Terrorism & Violent Extremism
Just Security provides expert legal and policy analysis of terrorism, counterterrorism, and domestic and international violent extremism.
2,268 Articles
The Troubling Application of the Political Question Doctrine to Congressional Force Authorizations
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Nov. 21 dismissed the suit brought by U.S. Army Captain Nathan Michael Smith challenging the legality of the military campaign…
Integrating Iraqi Fighting Forces Is Not Enough to Curb Abuse
Human Rights Watch saw Shia armed forces allied with the Iraqi government commit horrific abuses against the Sunni civilian population during the operation to retake Fallujah back…
Frontline’s ‘Exodus’ Individualizes a Global Crisis
Every year around Christmastime, a few million Americans sit down and watch the original version of “The Sound of Music,” starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, when…
State Responsibility for Assisting Armed Groups: A Legal Risk Analysis
Last month, the US State Department’s Legal Adviser Brian Egan highlighted one of the most significant legal issues on the horizon: US and coalition forces’ handling of large…
Recommended Holiday Reading from Just Security’s Editors
Just in time for holiday shopping, we asked some of our Just Security editors to help put together a reading list, partly with the incoming Trump administration in mind. We asked…
The Drone Memos Offers a Critique of Obama Administration’s ‘Shortsighted’ Policies on Targeted Killing
There are a lot of books about drones. In addition to fictionalized accounts of drone use and technical manuals, numerous policy books have been written that describe drone technology,…
US-led Coalition Needs to Improve ‘Opaque, Ad Hoc’ Process for Reporting Civilian Casualties, New Report Says
President Barack Obama’s July 2016 Executive Order on Civilian Casualties has improved U.S. monitoring and reporting of civilian casualties caused by its airstrikes, but far…
The Newly Released National Security Framework Report: An Important Step Forward
On Tuesday, President Obama made the case in his final national security speech that staying true to American values is not a weakness, but the country’s greatest strength…
President Obama’s Report on the Legal and Policy Frameworks Guiding and Limiting the Use of Military Force [UPDATED]
The Administration just released five new documents relating to the use of force, including detention, in counterterrorism operations against nonstate armed groups. The most important…
New Counterterrorism Program in Los Angeles: Suspicious Thought Reporting?
The FBI is teaming up with local police in Los Angeles to roll out a new approach to prevent domestic terrorism, called RENEW for “Recognizing Extremist Network Early Warnings.”…
National Security-Related Congressional Hearings, November 28–December 2
Tuesday, November 29 9:30am – House Committee on Armed Services – Department of Defense Actions Concerning Voluntary Education Programs (here) 2:30pm – Senate Committee…
Smith v. Obama: The Political Question Doctrine Misapplied
Having joined The Constitution Project in an amicus brief in Smith v. Obama, I am disappointed the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia decided to dismiss the case…