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.
4,801 Articles
Hillary Clinton’s Emails and State Department Daylight
The controversy regarding Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while serving as Secretary of State has largely centered on any effects it may have had on the Benghazi…
The Government (Sort of) Wins a Guantánamo Military Commission Appeal
No, not that one. In a two-page order issued this morning, the D.C. Circuit (Tatel, Griffith, & Silberman, JJ.) dismissed the appeal of former Guantánamo detainee Ibrahim…
Has the Government Conceded that Courts Can Review Detainees’ End-of-War Claims?
The first article I published after law school was a little piece in the January 2006 issue of the Journal of National Security Law & Policy, focusing on the then-hypothetical…
Questions About Baathists’ Role in the Islamic State
A fascinating article in Der Spiegel on April 18 details the supposed inner workings of an Islamic State that is less a caliphate and more a power being established by Saddam…
The NDAA 2016: GTMO Restrictions Redux (and A Sensible Alternative From Rep. Smith)
The full House Armed Service Committee today will be considering (what’s known as “marking up”) the draft National Defense Authorization Act for 2016 (NDAA). Sections 1036…
Ten More Strikes the Obama Administration Should Immediately Acknowledge and Investigate
The Obama administration took a long overdue step toward transparency for its “targeted” killing program when it last week openly acknowledged and took responsibility for the…
CIA Exemption from President’s Restrictions on Drone Strikes in Pakistan
In May 2013, President Obama announced a new directive which presumably places heavy restrictions on drone strikes and other lethal operations outside of the Afghan theater. One…
US Drone Killings of Western Aid Workers Highlight Problems of Nebulous War
President Obama’s apology for the accidental killings of two innocent hostages by US drones in Pakistan has led to understandable criticism of the United States’ secret drone…
Rebooting DOD’s Cyber Strategy
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…
A Legal and Operational Assessment of Israel’s Targeting Practices
Over the course of 50 days in the summer of 2014, the Israeli Defense Forces conducted a high-intensity air and ground campaign against Hamas in the Gaza strip. Sparked by the…
Has the Gov’t Under-Charged an al-Qaeda Recruit?: The Ohio case of Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud
An important criminal charge is conspicuously absent in the Indictment of Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud, who is reportedly “the first American accused of returning from Syria with…
Three Quick Thoughts on the Drone Strike in Pakistan That Killed Two Innocent Civilians
Below are my initial thoughts on today’s tragic news that a January 2015 US “targeted killing” drone strike in Pakistan killed two innocent civilians held as hostages…