O.I.L. Media Roundup (10 September)

[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Occupation, Intervention, and Law and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the O.I.L. Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each biweekly roundup to OIL@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every other week.]

News

Senate Foreign Relations Panel Passes Syria Resolution, Ed O'Keefe, Anne Gearan
The Washington Post reports that by a 10-7 vote, the Senate Foreign Relations committee has passed a resolution authorizing President Obama to use military force in Syria.

Egypt Army Launches Deadly Assault on Sinai Militants, AFP
The Egyptian Army has killed at least ten people in an air and ground assault on Sinai militants near Suez.

Report: Saudis Sent Death-Row Inmates to Fight Syria, Michael Winter
The Assyrian International News Agency has uncovered a memo from the Saudi Arabian Ministry of the Interior describing plans to send death-row inmates from Saudi Arabia and other nations to fight in Syria in exchange for commutation of their sentences.

EU Under Pressure Over Funding in Israel Settlements, John Reed, Hugh Carnegy
Financial Times reports the European Union has faced pressure from the US Department of State and Israel to suspend new, more restrictive guidelines regarding EU loans, grants and scholarships for institutions based on Israeli settlements.

Obama Administration Denies AP Requests For Syria Evidence, Michael Calderone
The Associated Press has reported the Obama Administration has denied requests for evidence of Syrian government use of chemical weapons beyond videos previously released by the administration.

Syria Strike 'Illegal' Under UN Charter: Iran FM, AFP
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javed Zarif has released a statement arguing any US military strike in Syria would be illegal under the United Nations charter.

Putin 'Does Not Rule Out' a Strike With Evidence Assad Used Poison Gas, Thomas Grove
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated he will not rule out a military strike in Syria as long as more evidence showing Syrian use of chemical weaponry emerged and the attack had UN support.

Sweden Offers Residency to All Syrian Refugees, The Local
Swedish migration authorities have announced all Syrian refugees seeking asylum in Sweden will receive permanent residency, as opposed to previously issued three-year residence permits.

Bahrain to Host Pan-Arab Human Rights Court, Graeme Baker
Bahrain has revealed plans to host the permanent headquarters of the Arab Human Rights Court over objections from critics that the move is a "PR stunt" given current human rights abuses in the Gulf state.

Hezbollah, Iran and Syria Prepare for Counterattack, Mirella Hodeib
The Daily Star reports Iran, Syria and Hezbollah are planning joint military operations in the event of a US-led military strike on Syria.

Gaza Power Plant May be Forced to Shut Down in Three Days Due to Fuel Shortage, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
The Palestinian Energy Authority has stated the Gaza Power Plant may be required to shut down completely on 9 September due to a lack of fuel, a move that may result in power outages for 16 hours a day in Gaza rather than current 8-12 hour outages.

Commentary

Shady PR Operatives, Pro-Israel Ties, Anti-Castro Money: Inside the Syrian Opposition's DC Spin Machine, Max Blumenthal
Mondoweiss explores ties between advocates for a military strike in Syria and the pro-Israeli lobby in Washington, D.C.

The US Has Little Credibility Left: Syria Won't Change That, Gary Younge
Younge, writing for The Guardian, writes that the argument for intervention in Syria is made hollow by US use of chemical weaponry in Fallujah during the Iraq War.

Syria's Pipleineistan War, Pepe Escobar
Escobar argues in Al Jazeera English that a planned US military strike in Syria is a power play for energy markets in the Middle East.

The Only War to Restore Trust in the NSA, Bruce Schneier
Schneier argues in The Nation that a special independent prosecutor is the only just way to address the legality of NSA spying programs such as PRISM.

Syria is Not Kosovo, James P. Rubin
Rubin, a former assistant Secretary of State for public affairs under President Clinton, addresses the argument that NATO bombing in Kosovo under the Clinton Administration sets a legal precedent for military intervention in Syria.

The Senate's Syria Resolution Has a Huge Secret Giveaway to the President, Garrett Epps
Epps notes for The Atlantic that the authorization for the use of military force in Syria passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee contains language that may give President Obama and future Presidents broad powers regarding the use of military force for interventions.

How Guantanamo Bay Became the Place the US Keeps Detainees, Scott Packard
Packard, a former US Marine, discusses the evolution of Guantanamo Bay from a "small military base" to the detention facility of today.

US Strike on Syria Would Break International Law, George Bisharat
Bisharat writes in the SFGate that a US-led military strike in Syria would violate domestic and international law barring congressional and UN Security Council approval.

Blogs

Senators Backing War in Syria are Flush with Defense Industry Cash, Eric Boehm
Boehm explores financial ties between Senate Foreign Relations Committee members in favor of a US military strike in Syria and defense interests such as contractors.

Obama’s Bizarre New Theory of Customary International Law, Kevin Jon Heller
Heller dissects Obama Administration claims that Syria has violated international law with its use of chemical weapons.

Military Force Against Syria Would be a Reprisal Rather than Humanitarian Intervention, but that Doesn't Make it Any More Lawful, Shane Darcy
Darcy argues on the European Journal of International Law Talk! blog that intervention in Syria falls more accurately under the legal definition of a reprisal rather than a humanitarian intervention.

On Syria and the Use of Force, Dan Joyner
Joyner explores the degree to which Article 2(4) of the UN Charter allows for international use of force not approved by the Security Council amidst speculation that the US may use force in Syria regardless of Security Council recommendations.

Evaluating the 'Wrong Hands' Rationale for Striking Assad, Omar Bashir
Bashir, a Ph.D candidate in Politics at Princeton University, scrutinizes the claim that military intervention in Syria is required to keep chemical weapons from changing hands to actors with hostile intentions towards the US.

Legality of Intervention in Syria in Response to Chemical Weapon Attacks, Kenneth Anderson
Anderson, writing for the American Society of International Law Insight blog, summarizes conceptual divides on several arguments legal arguments for and against intervention in Syria.

Photos: Israeli Troops Shot Palestinian Photographer in the Face, Activestills
A presentation of photos of Israeli soldiers firing upon children in Aida Refugee Camp, taken by Palestinian photographer Mohammad al-Azza moments before suffering gunshot wounds at the hands of said Israeli soldiers.

Reports

Full Text: Draft Resolution on Syria, Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera presents the draft resolution, agreed upon by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, authorizing President Obama to use military force in Syria.

September 2013 Guantanamo Recidivism Report from DNI, Raffaela Wakeman
Lawfare presents the biannual report from the Officer of the Director of National Intelligence on the recidivism of former Guantanamo detainees.

Conflict in Syria: Resources from CRS, Congressional Research Service
The Congressional Research Service presents a compendium of three reports on the conflict in Syria, published in August and September 2013.

Conferences

From Truth to Redress: Realizing the Return of the Palestinian Refugees; 29-30 September; The Rothschild Auditorium, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv; Register here.

Law and Inequalities: Global and Local; 29 May - 1 June 2014; Minneapolis Hilton Hotel, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Submit a paper here.

International Studies Association Human Rights Joint Conference; 16-18 June 2014; Kadir Has Üniversitesi, Istanbul, Turkey; Submit a proposal here.

On Jadaliyya

US Strike on Syria & the Futility of Military Intervention, Noura Erakat

Kashmir Mass-Rape Survivors Struggle as Kafkaesque Justice Reigns, Uzma Falak

(Dis)integration: Palestinian Refugees in the Syrian Civil War, Matthew Coogan

Letter to a Syrian Friend Who Said: ‘Your Opposition to the US Attack on Syria Means You Support the Asad Regime’, Vijay Prashad

Open Letter and Petition to Revoke Ban of SAIA and Hammam Farah at York University, Jadaliyya Reports

"A Strike Against Syria Forecloses the Possibility of a Political Solution": Bassam Haddad on MSNBC's Chris Hayes Show, Jadaliyya Reports

Statement on Dismissal of Title VI Claims at Three University of California Schools, Jadaliyya Reports