The FBI and Apple, Inc.: National Security v. Privacy

In January of this year, President Obama’s top intelligence advisers met with Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook and other technology leaders to discuss their long-standing disagreement over the encryption safeguards built into their devices. The Federal Bureau of Investigation requested Apple help unlock an iPhone used by Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the San Bernardino murderers … Read more

Responsibility to Protect in the Wake of the Paris Attacks

On Friday November 13, 2015, France experienced a sequence of horrific terrorist attacks, for which the Islamic State claimed responsibility; nonetheless, the attacks have also been linked to Syria. In our reaction to the events on Friday, it is important to remember all of the positive efforts that France has engaged in to aid the … Read more

Critical Analysis: Protecting refugees in the midst of war

In the early days of April, the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) pushed closer to the center of Damascus, the Syrian capital, than they had been able to before.  They did this by seizing the majority of the Al-Yarmouk camp, a large refugee district in the southern part of the city.  The camp had once … Read more

Loss of Culture: Can laws prevent the destruction of antiquities?  

“Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future.” – Elie Wiesel Over the course of human history, great and mighty civilizations have emerged, such as the Romans and Aztecs, only to fall to plague, pestilence or conquest. However, the lasting effects of these civilizations are the … Read more

Critical Analysis: Will al-Qaeda Rejoin Forces with ISIS?

by Casey Smartt, Denver Journal of International Law and Policy October 14, 2014   By now, most, if not all, world leaders have taken notice of the threat posed by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (“ISIS”). Currently, 14 nations have joined the United States’ fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq. However, al-Qaeda still … Read more

Uncertainty of U.S. Government Intervention over ISIS

One of the predominant issues in recent world news has been the current actions of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and the tensions that the U.S. and Syria now face in response to those actions.  The issue is not new, especially since the ISIS group has prospered since U.S. troops left … Read more