Council on Foreign Relations

The United States faces a series of difficult policy and strategic questions with respect to its participation in the upcoming International Criminal court (ICC) Review Conference at Kampala, Uganda. The conference will consider the addition of the definition of the crime of aggression as well as a restriction on the rights of states to opt out of the Court's jurisdiction over war crimes. The conference may also consider proposals that the United States strongly opposed in the 1998 Rome negotiations. This Council Special Report will recommend primary and secondary objectives for the United States at the conference and suggest steps the Obama administration should take to best empower American negotiators to achieve those objectives.

In the wake of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, there is a clear need for effective systems of national and international justice and accountability. Made possible by the generous support of the MacArthur Foundation, the CFR Program on International Justice will examine the work of the international criminal tribunals, including the International Criminal Court, and issues such as universal jurisdiction. The program is directed by Adjunct Senior Fellows John B. Bellinger III and Matthew C. Waxman. The program will start by producing a Council Special Report to prepare for the Ten Year Review Conference for the International Criminal Court, scheduled for Kampala, Uganda, in May/June 2010.

Prompted by the critical security challenges facing our country, and the growing need to fully engage the private sector in meeting these challenges, the Council is sponsoring the Roundtable Series on the Role of the Private Sector in Homeland Security. The series is directed by Dr. Stephen Flynn, the Council's Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies. The aim of the Roundtable is to vigorously address some of the pressing issues highlighted in Flynn's recently released book, America the Vulnerable, How Our Government is Failing to Protect Us from Terrorism.

The design of the initiative is a sustained dialogue between homeland security experts and a small high-level group of decision makers from the private sector. Bringing these two groups together, the Council hopes to promote a forum for frank discussion leading to valuable insights into difficult security issues and the pursuit of solutions in the context of our present political and economic environment.

This study group will result in a book that examines four major technological revolutions of the past 500 years (Gunpowder, Industrial, Mechanization, and Computerization) and how they transformed warfare and the international balance-of-power. For each military revolution, Mr. Boot will provide dramatic narratives of key conflicts--from the battle of the Spanish Armada to the recent war in Afghanistan--that highlight the effects of changing technologies on strategy. In addition, Mr. Boot applies the lessons of history to current dilemmas, examining crucial questions such as how long America's military advantage will last, and what the United States can do to preserve its hegemony.

This project has been made possible with the generous support from the following:

Smith Richardson Foundation

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Randolph Foundation

Roger and Susan Hertog

The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation

Carnegie Corporation

John M. Olin Foundation

Project Vice-Chair: Charlotte Ku Co-sponsered by ASIL

The Roundtable Series, “Old Rules, New Threats,” is a project on global governance that brings administration officials together with lawyers, professors and policymakers to look at areas in foreign policy and national security where the rules of the road, formal and informal, may or may not need to be adapted, amended, or replaced to address the challenges currently facing the nation.

The roundtable addresses a broad range of security issues, including threats related to force and war, as well as challenges requiring transnational cooperation. Past sessions have explored the administration’s announced doctrine of preemption; humanitarian intervention; military tribunals and unlawful combatants; use of force and the laws of war; and regulating the movement of black and gray market goods, technology, and people. Memos prepared by roundtable speakers and summary reports of the roundtable meetings are posted below. The roundtable, which met six times beginning in November 2002, will reconvene in the fall of 2003.

The Council and ASIL, with the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, will begin the 2003 season with a one-day conference on September 19. The conference will focus on four areas: intervention and weapons proliferation; global climate change; bringing war criminals to justice; and counterterrorism and transnational law enforcement.

Max Boot discusses suicide bombings and their ineffectiveness at achieving the attackers' larger goals.

Marisa L. Porges argues, "... continued detention may be the best answer for the 'highest-threat' Yemeni detainees. For the rest, the appropriate approach depends on the individual detainee's background and security threat."

Max Boot argues that cost of the U.S. health care plan is incompatible with maintenance of the United States' superpower status.

Max Boot asks, "Why is the [Obama] administration so hard on Israel...when it's so soft on its despotic neighbors?"

Stephen Biddle recounts two differing experiences with U.S. military convoys in Afghanistan.

Marisa L. Porges argues that detainee rehabilitation and transparency should be the focus at Guantánamo Bay prison.

Marisa L. Porges states that regardless of an increase in troops in Afghanistan, "without trust and understanding, counterinsurgency efforts are bound to fail."

Marisa L. Porges argues, "recent developments give the United States new opportunities to solve the Guantánamo problem in a way that has lasting, long-term benefits."

John B. Bellinger III examines the dilemma posed by the allowance of civil suits, in the United States, of foreign government officials.

Marisa L. Porges and April Longley Alley discuss options for the Yemeni detainees that remain in custody at Guantanamo Bay.

Nicole E. Lewis examines the relationship between China's foreign exchange reserve holdings and its rise in global power.

Marisa L. Porges states, "the attempted Christmas attack has inadvertently helped the United States on multiple national security fronts."

Stephen Flynn, Frank J. Cilluffo, and Sharon L. Cardash remember Hurrican Katrina and discuss the risks from future natural disasters if infrastructure is ignored.

John B. Bellinger III discusses why the United States is unlikely to join the International Criminal Court anytime soon.

Paul Lettow and Thomas Mahnken offer specific recommendations for avoiding debilities in the U.S. strategic planning process.

Max Boot discusses detention policy in Afghanistan.

John B. Bellinger III argues, "New York isn't the right venue to sue for apartheid abuses."

Max Boot argues, "on the whole, President Obama is formulating sensible, centrist national-security policies."

Max Boot argues that "President Obama and his aides continue to impress with their handling of Afghanistan."

Max Boot provides an annotated Foreign Affairs syllabus on pirates.

Stephen E. Flynn and Irwin Redlener argue that the United States would fail a pandemic preparedness stress test.

Max Boot discusses President Obama's first 100 days.

Stephen E. Flynn asks, "Is homeland security still on the nation's radar screen?"

Elliott Abrams argues that Congress should approve the United States' 123 Agreement with the United Arab Emirates.

Max Boot discusses the stigmatization--and necessity--of mercenaries.

Max Boot argues that regardless of the political rhetoric involved, President Obama's strategy for Afghanistan is solid, centrist foreign policy.

Max Boot argues that the Obama administration's desire to reach a deal with Syria or Iran should not compromise a flourishing Lebanon's independence.

After visiting Afghanistan at the invitation of General David Petraeus, Max Boot, Frederick Kagan, and Kimberly Kagan discuss their observations of the conflict in the region and contend that while there is cause for concern, the situation is likely to improve.

Max Boot reviews The Accidental Guerilla, by David Kilcullen.