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.
4,595 Articles
A(nother) Procedural Roadblock for Drone Casualty Reporting Requirements
Yesterday, efforts to bring greater transparency to the U.S. drone program hit a(nother) legislative procedural roadblock, as the House Rules Committee voted to not include an…
Letter to the Editor: A Reply to Ryan Goodman on Civilian Casualties
Ryan makes an excellent point. Whether 10 “civilian casualties” are worse than 9 depends on context. It’s entirely possible that 10 is legally permissible and…
What You Should Know–and Why You Should Care–About the Latest Guantánamo Litigation
It’s been well over three years since Linda Greenhouse, writing for the New York Times, attributed the Supreme Court’s refusal to take any new cases from Guantánamo…
Force Feeding at Guantanamo and Judge Gladys Kessler
In his commencement address at West Point on May 28, President Obama said, “What makes [America] exceptional is not our ability to flout international norms and the rule of law,…
al Bihani is third successful GTMO detainee before PRB; SecDef considering transfer of six others to Uruguay
Two weeks ago, the GTMO Periodic Review Board determined that continued law-of-war detention of Ghaleb Nassar al Bihani “is no longer necessary to protect against a continuing…
Civilian Casualty Rates in CIA vs. DOD Drone Programs: Apples and Oranges
Much attention has been given to whether CIA-directed or DOD-directed drone strikes result in fewer civilian casualties. Last week I wrote about the mixed evidence when it comes…
Alternative Jurisdictional Bases for a Hybrid Tribunal for Syria
As we have discussed, one option under consideration to address the commission of grave international crimes during the conflict in Syria is the creation of a hybrid tribunal within…
FAA Section 702 developments
Back in February, I posted about the first brief on the merits challenging the constitutionality of Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, in the criminal case against…
Flashback: Comparing Obama’s announcement of Iraq withdrawal to West Point Graduating Class of 2010 (video clip)
Today is not the first time President Obama has addressed the graduating class of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and used the opportunity to speak about his vision for…
President Obama on Withdrawal of U.S. Troops from Afghanistan
Today, in remarks delivered from the Rose Garden on the eve of his highly anticipated West Point commencement speech, President Obama outlined his plan to end the war in Afghanistan,…
Targeting Transparency: A Call for DoD to Automatically Release Investigations of Civilian Casualties in Armed Conflict
There has been much discussion on the lack of demonstrable government follow through after President Obama’s 2013 claims of increased transparency of US lethal targeting of suspected…
Major development concerning transparency of the use of force in Yemen
“I think the rule should be that if we’re going to take actions overseas that result in the deaths of people, the United States should take responsibility for that.”…