Executive Branch

Just Security’s expert authors provide analysis of the U.S. executive branch related to national security, rights, and the rule of law. Analysis and informational resources focus on the executive branch’s powers and their limits, and the actions of the president, administrative agencies, and federal officials.

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America Needs a War on Terror Transparency Act

The Pentagon has three months to investigate the disturbing New York Times report that the military conducted and covered up airstrikes in Baghuz, Syria that killed up to 64 civilians.…
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) attend the January 8, 2020, opening ceremony in Istanbul for the TurkStream natural gas pipeline running from Russia to Turkey. (Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

Biden’s Exclusion of Erdoğan from the Democracy Summit May Be a Blessing in Disguise for Turkey

The implicit refutation bolsters an already strengthening opposition without the kind of US interference that tends to generate backlash.
Speaker's rostrum flanked by gold figures and backdrop of USA flag

FY22 NDAA: A Missed Opportunity to Improve Military Justice

The draft FY22 NDAA disappoints with watered-down military justice reform provisions.
President of Mexico Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador sits with his arms folded during a presentation of a report on the Ayotzinapa case at Palacio Nacional on September 26, 2020 in Mexico City, Mexico. On September 26, 2014, 43 students of Isidro Burgos Rural School of Ayotzinapa disappeared in Iguala city after clashing with police forces. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

Neither Truth Nor Reconciliation: Mexico’s President Betrays Commitment to Transitional Justice

Yet, regardless of the scale and acceleration of abuses, such concerns are marginalized or avoided at high-level US-Mexico meetings.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin is shown at a desk, attending a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus on Unity Day, via teleconference call, in Sevastopol, Crimea, on November 4, 2021.  (Photo by MIKHAIL METZEL/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Putin’s Gamble on Ukraine

The US will face many such challenges from Russia and China in the future, so it must learn how to suppress threats like this one.

The Absence of “The Donald”

The curious omission of a notorious social media site in the FBI's criminal case files on January 6th.
A refugee man and child transport water containers by cattle-drawn cart in Awaradi Refugee camp in eastern Niger, on December 11, 2019. (Photo by Giles Clarke/Getty Images)

Bringing Climate and Terrorism Together at the UN Security Council – Proceed with Caution

The open debate creates risks that counterterrorism will come to dominate the climate security and environmental peacebuilding fields.
Razor wire tops the fence of the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay on October 23, 2016 at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. An American flag waves in the background.

The Biden Administration’s Moment of Truth on Torture Evidence

US prosecutors claim the authority to use torture-derived evidence in Al-Nashiri's case, contrary to U.S. domestic and international legal obligations.
Horizontal image of two hands on keyboard of a type favored by hackers, with keyboard backlit by red-orange glow.

On Ransomware, Cyber Command Should Take a Backseat

As concerns about ransomware grow, U.S. policymakers must resist temptations to over-militarize the U.S. response, instead developing cyber capabilities across a range of federal…
US President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 27, 2021. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)

The Impact on Israel’s National Security of Reopening – or Not – of a US Consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem

The decision will affect three factors: Israel's relationship with the US, the Palestinian Authority's capacity, and Jerusalem's future.

What Should Be the Aim of President Biden’s Democracy Summit?

It should create international organizations to build democracy and the rule of law, with the heft of global economic institutions.
Representatives of the European Union and Iran sit at a table attending the Iran nuclear talks at the Grand Hotel on April 06, 2021 in Vienna, Austria. Flags stand behind the representatives. They wear face masks and sit mostly socially distanced.

Navigating Nuclear Deadlock: What Comes Next in the Iran Talks?

On Nov. 29, Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, plus Germany) are set to meet in Vienna for a seventh round of talks on reviving…
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