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.
4,606 Articles
The Problems with Counterterrorism Stings: A Response to Samuel Rascoff
[Editor’s note: Don’t miss, Samuel Rascoff’s rejoinder to David Cole’s post, which was subsequently published here on Just Security.] In his guest post…
Sting Operations and Counterterrorism: What’s Really at Stake?
Attorney General Eric Holder was in Europe last week, touting the virtues of American-style counter-terrorism, including the prominent use of stings operations against would-be…
The PCLOB Report and Eight Questions About Section 702
Note: The views expressed below are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of PCLOB or its other Board members. On July 2, Professor Jennifer Granick posed the question:…
President Obama Delivering Remarks on Ukraine
Earlier today President Obama delivered a statement on the escalating situation in Ukraine. Video of the remarks is available below. We will update this post with a transcript…
The Illusion of Justice report and the Use of “Radicalization Theories” in Counterterrorism Sting Operations
[Tarek Z. Ismail is co-author of Illusion of Justice: Human Rights Abuses in US Terrorism Prosecutions, a report co-published by Human Rights Watch and the Columbia Law School…
Letter to the Editor — Lt. Colonel David J. R. Frakt: What will Happen to al Bahlul?
I want to thank my esteemed colleagues Steve Vladeck and Marty Lederman for their very illuminating discussion of the D.C. Circuit’s recent decision in al Bahlul. I was Mr.…
What’s Left of Hamdan II? Quite a Lot, Actually…
Although it’s a bit further into the weeds than the issues Marty and I flagged in yesterday’s lengthy analysis of the en banc D.C. Circuit’s decision in al…
UK Government Proposes Creation of its own Privacy and Civil Liberties (Oversight) Board
The U.K. government announced this week its intention to replace the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation with a new Independent Privacy and Civil Liberties Board. The…
al Bahlul and the Future of “Domestic Law-of-War Offenses” in Military Commissions
As Steve wrote on Monday, the long-awaited en banc decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in al Bahlul v. United States leaves unanswered many of the questions…
Road Map I: What More Congress (and the Administration) Can Do to Promote Accountability in Sri Lanka
The Obama administration has taken the lead internationally to promote accountability in Sri Lanka. The principal focus is on war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during…
DOJ Files Opening Brief in Klayman Appeal
It’s been some time since we’ve discussed developments related to the Section 215 telephony metadata program. More attention of late has been focused on Section 702…
Beyond the US-German Case: Understanding the Espionage “Rules of the Game”
As a former Chief of Europe Division in the CIA, I have no comment to offer concerning the Germany espionage flap, of which I know nothing, save for what I have read in the press.…