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.
4,713 Articles
Perfidy, ambush, snipers, and the COLE bombing (al Nashiri) case
Thanks to Rogier Bartels and Kevin Heller for their fascinating debate here and at Opinio Juris on whether the alleged Israeli/U.S. car-bomb operation operation that killed Hezbollah’s…
No, Disguising Military Equipment As Civilian Objects to Help Kill Isn’t Perfidy
I read with great interest my friend Rogier Bartels’ long post arguing that it is perfidious to use a bomb planted in a civilian car to kill an enemy soldier. As Rogier notes,…
Killing With Military Equipment Disguised as Civilian Objects is Perfidy, Part II
On Friday, I concluded that modifying a civilian-looking vehicle into a military object to attack an adversary could indeed amount to perfidy during an international armed conflict.…
Preparing for Cyber War: A Clarion Call
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…
Whither the Section 215 Reauthorization Debate?
Remember section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act — and the bulk telephone records metadata program the government conducted pursuant a controversial interpretation of that authority?…
Why Sunset and Supersession Provisions Are Both Needed in an Anti-ISIL AUMF
Yesterday, I testified before the Congressional Progressive Caucus, led by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), in a forum on the President’s proposed authorization to use military…
Blackwater’s Unsung Heroes
In a recent discussion of newly released memos on torture in the War on Terror, David Cole has surmised that “had anyone had the temerity to say no, the program almost certainty…
Call for Papers: Columbia’s Human Rights Law Review & Human Rights Institute
The Columbia Human Rights Law Review, in collaboration with the Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, is issuing a call for submissions for a special symposium edition entitled…
Collateral Effects of Secretary Clinton’s Nonofficial Email
On March 2, the New York Times reported that Hillary Clinton exclusively used a nongovernment email account during her tenure as Secretary of State. Last December, following a…
The Iran Nuclear Deal: The Dispensability of Obligation
Day by day the debate on the Iran nuclear deal drifts further into the deep weeds. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif last week announced his expectation that the agreement will…
Does the President’s Proposed AUMF Authorize Force Against ISIL “Wannabes”?
A key question in Wednesday’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing involved what the administration means by ISIL’s “associated forces,” and how the President’s…
Secretary Kerry on the relationship between the 2001 and ISIL AUMFs
Last month, I wrote that “[a]ssuming the President and Congress mean for [the Administration’s draft] AUMF to impose limits on the President’s authority–including,…