Armed Conflict • International Law
Use of Force
936 Articles
What Did We Learn About Mark Esper and How He Views the World?
From Iran to Afghanistan to collective self-defense, the big takeaways from the Senate confirmation hearing for Mark Esper, nominated by the president to be defense secretary.…
Iran’s Shifting Views on Self-Defense and ‘Intraterritorial’ Force
Iran’s justification for shooting down a US drone suggests a subtle shift in its understanding of international law.
Cyberattack Attribution and the Virtues of Decentralization
In the midst of rising tensions between the United States and Iran over tanker attacks and Iran’s downing of a U.S. drone, reports emerged that U.S. Cyber Command had launched…
Estonia Speaks Out on Key Rules for Cyberspace
Estonian President Kaljulaid stakes out a bold position on collective countermeasures in cyberspace and clarifies the obligation of due diligence.
Bolton’s Stated Predicate for War With Iran Doesn’t Work
"Bolton has repeatedly threatened that Iran’s support for its 'proxies' could bring 'a very strong response'—even military force. By threatening military action against Iran…
A Critique of Defense Dept General Counsel Ney’s Remarks on the Law of War
"The law of war applies equally to U.S. forces and to ISIS, to Syria and to Russia. We should keep that in mind when we hear Ney recite Lieber’s dictum, 'The more vigorously…
Remarks by Defense Dept General Counsel Paul C. Ney Jr. on the Law of War
The General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Defense, Hon. Paul C. Ney Jr., delivered the keynote address (full text below) at the Israel Defense Forces 3rd International Conference…
Trump’s Golan Policy and Its Threat to the Post-War International Legal Order
Yale Law professors Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro, authors of an award-winning book on the use of force, respond directly to a Wall Street Journal op-ed by Secretary of State…
‘Flying Ginsu’ Missile Won’t Resolve U.S. Targeted Killing Controversy
Proponents of a new, modified Hellfire missile called the R9X tout it as a game-changer that can spare more civilian lives than traditional Hellfires. But the new technology can…
Barr’s Playbook: He Misled Congress When Omitting Parts of Justice Dep’t Memo in 1989
When Bill Barr was head of Office of Legal Counsel, he gave Congress the legal conclusions and reasoning of an important Justice Department memo but left out major portions of…
Transparency on Civilian Harm in Somalia Matters – Not Just to Americans
"Under the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations, much of the commentary on the use of lethal force in counterterrorism operations has focused on the importance of transparency…
The Golan Heights and the Perils of “Defensive Annexation”
Trump's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights departs from the bedrock legal prohibition of unilateral annexation: transgressing this norm could create dangerous…