Anthony Clark Arend

An excellent editorial in the New York Times reports on the strange trial of Spanish Prosecutor Baltasar Garzón:
Terrible crimes were committed during and after Spain’s 1936-39 civil war that no court has yet examined or judged. No one knows how many people were taken away, tortured and murdered. Now, one of Spain’s top investigating magistrates, Baltasar Garzón, …

The Los Angeles Times reports:
A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that blocked the implementation of an Oklahoma law barring judges from considering international or Islamic law in their decisions.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a ruling released Tuesday, affirmed an order by a district court judge in 2010 that halted the law from …

Several previous posts have discussed the use of signing statements by American Presidents. Most recently, President Obama issued signing statements for both the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (H.R. 2055) and the Defense Authorization Act, 2012 (H.R. 1540). As previous posts have noted, I have significant reservations about the use of these statements. In a recent Reuters article, I provided several …

Voice of America Host Carol Castiel interviews Georgetown University School of Foreign Service Dean Carol Lancaster and me about foreign policy challenges for the United States in 2012. Areas discussed include: China, Iran, the Arab world, Latin America, and the US defense budget.

For the third time in a row, Georgetown University’s Masters programs in international relations have been rated #1 by a survey published in Foreign Policy magazine. The survey (complete survey here) conducted by Paul C. Avey, Michael C. Desch, James D. Long, Daniel Maliniak, Susan Peterson, and Michael J. Tierney asked questions of  1,582 U.S. scholars of international relations. …

Earlier today, President Obama signed H.R. 1540, the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012,” and issued the following signing statement:

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
December 31, 2011

Statement by the President on H.R. 1540
Today I have signed into law H.R. 1540, the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.” I have signed the Act …

From the White House website:

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
December 23, 2011

Statement by the President on H.R. 2055
Today I have signed into law H.R. 2055, the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012.” This bill provides the funding necessary for the smooth operation of our Nation’s Government.
I have previously announced that it is the policy of my Administration, …