Armed Conflict • International Law
Use of Force
952 Articles
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…
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…
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…
Public Opinion, International Law, and Drone Strikes: Some Reflections
We commend Professor Charles Dunlap for his excellent recent post on international law and public support for drone strikes. As he notes, there are many points of agreement between…
Casualties and Polls: Some Observations
In a recent post provocatively entitled “New Poll: American Support for Drone Strikes Plummets When Innocent US Civilians Killed,” Just Security’s editor Ryan Goodman energetically…
What Civilians Themselves Say about Targeting and their Participation in Conflict
“What I think is that there is no line at all … Civilians can turn into fighters at any time. Anybody can change from a fighter to a civilian, all in one day, all in one moment.”…
The Relationship Between Context and Proportionality: A Reply to Cohen and Shany
I am honored that Deans Amichai Cohen and Yuval Shany, both superb scholars that I hold in the highest regard, have responded to the Just Security post I wrote with my colleague…
Why not, Secretary Carter?
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has announced that a U.S. drone strike recently killed one of AQAP’s senior commanders, Nasr Ibn Ali al-Ansi. This would, of course,…
New Poll: American Support for Drone Strikes Plummets When Innocent US Civilians Killed [Updated]
A 2009 US Air Force photo shows an armed MQ-9 Reaper drone taxiing in Kandahar, Afghanistan. US policymakers need to know the answer to a simple question about American attitudes…
Contextualizing Proportionality Analysis? A Response to Schmitt and Merriam on Israel’s Targeting Practices
In a recent post on this blog, Michael Schmitt and John Merriam discussed Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL), based on their recent visit to Israel…