USA Today – Trump White House weighs unprecedented plan to privatize much of the war in Afghanistan – 8 August 2017

Erik Prince is a former Navy SEAL officer and founder of Blackwater USA. He is chairman of the Frontier Services Group, a logistics company focused on Africa and South Asia. (Photo: Oxford Union, REX, Shutterstock, via AP) https://usat.ly/2ulHHJr https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/08/08/war-afghanistan-trump-white-house-weighs-bold-plan-privatize/548004001/ “The White House is actively considering a bold plan to turn over…




NY Times – Court Rejects a Murder Conviction and Voids 3 Sentences in Blackwater Case – 4 August 2017

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/08/04/world/middleeast/blackwater-contractors-iraq-sentences.html?emc=edit_na_20170804&nl=breaking-news&nlid=44923803&ref=cta&referer= And for background, see: Govern, Kevin H. and Bales, Eric C., Taking Shots at Private Military Firms: International Law Misses its Mark (Again) (May 29, 2008). Fordham International Law Journal, Vol. 32, No. 1, 2008. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2070437  



Current Events and Policy Involving North Korea – 1 August 2017

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/31/politics/north-korea-ejection-test-submarine-activity/index.html https://www.google.com/amp/www.nbcnews.com/news/north-korea/amp/sen-lindsey-graham-trump-says-war-north-korea-option-n788396 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/31/trump-vows-all-necessary-measures-to-protect-allies-from-n-korea-says-abe https://www.google.com/amp/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN1AG04F And for some perspective from the Congressuonal Research Service (CRS): https://fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/R41259.pdf and CRS reports And https://www.rand.org/blog/2017/07/a-surgical-strike-against-north-korea-not-a-viable.html?adbsc=social_20170809_1721471&adbid=895299134793502724&adbpl=tw&adbpr=22545453


Washington Post – Japan defense minister quits over peacekeepers’ cover-up – 28 July 2017

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/world/africa/japans-defense-chief-quits-over-alleged-document-cover-up/2017/07/27/de09516c-733a-11e7-8c17-533c52b2f014_story.html Japan’s Defense Minister Tomomi Inada speaks during a press conference on her resignation of minister at Defense Ministry in Tokyo Friday, July 28, 2017. Inada has resigned over an alleged cover-up of military documents from U.N. peacekeeping operations.(Eugene Hoshiko/Associated Press)




This Day In History – Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services – 26 July 1948 and 2017

https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=84# On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed this executive order establishing the President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services, committing the government to integrating the segregated military. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump https://www.gop.gov/american-heroes-week1/ On July 26, 2017, President Donald J. Trump tweeted the following during American…