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.
3,544 Articles
Delay and Detention at Obama’s Guantánamo: The Missing PRBs
As Steve Vladeck noted last week, lawyers for Guantánamo detainee Mohamedou Ould Slahi filed a motion in his habeas corpus case demanding that the Obama administration…
Abu Ghraib and the Perversion of the Political Question Doctrine
I’ve written extensively about the important and complex legal questions raised by state-law tort suits against private military contractors, many of which have arisen in…
Guest Post: Israel’s Report on the 2014 Gaza Conflict
The Israeli government released its complete report on the 2014 Gaza Conflict (“Operation Protective Edge”) on Sunday (some chapters have been available online the past few…
Guest Post: Exploding Civilian Involvement and “The People’s Perspectives” Report
Last month, the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) published first-hand views of civilians living in conflict-affected countries, something “largely absent” from discussions…
The OPM Hack and the New DOD Law of War Manual
Last Friday was a big day in cybersecurity news. OPM announced that, in addition to the compromise of the personnel information of federal employees revealed on June 4, Chinese…
Why al Bahlul is Rightly Decided
Over at Lawfare, I have a pair of longer posts following up on Friday’s quick-and-dirty summary of the D.C. Circuit’s ruling in al Bahlul v. United States, in which…
The Law of War Manual is here (no, really)
The last time the U.S. Department of Defense published a comprehensive manual on the law of war was in 1956, when Richard Baxter set the standard. Much has happened since then–the…
What al Bahlul Says, and What It Means
It’s going to take some time to fully work through the lengthy opinions handed down by the D.C. Circuit this morning in al Bahlul v. United States. But at the risk of…
al-Bahlul decided: Court invalidates military commission conviction for domestic-law offense
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by a 2-1 vote (Rogers and Tatel, Henderson dissenting) has overturned the conspiracy conviction on Article III grounds.…
Closing Guantánamo Will Help Combat Terrorist Propaganda
It’s no secret that extremist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIL use the American prison at Guantánamo Bay as a recruiting tool and rallying cry against the United States. The topic…
The Ridiculous GTMO Counsel-Stripping Amendment: An Easy Vote
[UPDATE: The Amendment failed by a vote of 133-297.] Steve has already described the likely constitutional problems with the latest Guantanamo amendment designed to strip funding…
Why the Latest Ridiculous Guantánamo Amendment is Almost Certainly Unconstitutional
Later today, the House of Representatives appears set to vote on the following amendment to the Department of Defense appropriations bill, sponsored by Missouri Congressman Jason…