Terrorism & Violent Extremism
Just Security provides expert legal and policy analysis of terrorism, counterterrorism, and domestic and international violent extremism.
2,268 Articles

Does Congress Really Think It’s Reasserting Its War Powers by Giving Them Away to Trump?
Bipartisan efforts to address the problematic status quo should be applauded. But without significant changes to what is reportedly in the latest proposed AUMF, the new authorization…

‘I Won’t Torture’ is Not Enough: Question Pompeo on US Rendition Policy
Numerous concerns have been raised about Mike Pompeo, President Trump’s nominee for secretary of state. Though the US Senate confirmed him as the Central Intelligence Agency…

U.S. Federal Statute on Aiding and Abetting: War Crimes in Yemen – Part II
This piece is the second of two on U.S. operations in Yemen and the War Crimes Act, and the latest article in our forum on the Yemen crisis and the law. In September 2017, Ryan…

Civilian Casualties and Effectiveness of U.S. Drone Strikes in Yemen
This is the first of two articles on U.S. counterterrorism operations in Yemen. It also the latest in a new series we are producing in partnership Columbia Law School’s Human…

How Reconciliation in Iraq Could Stop Collective Punishment
Policymakers in Iraq, and in countries supporting its government, are debating what kind of reconciliation efforts are needed post-ISIS. Meanwhile, without fanfare, the town of…

New Series: Perspectives from Impacted Countries
Millions of people around the world are affected by U.S. armed conflict, security, and counterterrorism policies and practices. U.S. forces regularly carry out airstrikes in Iraq,…

Gina Haspel, Torture, and the ProPublica Correction
ProPublica’s comprehensive correction to significant portions of its earlier reporting on Gina Haspel, President Donald Trump’s recent nominee for CIA Director, provided an…

UN Working Group: Indefinite Detention of Gitmo Detainee Violates Human Rights Law
The Jan. 24 findings of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention conclude that the continued detention of Ammar al Baluchi at Guantanamo Bay is arbitrary, discriminatory, and…

Centralizing Human Rights in the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy
The Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (GCTS), originally adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006, is currently undergoing its sixth review by states and the General…

The End of Pretending
Above: President Donald Trump speaks at CIA headquarters. Editors’ note: this article has been updated to reflect the newly-reported fact that Gina Haspel was not in charge…

Cyber Operations and the U.S. Definition of “Armed Attack”
[Ed. Note: Based on Goodman's remarks at U.S. Cyber Command’s Annual Legal Conference.]
A widely accepted view of the UN Charter is that a State can use force…
A widely accepted view of the UN Charter is that a State can use force…

Doe v. Mattis: Is the War on ISIS Legal?
Many members of Congress, including those who voted for the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs, feel they haven’t authorized the current fight against ISIS. Unless the executive branch prolongs…