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.
4,594 Articles
Operation Observant Compass & the Hunt for Joseph Kony Plussed Up
The Washington Post has reported that President Obama has significantly plussed up the efforts to hunt Joseph Kony of the Lord’s Resistance Army. In addition to the 100…
Is the ODNI Approach to Secrecy and Transparency Evolving?
We flagged this yesterday afternoon on Just Security’s Twitter account, but nevertheless, it is helpful to include a reference here on the pages of the blog as well. Yesterday,…
The US Response to Uganda’s Anti-LGBT Law – Threat or Opportunity for Regional Security Efforts
A few weeks ago officials from the National Security Council and Ambassador Susan Rice held meetings with leading Ugandan LGBT activist Frank Mugisha to discuss the US government’s…
PCLOB Hearing on Section 702 Authorities
Today, the PLCOB is holding a hearing on programs authorized under Section 702 of FISA. The hearing can be watched live on C-SPAN2. Written testimony of the witnesses is linked…
Coverage of the U.S. Proceedings Before the Human Rights Committee Available
A video archive of the United States proceedings before the Human Rights Committee in Geneva is now available here. The Committee released its summary of the proceedings, which…
How President Obama can fulfill his promise to end bulk collection of telephone metadata, while preserving intelligence capabilities
On January 17, President Obama promised to end the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of metadata on Americans’ phone calls under “section 215” (which is really…
Caroline Krass Confirmed as CIA General Counsel
I am delighted to report that the Senate just confirmed my friend and former colleague Caroline Krass to be General Counsel at the CIA, by a vote of 95-4. (“No” votes…
Rep. Schiff Op-Ed in NYT: moving drone program from CIA to JSOC would result in more transparency — But is he right?
Today, Representative Adam Schiff has an opinion piece in the New York Times where he advocates that Congress should allow the President to move the drone program from the CIA…
The United States’ Position on Extraterritoriality: The Time For Change Is Now
[Editor’s Note: Just Security is holding a “mini forum” on the extraterritorial application of human rights treaties in light of the release of two State Department memos and…
Constitutional Conflict & Congressional Oversight
This week has seen a long-smoldering Senate investigation of CIA torture allegations burst into a public conflagration between the CIA and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.…
The Koh Memo’s Impact on the Current US Position (A Reply, in part, to Ben Wittes)
[Editor’s Note: Just Security is holding a “mini forum” on the extraterritorial application of human rights treaties in light of the release of two State Department memos and…
Floor Statement from Senator Feinstein on CIA-SSCI Controversy
This morning, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), sharply criticized the CIA in a speech on the floor of the Senate about the…