a civilian casualty incident" supposedly committed by coalition forces in eastern Afghanistan, the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan's Regional Command East's stated that, "After conducting a thorough investigation of the alleged attack on Afghan civilians, Regional Command-East officials have determined the allegation is false." The article is available in its entirety at: http://www.defense.gov/news/
By | July 28, 2010 | Permalink
On June 21, 2010, the US Supreme Court handed down its decision in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, which reaffirmed the constitutionality of a key counter-terrorist statute that prohibits providing material support to foreign terrorist organizations. In this case, plaintiffs asserted that the statute in question, 18 U.S.C. § 2339A, unlawfully prevented them from providing material support to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Kurdistan Workers' Party (currently known as Kongra-Gel or PKK), both of which remain on the State Department's Foreign Terrorist Organizations list.
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By Aaron Eitan Meyer | June 21, 2010 | Permalink
"We have to sue the Israeli leaders anywhere possible in the world. Suing Israel for its crimes will render Israeli leaders beleaguered and perplexed." These were the words of Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Nasrallah to a cheering crowd in Beirut last week, as transcribed and published on the Hezbollah-controlled Al-Manar website on June 4th.
Nasrallah's expressed intent is a perfect example of Lawfare, which denotes the use of the law as a weapon of war, or more specifically, the abuse of the law and legal systems for strategic political or military ends. It is obvious that Hezbollah, a specially designated terrorist organization, has no intent to maneuver within the western legal system in order to pursue justice, much less promote freedom or liberty. Rather, it is clearly the goal of Hezbollah to manipulate the law to undermine Israel's rights, and thereby hinder Israel's legitimate right to defend itself against terrorism.
By Aaron Eitan Meyer | June 15, 2010 | Permalink
