Congress
Just Security’s expert authors offer analysis of U.S. Congress’ role in national security, foreign affairs, the rule of law, and rights. Coverage includes analysis and informational resources related to the legislative process, oversight and investigations of the executive branch, and major debates on the separation of powers and Congress’ constitutional role.
2,452 Articles
House Committee on Foreign Affairs Hearing on “Al-Qaeda’s Resurgence in Iraq”
Yesterday was a busy day on Capitol Hill for those interested in various facets of U.S. national security policy with several hearings relevant to Just Security readers. Today…
“Associated Forces” has a legal meaning . . . but it’s not “every group that calls itself al Qaeda”
Daphne reports that at a House Armed Services hearing today, Christopher Swift of the UVa Center for National Security Law emphasized that “the United States has to stop…
“Associated Forces” Has No Legal or Strategic Meaning
Today was national security day in Congress, with three simultaneous hearings on the terrorist threat and how best to fight it. I watched the House Armed Services Committee hearing…
Can Congress Protect Digital Privacy from NSA Spying?
[Editor’s Note: The House Judiciary Committee hearing can be viewed live on C-SPAN.org] Today, the House Judiciary Committee will conduct a hearing on recommendations to…
Another (Dubious) Guantánamo Precedent
As Wells Bennett flagged over at Lawfare, the D.C. Circuit’s latest foray into the Guantánamo detainee litigation came two weeks ago in Al-Janko v. Gates, in which a…
Reforming The Section 702 Dragnet (Part 1)
The consensus is clear that spying on innocent Americans section 215 of the Patriot Act is flatly illegal. The Center for Democracy and Technology said it, Christopher Sprigman…
SSCI Hearing on Current and Projected National Security Threats Against the United States
Happening now, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is holding an open hearing on “Current and Projected National Security Threats Against the United States.”…
U.S. Operations Against al-Shabaab/al-Qaeda: The Targeting of Godane
As Sarah Knuckey’s post explains, CNN is reporting that the latest US drone strike in Somalia targeted Ahmed Abdi Godane, the leader of Al-Shabaab. Sarah asks whether the strike…
Privacy Board Debunks Purported Justification for NSA’s Phone-Records Dragnet
The just-released report of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board is rigorous and well-written, and it’s worth reading in its entirety. One section warranting particular…
PCLOB Releases Report, Recommends Government End §215 Program
Today, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) released its report (full text) on the NSA’s bulk telephony metadata collection program under Section 215…
Does “Espionage Porn” Make Us Stronger?
Although they have somewhat different focuses, one can find much in common in recent posts about the continuing byproducts of the Snowden disclosures (including last Friday’s…
Jack Goldsmith on the “Front-Page Rule”
Highly recommended. As I explained earlier, I think this is a very important question going forward.