Terrorism & Violent Extremism
Just Security provides expert legal and policy analysis of terrorism, counterterrorism, and domestic and international violent extremism.
2,268 Articles
Questions the Media Should Be Asking About DOD’s Latest Targeted Killing
Last week, the Pentagon confirmed that an American drone strike in Raqqa, Syria, killed a hacker named Junaid Hussain, a British man also believed to be a recruiter for ISIL.…
Politicization of Intelligence: Lessons From a Long, Dishonorable History
The Daily Beast and the New York Times have reported allegations that senior (but thus far unidentified) Defense Department and United States Central Command (CENTCOM) officials…
The Supreme Court, ISIS, and the War Powers
In the latest issue of the Atlantic, Yale Professor Bruce Ackerman has a provocative essay titled “Can the Supreme Court Force Congress to Own the War on ISIS?” Not…
It’s Time for a Civilian Protection Strategy in Iraq
Editors’ note: This piece is adapted from a longer article by the author originally published in the International Journal of Stability & Development. The military…
What Happens if American-Trained Rebels Commit War Crimes?
It is widely known that the US is facing numerous challenges in arming and training a select number of fighters as part of a group known as the “New Syrian Forces,” which are…
The APA’s Watershed Move to Ban Psychologists’ Complicity in Torture
As Marty Lederman wrote about here, the APA Council of Representatives made waves on Friday by approving, with a near-unanimous vote, a resolution that (1) bans psychologists…
Background Reading on Umm Sayyaf’s Transfer to Kurdish Authorities
The Pentagon yesterday announced that it has transferred Umm Sayyaf, the US’s first detainee in the campaign against ISIL, to the Interior Ministry of Iraqi Kurdistan where…
Is al-Qaeda v Islamic State the Right Question?
Which terrorist group is a bigger threat to the United States, al-Qaeda or the Islamic State (IS)? It almost sounds like the sort of question you’d put to a child comparing movie…
It’s Complicated: The Nuance of Any US Effort to Defend Division 30 from Assad
It has been reported that President Obama has authorized the US armed forces to come to the defense of the new non-State group the United States is training to fight ISIS (Islamic…
President Obama’s Military Commissions
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 Reason Why the UK Lost the Serdar Mohammed Case
The United Kingdom Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in Serdar Mohammed v. Ministry of Defense last Thursday. The decision, which assessed the lawfulness of the 110-day…
Judge Lamberth decides Warafi
As Jen noted, Judge Lamberth today denied Mukhtar Yahia Naji al Warafi’s renewed habeas petition challenging his continued military detention at Guantánamo. As I have previously explained,…