Terrorism & Violent Extremism
Just Security provides expert legal and policy analysis of terrorism, counterterrorism, and domestic and international violent extremism.
2,223 Articles

An AUMF for ISIL: A Survey of Different Drafts & Proposals [Updated]
[I have updated this survey to include new proposals and in light of this week’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings on drafting an AUMF.] With the President now…

Highlights (and Concerns) for Senator Menendez’s Draft AUMF
Senator Bob Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has circulated a draft authorization for the use of force (AUMF) against ISIL. Importantly, Sen. Menendez…

How an ISIL-Specific AUMF Affects Interpretations of the 2001/2002 AUMFs
From the moment the United States began military operations against the Islamic State, questions have arisen about the domestic legal basis for the use of American force. The major…

Int’l Criminal Court’s Examination of U.S. Treatment of Detainees Takes Shape
On Tuesday, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced, in the most explicit and detailed terms to date, that the U.S. treatment of detainees captured in…

Senator Rand Paul’s Proposed Declaration of War and AUMF against ISIL
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has released a proposal to declare war against the Islamic State and authorize the use of military force against it. In relevant part, Paul’s joint resolution…

Clarity or Confusion? General Comment 35 and Security Detention
I’d like to raise a few issues about security detention that Shaheed Fatima didn’t cover in her thoughtful posts (here and here) on the Human Rights Committee’s (HRC) new…

Transcript: The US Appearance Before the UN Committee on the Convention Against Torture
Below is a transcript of all national security issues discussed during the US delegation’s appearance before the UN’s Committee on the Convention Against Torture, prepared…

The Hicks Military Commission Appeal
Just over a year ago, I wrote a post about the David Hicks and Omar Khadr cases–and the very real possibility that, as a result of the D.C. Circuit’s decision in “Hamdan…

Livestream of National Security Law Brief Symposium: Congress, Use-of-Force Authorizations, and ISIL
This afternoon, from 2-6 p.m., the National Security Law Brief at American University Washington College of Law is hosting a symposium on Congress, use-of-force authorizations,…

UN HRC’s General Comment on the Right to Liberty and Security: A Missed Opportunity? (Part Two)
Yesterday’s post provided a brief guide to the UN Human Rights Committee’s General Comment No. 35 (GC) on Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political…

UN HRC’s General Comment 35 on the Right To Liberty and Security: A Missed Opportunity?
On October 28, the UN Human Rights Committee adopted General Comment No. 35 (GC) on Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the right to…

What the Cold War Can Teach Us About Containing ISIL
Editors’ Note: The following post is the latest installment of “Monday Reflections,” in which a different Just Security editor takes an in-depth look at the big stories…