Terrorism & Violent Extremism
Just Security provides expert legal and policy analysis of terrorism, counterterrorism, and domestic and international violent extremism.
2,268 Articles
ISIL = Genocide, Per Secretary Kerry
Secretary of State John Kerry announced on March 17 that, in his judgment, ISIL is committing genocide against a number of minority groups in Syria and Iraq, including Christians:…
The Fuzzy Scope of the Forever War Needs Definition
For years now, the questions of where and with whom exactly the United States is at war have been treated as somewhat academic. It’s not that they didn’t matter, but a gridlocked…
Feminism Assessing Terrorism (or How to Slay a New Dragon)
This post is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a different Just Security editor examines the big stories from the previous week or looks…
The FBI Wants Schools to Spy on Their Students’ Thoughts
Imagine you’re a high school principal. An FBI document lands on your desk. It’s called “Preventing Violent Extremism in Schools,” and it’s alarming. According to the…
Determining When the Armed Conflict With Al-Qaeda Started
A panel of the DC Circuit recently held oral arguments in the case of Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri — a Saudi man accused of involvement in numerous terrorist plots and attacks against…
The Latest European Court of Human Rights Ruling on Accountability for Torture
In another important decision on European participation in the US war on terrorism, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued a judgment late last month against Italy for…
Charlie Savage on Obama, GTMO and “Our Values”
Over on his blog, Charlie Savage has generously published a very thoughtful response to my post about his New York Times article, with Scott Shane, on the falsity of political…
Updated Readers’ Guide to Airstrikes in Syria
With the Syrian government and rebel groups well into the second week of a “cessation of hostilities agreement” intended to pave the way for a peace process between the government…
Closing Guantánamo: Before You Accuse Congress, Take a Look at Your Administration
Five years ago today, President Obama issued Executive Order 13567, which established the Periodic Review Board (PRB) process to review every “forever” detainee in Guantánamo…
Excellent summary of GTMO myths . . . and a classic case of the “false equivalence fallacy”
A while back I wrote here about how remarkably successful President Obama’s efforts have been to fundamentally transform, to the point of elimination, the U.S. practice of…
Are People in Islamic State Training Camps Legitimate Targets?
As of March 1st, the US-led anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition had conducted a total of 10,715 strikes, including 7,159 in Iraq and 3,556 in Syria. Much concern has been expressed…
A Primer on the “Cessation of Hostilities” in Syria and International Law
In case you missed it, the US and Russia brokered a “cessation of hostilities” arrangement for the war-torn county of Syria that went into effect last Saturday, February…