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.
4,605 Articles
Correcting the Record—Further Thoughts on the Intelligence Report on Civilian Casualties
In an exchange of posts over the past few weeks about the most recent casualty figures released by the Director of National Intelligence for theaters outside areas of active hostilities,…
Will the World be Silent in Face of the Rohingya Calamity?–The time has come for a UN Commission of Inquiry
In so many ways, Myanmar, also called Burma, has embarked on a strikingly successful political journey, aided in part by the international community with leadership from many States.…
A Look at the Case of the ex-CIA Officer Being Extradited to Italy for Her Role in a 2003 Rendition
A Gulfstream IV business jet similar to the one suspected of transporting Abu Omar during his rendition. (Eugene Butler/Wikimedia Commons) [This post has been updated to reflect…
Norms Watch: Tracking the Erosion of Democratic Traditions (Feb. 17-24)
Editor’s Note: Welcome to the latest installment of Norms Watch, our series tracking both the flouting of democratic norms by the Trump administration and the erosion of…
Whistleblower Reinstated in Job in Test Case for NSA and Intelligence Community
In a case that has been closely followed as a test for new whistleblower protections put in place by President Obama, it can now be reported that the whistleblower received restitution…
Call for Papers: “Revisiting the Role of International Law in National Security”
Many conversations in the U.S. about situations of armed conflict – within civil society, academia, and the U.S. government – center on “national security law,” often drawing…
New Case Proves Intelligence Community Whistleblowers Have Protections
NSA headquarters, Ft. Meade, Md. In December, Adm. Mike Rogers, director of the NSA, placed the agency’s Inspector General (IG), Dr. George Ellard, on administrative leave and…
Just Security Event: Surveillance and the Trump Administration
Join Just Security for a fireside chat on U.S. surveillance and a celebration of Jennifer Granick‘s new book, American Spies: Modern Surveillance, Why You Should Care, And What…
Reasons to Distrust Intelligence Report on Civilian Casualties
Ryan Goodman is absolutely correct in what he wrote yesterday at Just Security. I have not proved the claim he attributes to me, namely, that “there is a gross underestimation…
A Just Security Debate!—What’s With the Criticism of the DNI Report on Civilian Casualties?
A U.S. Air Force MQ-1B Predator drone, carrying a Hellfire air-to-surface missile taxis after landing at a secret air base in the Persian Gulf region on January 7, 2016. In a recent…
Trump’s CVE Program: Going From Bad to Worse
Men walk to Friday Prayer at the Omar Mosque in Paterson, N.J. in 2012 after revelations that the NYPD had crossed into New Jersey to conduct surveillance on Newark and area muslims.…
Survivor’s Guide to Being a Successful Whistleblower in the Federal Government
Whistleblowers do a difficult thing: They often put their career and livelihood at risk standing up against their organization and disclosing information that may embarrass their…