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Officials inspect the damaged Karbala airport in the Iraqi shrine city, one of the areas targeted by US military air strikes. March 13, 2020

A Legacy of Unrecognized Harm: DoD’s 2020 Civilian Casualties Report

The Pentagon report appears to defy the congressional requirement to report on civilian casualties “that were confirmed, or reasonably suspected, to have resulted in civilian…

Jun. 7, 2021 Annie Shiel and Chris Woods

Honduran soldiers and national police shoot tear gas at protesters nearby the presidential palace in Tegucigalpa on June 29, 2009. The police are in full riot gear with helmets, shields, and weapons.

Why Supporters of Democracy and Security Both Need to Care about Security Sector Governance

Too often, the United States ends up feeding well-intentioned assistance and training into an impervious, corrupt system that eats the aid and spits out further instability.

Jun. 4, 2021 Rachel Kleinfeld

People gather at a street corner during the Tulsa Race Massacre. Smoke billows from buildings down the block and all the buildings in the image are heavily damaged.

Controlling the Lens of History: From Tulsa to the Capitol Mob

(Editor’s Note: This article is part of a Just Security series on the hundredth anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, with more essays in the following days.) The centennial…

May 31, 2021 Eric J. Miller

The destruction caused by the white supremacists that attacked Tulsa and its black residents during the Tulsa Race Massacre. Buildings were leveled to rubble and buildings still partially standing have extensive fire damage.

How the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 Was (and Might Be) Forgotten

"This effort exemplifies what the philosopher Charles Mills calls 'white ignorance,' in which the ideology of white supremacy infects what counts as knowledge, and testimony about…

May 30, 2021 Stephen Galoob

Nehemiah Frank holds his cousin David McIntye II as they stand in front of a mural depicting the violence of the Tulsa massacre and teaches him the history of the attack in the Greenwood district, on May 28, 2021 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Reckoning with State-Sanctioned Racial Violence: Lessons from the Tulsa Race Massacre

Top legal scholar outlines five "features of what a capacious commitment to democratic repair in the wake of state violence might mean" for Tulsa.

May 29, 2021 Monica Bell

Hughes Van Ellis, a Tulsa Race Massacre survivor and World War II veteran, and Viola Fletcher, oldest living survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, testify before the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee hearing on "Continuing Injustice: The Centennial of the Tulsa-Greenwood Race Massacre" on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on May 19, 2021. Some people sit in the seats behind them, but the room is not full allowing for social distancing. Most people wear face masks.

Introduction to Just Security’s Series on Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921

This article introduces a new series on the hundredth anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. The series will bring together experts to re-examine different aspects of the Tulsa…

May 29, 2021 Christine Berger

Asylum seekers from El Salvador and Honduras sit outside the El Chaparral border crossing on February 19, 2021 in Tijuana, Mexico. They wear face masks with the exception of the toddler, who appears to be too young for a face mask.

Asylum and the Three Little Words that Can Spell Life or Death

The U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals defines “particular social group” in a way that practically ensures the denial of asylum claims, especially for Central Americans. The…

May 28, 2021 Stephen Legomsky and Karen Musalo

Silhouettes of ROTC cadets against a clear blue sky with clouds.

What Do Future U.S. Generals Think About Dissent, Disobedience, and Resignation?

Survey research suggests respect for civilian-control appears to be the exception, not the norm, among a significant portion of the senior military officers who participated.

May 28, 2021 Steven Katz

CIA Director John Brennan and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, arrive to testify during a US House Committee on Intelligence hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, September 10, 2015.

A New Consensus Around Transparency and National Security Surveillance

Civil libertarian arguments that were dismissed a decade ago are now broadly accepted, even at the highest levels of the intelligence community.

May 27, 2021 Jameel Jaffer and Patrick C. Toomey

The old courtroom building, pictured through an opening from inside an airplane hangar used for media activities at Camp Justice, site of the US war crimes tribunal compound at Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base, Cuba, April 9, 2014. A guard stands at the opening of the hanger.

Torture Evidence and the Guantanamo Military Commissions

Burying evidence of torture, while surreptitiously admitting the fruits of torture is not what a decent legal system does. Bringing to justice those accused of atrocious crimes…

May 26, 2021 David Luban

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. The insurrectionists wear riot gear as do the police. One insurrectionist raises a police baton attacking the police.

The Next Best Option if a January 6 Commission Fails

"On balance, a House select committee is not the optimal vehicle to investigate the January 6 insurrection.... but it might be the best one available." How this path could be made…

May 24, 2021 Austin Evers

Retail Specialist 3rd Class Fangfang Wen, originally from China, and Retail Specialist 3rd Class Chloe Nichole Luz Rodriguez, originally from the Philippines, recite the Oath of Allegiance aboard USS Mustin (DDG 89) during a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) naturalization ceremony. The event was the first naturalization ceremony held onboard an active U.S. Navy ship during the COVID-19 pandemic. They wear face masks and three other people wearing face masks and uniforms stand behind them.

Biden Must Honor Pledge to Immigrant Troops: Rescind Trump Policy Blocking Path to Citizenship

Over 100 days into his administration, President Joe Biden has yet to act on a Trump administration policy denying thousands of immigrants serving in the U.S. military the path…

May 24, 2021 Scarlet Kim