Armed Conflict
Law of Armed Conflict/IHL
1,632 Articles
Precautions to Minimize Civilian Harm are a Fundamental Principle of the Law of War
Editor’s Note: Just Security is holding a “mini forum” on the new Defense Department Law of War Manual. This series includes posts from Sean Watts, Eric Jensen, Adil Ahmad…
DOD’s Unbalanced Stance on Precautions Against Harming Civilians
Editor’s Note: Just Security is holding a “mini forum” on the new Defense Department Law of War Manual. This series includes posts from Sean Watts, Eric Jensen, and others.…
Germany’s Highest-Ranking Prosecutor on the Legality of Drone Strikes – and Much More
In a must-read decision, the Federal Prosecutor General in Germany (the equivalent of the U.S. Attorney General) examines in great depth the legality of a drone strike that killed…
Law of War Manual: Information or Authoritative Guidance?
Editor’s Note: Just Security is holding a “mini forum” on the new Defense Department Law of War Manual. This series includes posts from Sean Watts and others. After reviewing…
The DOD Law of War Manual’s Return to Principles
Editor’s Note: Just Security is holding a “mini forum” on the new Defense Department Law of War Manual. This post is the first in a series. Stay tuned for more from Eric…
The Defense Department Stands Alone on Target Selection
A deeply troubling provision in the Defense Department’s new Law of War Manual suggests that commanders are not legally required to minimize civilian casualties when selecting…
Human Shields and Proportionality: A Reply to Charlie Dunlap
In its new Law of War Manual, the Defense Department takes the position that harm to human shields, no matter how extensive, will be “understood not to prohibit attacks under…
Human Shields and the DOD Law of War Manual: Can’t We Improve the Debate?
In a recent post, Prof. Adil Ahmad Haque attacked the new Defense Department Law of War Manual’s position on proportionality and human shields. Evidently, Haque thinks that the…
Reflections on the Israeli Report on the Gaza Conflict
During last year’s Operation Protective Edge, a fascinating data visualization published in Medium revealed the extent of political polarization on Israel and Gaza and the scarcity…
The Defense Department’s Indefensible Position on Killing Human Shields
The Defense Department apparently thinks that it may lawfully kill an unlimited number of civilians forced to serve as involuntary human shields in order to achieve even a trivial…
Questions That Should be Asked About Seal Team 6 and the Laws of War
This post is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a different Just Security editor examines the big stories from the previous week or looks…
The CIA Can’t Keep Its Drone Propaganda Straight
This week, one government intelligence agency, after patiently and methodically tracking a terrorist leader for months through precise electronic surveillance, successfully targeted…