Armed Conflict
Just Security’s expert authors provide analysis on the legal, policy, and strategic dimensions of armed conflict, including the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas war, counterterrorism operations, conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, and other armed conflicts across the globe, with a focus on international humanitarian law, war crimes and accountability, mitigating and remedying civilian harm, and the humanitarian impacts of warfare.
3,526 Articles
US Government Concludes no “War Crimes” in Kunduz Strike, But Fails to Explain Why
The US government’s 120-page report on the Kunduz airstrike — in which US forces killed 42 civilians and destroyed a Médicins Sans Frontières hospital — found that US forces…
Congress’s Embarrassingly Empty (National Security) Record
This week, we learned the United States will send 250 special operations troops to the war in Syria, bringing the publicly known total number of American troops operating in the…
The Proposed Military Commissions Fix Is Anything But
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…
We Need to Know More About the US’s Role in Yemen
A crowd quickly gathered when I arrived last month in what remained of the market in Mastaba, a small highway town in northern Yemen. A week earlier, on March 15, warplanes from…
The International Discussion Continues: 2016 CCW Experts Meeting on Lethal Autonomous Weapons
Last week, States Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), the international treaty banning or restricting the use of land mines, blinding lasers, and other…
The State Department Adviser Signals a Middle Road on Common Article 1
In his remarks to the American Society of International Law earlier this month, State Department Legal Adviser Brian Egan stated that the United States’ commitment to upholding…
The Egan speech and the Bush Doctrine: Imminence, necessity, and “first use” in the jus ad bellum
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…
Are all “members” of ISIL targetable?
Rita Siemion and Heather Brandon of Human Rights First have published a comprehensive post on some of the more important aspects of Brian Egan’s speech to ASIL. (My own…
International Law à la Carte: Brian Egan’s Jus ad Bellum Doctrine
Last week’s speech by State Department Legal Adviser Brian Egan laying out the legal and policy rationales behind the US’s war against ISIL was largely overlooked in the mainstream…
Readers’ Guide on Recent Developments in International Criminal Law
It has been a busy few weeks in international criminal law, with a range of important judgments out of the International Criminal Court, the International Tribunal for the former…
A brief response to Gabor Rona on the use of force by non-military personnel
Gabor Rona is correct, of course, that (absent a later-in-time statutory override) U.S. use of force must comply with international law, regardless of the identity of the U.S.…
When Considering CIA Targeted Killings, Don’t Forget International Law!
Last week, Marty Lederman addressed the legality and wisdom of CIA engagement in targeted killings under domestic law. Applicable international law, however, suggests that CIA…