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.
4,623 Articles
Excellent summary of GTMO myths . . . and a classic case of the “false equivalence fallacy”
A while back I wrote here about how remarkably successful President Obama’s efforts have been to fundamentally transform, to the point of elimination, the U.S. practice of…
Are People in Islamic State Training Camps Legitimate Targets?
As of March 1st, the US-led anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition had conducted a total of 10,715 strikes, including 7,159 in Iraq and 3,556 in Syria. Much concern has been expressed…
A Readers’ Guide to the Apple All Writs Act Cases
The last few weeks and months have been awash in media coverage of two cases before magistrate judges involving the federal government seeking to use the All Writs Act to compel…
[UPDATED] Magistrate Judge Orenstein’s order in the EDNY, denying DOJ’s All Writs Act request . . .
. . . is here. The order that the government requested the judge to issue would have required Apple to bypass the passcode security on an iPhone 5s (which used Apple’s iOS…
Partition of Syria as Plan B?: The Case for Caution
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 State Department’s Records and Response Problems Are Not New, They’re Systemic
The State Department’s records management, FOIA compliance, and oversight responsiveness have endured withering scrutiny in court and on Capitol Hill since disclosure of Hillary…
Apple’s motion to vacate the All Writs Act assistance order: Has Apple chosen the best “test case”?
Here it is. On first read, I think it has some very strong sections, including, in particular, its description of the efforts Apple would have to undertake to create and secure…
Improving the Recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Biodefense Report
The tragic saga of the death of Thomas Eric Duncan from Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) serves as a perfect demonstration of the shambolic state of biodefense in the United States in…
Torture and Transparency in the Military Commissions
America’s war court is back in session at Guantánamo, with yet more pretrial proceedings in the case of the five 9/11 defendants (alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed,…
Apple vs. FBI: “Just This Once”?
I wrote about the FBI’s attempt to force Apple to write an iPhone hacking tool for the bureau over at Time last week — and go read that if you’re getting caught up on the…
The President’s Plan for Closing the Guantánamo Bay Detention Facility
It’s here. The President proposes that once current transfer efforts are completed this year, the remaining 30 to 60 GTMO detainees ought to be detained in a U.S. facility. This…
Closing Guantánamo, Episode XXVIII: This Time, We Really, Really (Really!) Mean It…
Word has it that, later today, the Obama administration will release its long-ballyhooed Plan. To. Close. Guantánamo. (Not to be confused, mind you, with the original plan from…