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A group of chefs attempt to beat the world record in barbecuing steaks in the southern German town of Bubach-Calmesweiler on August 9, 2008. The chefs grilled 1235 steaks on the 15 square metre large grill and made their way in to the Guinness book of records.

Passport is taking a long weekend so there'll be no blogging tomorrow. See you all on Monday. Happy Fourth of July.

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Reporting on the launch of the new congressional "sovereignty caucus," a group of GOP senators opposed to international law and institutions, David Weigel writes about how the confirmation battle over Harold Koh could set the stage for a confrontation over the long-debated Law of the Sea treaty and a few others:

While Republicans and conservative activists were disappointed by the confirmation of Koh, the long delay leading up to the vote and its relative closeness — 65 to 31 to end debate on the nomination and 62-35 to confirm him — have boosted their hopes of successfully battling treaties that they characterize as threats to American rights and national interests. Treaties need the votes of 67 senators to be ratified, and can gum up the business of the Senate for weeks if they become flash points for controversy. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, for example, has convinced Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) — a member of the House Sovereignty Caucus — to introduce a Constitutional amendment protecting the right of American parents to discipline their children and send them to religious schools.

Those hopes are likely to be tested at least twice this year. According to staffers for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or the Law of the Sea Treaty — a 1982 treaty that governs the right of countries to use the oceans — could be reintroduced next month. And President Obama is in Russia this week in part to move forward the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, the 1996 agreement on weapons testing that was rejected by the Senate in 1999, when the upper chamber contained 55 Republicans and 45 Democrats. Of the 16 treaties that the State Department included on its priority list in a May 11 letter to the committee, both sides agree that these two will be the first to face full votes. And both sides agree that the Koh vote provided a good idea of the support these treaties might command from a very skeptical Senate Republican conference.

“The vote against Harold Koh is probably the minimum vote against both of those treaties,” said John Bolton, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush, and who has been a forceful critic of both treaties. “I think that a lot of Republicans, whether they agreed or disagreed with Koh’s views, basically agreed that president had the right to appoint his own team. Whether they would also support these treaties, given their concerns about national sovereignty, is another question.”

Commander James Kraska of the Naval War College made the case for Law of the Sea on FP back in February, arguing that by holding up ratification, congress is only aiding China's efforts to unilaterally redefine international law. Law of the Sea is just one of those issues doomed by the fact that not that many people care about it, but those who, care about it a lot. 

At a breakfast with reporters this morning, Qubad Talabani, the Kurdistan Regional Government's representative in Washington, urged the U.S. not to get "caught up in the euphoria" over withdrawal from Iraqi cities, or think that the job in Iraq is somehow done. "Having lived through 'mission accomplished 1,' we don't want to see 'mission accomplished 2,'" he said.

Talabani, who is the son of Iraqi president Jalal Talabani and was profiled by FP's Laura Rozen in 2007, highlighted a number of increasing causes for concern, focusing particularly on the sharing of oil revenue. He called yesterday's oil auction "a flop" which proves that "the days of state-run monopolies have to end."

But his biggest concern was the status of the disputed Northern territories of Kirkuk, Diyala and Nineveh, which he said was the the issue "most likely to result in degeneration" of Iraq's stability. Yesterday's bombing in Kirkuk underscored his concerns about the security situation. Talabani worries about the increasing power of Arab nationalists, such as the hardline Hadba party which recently took power in Nineveh. "The only thing standing in the way of rising Ara nationalism in Iraq is the Kurds," said Talabani. 

Talabani was also concerned the increasing power of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the central government in Baghdad. "We did not sacrifice all of this and the United States didn't sacrifice all of this to replace one dictatorship with a lighter version," he said. 

Of particular concern to Talabani is Iraq's military buildup, since Maliki has the authority to appoint division commanders, many of whom are ex-Baathists. I asked how he thought the U.S. could support the building-up of Iraq's internal secuirty capacity without threatening Kurdistan, he recommend that the United States "make conditional the sale of militay equipment to sound policies" from Maliki. 

Referring to the recent sale of 140 Abrams tanks to Iraq, Talabani said, "Maybe I'm just an overnervous Kurd, but who are we using these tanks for?  Are we expecting another invasion?"

While Talabani is wary of "Iraq fatigue" setting in among Washington policymakers, he says is reassured by news that Vice President Joe Biden will now be overseeing Iraq policy, saying that it "sends us a message that this administration takes Iraq seriously."

Overall, Talabani seemed anxious make sure that the region he calls "one of America's few foreign policy success stories in the Middle East" doesn't get lost in the shuffle as the U.S. withdrawal proceeds. 

Getty Images

An Iraqi police woman shows off her skills during a parade to mark the withdrawal of US troops from Iraqi cities and towns across the nation on June 30, 2009, in the city of Karbala, 110 kms south of the capital Baghdad. Iraqi forces took control of towns and cities across the country to replace departing US forces, a milestone in the country's recovery six years after the US-led invasion.

AFP PHOTO / MOHAMMED SAWAF 

He may have been called a "dilettante on the international stage" and "the world's most dangerous Korean" by Jacob Heilbrunn in the most recent issue of FP, but it seems that lots of people still like Ban Ki-moon. A new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll has the secretary-general coming in second only to Barack Obama in how much he is trusted around the world:

 The UN Secretary General generally receives better ratings than most other world leaders who are heads of nations. On average his evaluations across the 20 nations are positive (40% to 35%) and 11 nations express confidence, seven do not, and two are divided. This places him second among the leaders studied, below Obama, but slightly above Merkel.

Views of Ban Ki-moon are particularly positive in Africa and in Asia - nearly all Asian nations give him positive confidence scores led by South Korea (90%). Indonesia is an exception: views are divided. Large majorities in both Kenya (70%) and Nigeria (69%) express confidence in him.

Countries polled in Western Europe have confidence in the Secretary General, including Britain, Germany, and France, but Poland and Russia do not, and Ukraine is divided. A majority of Americans (57%) report little confidence in him, while Mexico leans toward having confidence (38% to 33%.)

You don't have to go as far as Heilbrunn to argue that this is a bit much. It's pretty doubtful that most of those saying they trust believe in Ban can explain what he has accomplished. Even the S-G's defender's acknowledge that many of his main accomplishments received little fanfare or media coverage. Indeed the very fact that he hasn't been all that outspoken on many issues (or doesn't get enough media coverage, depending on your point of view) means that he hasn't given people much cause to form a negative opion of him. 

On the other hand, as Boonstra notes, "Coming in second behind Barack Obama -- whose public speaking, I think we can agree, is a little more inspirational -- is not too shabby for the South Korean." Give the guy his due.

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