Armed Conflict
Use of Force
822 Articles
So Much for a New Drone Policy – Why Can’t the US Explain Why It Targeted a Wedding Party?
The New York Times has an important front-page story today by Mark Mazzetti and Robert Worth on last week’s drone strike in Yemen, which reportedly targeted a convoy of trucks…
NDAA Passes House, Senate Expected to Vote Next Week
As Ruchi included in the news roundup this morning, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed the House last night by a vote of 350-69. In case you missed it earlier…
Drones Strikes Kill 18 in Yemen This Week — More Transparency is Needed
The alleged US drone strike that reportedly killed up to 15 people on their way to a wedding in Yemen on Thursday is just one more reason why the Obama administration has to start…
Some Criticisms of Obama’s Drones and Targeting Rules are Baseless
There are many valid criticisms of the Obama administration’s drone policy and related targeting rules. We have made some of those ourselves (here and here). There are also…
NDAA Redux – Provision on Lethal Targeting
In a post last night, I noted the key Guantanamo-related provisions in the latest version of the 2014 NDAA. It’s also worth highlighting the inclusion of another provision…
A Review of the Special Rapporteur Reports Regarding “Drones” and the Use of Lethal Force
Background The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Mr Christof Heyns, recently reported on the topic of the use of lethal force through armed…
Joint Letter from NGOs and Human Rights Groups to President Obama on Drone Program
Yesterday, a group of civil liberties and human rights groups wrote a joint letter to President Obama sharing their concerns with the U.S. drone program. The group, which includes…
Senators Call on Obama Administration to Provide the Public More Information on Drone Strikes
Last week, just before the Thanksgiving break, Senators Wyden, Udall and Heinrich sent Attorney General Eric Holder an important Thank You note. In their Nov. 26 letter, the senators…
Pakistan Test Fires Missile to Take Down Drones
It might have been easy to doubt the veracity of the Pakistan government’s public protestations against US drone strikes in light of secret agreements between the two governments…
A New War?: The United States Involvement in Yemen’s Internal Armed Conflict [Updated]
In an op-ed in the Guardian last week, I argued that the United States appears to have become militarily directly involved in fighting a domestic insurgency in Yemen as an ally…
Targeted Killings — The US Power to Kill and the Yemeni Power to Capture
[For Just Security’s other coverage of yesterday’s Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reports on targeted killings, see Sarah Knuckey’s guide to the…
Human Rights Groups Release Investigation Reports into US Targeted Killings: A Guide to the Issues
Today, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI) released two detailed studies of US targeted killings in Yemen and Pakistan, putting forward specific evidence of…