A positive step in States’ collective attributions. But States’ inability to condemn some/all this behavior as internationally unlawful is equally important - if States can’t say it violates IL, doesn’t this imply IL permits it? washingtonpost.com/national-secur… What violations could there be? Depending on target and effects, some of these ops may implicate the duty of non-intervention chathamhouse.org/2019/12/applic…

Interesting US Foreign Relations Law analysis (as always) from Harold Koh, but we need an Int'l Law Twitter discussion too - why assume USG can w/draw from @WHO Constitution at all? I think @StateDept must do more than 12 mos. notice: justsecurity.org/70493/trumps-e… via @just_security The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) is widely recognized to codify an exhaustive list of treaty exit options (&, yes, I know US has never ratified the VCLT but the last 8 Administrations all recognized most of its provisions reflect customary int'l law)

So, Trump walks back US signature on Arms Trade Treaty by telling the Senate to return it to the White House. Can he make such a request? Sure. Does the Senate have to return it? No. nytimes.com/2019/04/26/us/… The super-useful 2001 Senate Foreign Relations Committee Treaty Handbook notes the Senate may send treaties back to the White House by resolution. For example, when I was in the Treaty Office back in 2000, the Senate approved a resolution to send 17 treaties back to the Executive