Terrorism & Violent Extremism
Just Security provides expert legal and policy analysis of terrorism, counterterrorism, and domestic and international violent extremism.
2,268 Articles
al Bahlul and the Future of “Domestic Law-of-War Offenses” in Military Commissions
As Steve wrote on Monday, the long-awaited en banc decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in al Bahlul v. United States leaves unanswered many of the questions…
A Quick and Dirty Summary of–and Reaction to–the Al-Bahlul Decision [UPDATED]
What follows is a very quick-and-dirty summary of this morning’s ruling by the en banc D.C. Circuit in Al-Bahlul v. United States. There are five opinions, but a couple…
En Banc D.C. Circuit Rejects Ex Post Facto Challenge to Guantánamo Military Commission
Here’s the 150 pages worth of opinions. The headline appears to be a rejection of Bahlul’s ex post facto challenge to his conspiracy conviction, but there’s a…
The D.C. Circuit, Article II, and the Constitutionality of the Guantánamo Transfer Restrictions
When President Obama transferred five Taliban detainees from Guantánamo in exchange for American POW Bowe Bergdahl, forests were felled over whether the Obama Administration…
Former Chief of British Secret Intelligence: Stop Viewing the ISIS Threat Through 9/11 Eyes
On Monday, former chief of British Secret Intelligence Service, Sir Richard Dearlove gave an insightful and provocative lecture entitled, “Terrorism and National Security: Proportion…
Endless War is the Wrong Response to ISIS
“Obama’s Blueprint for Fighting Terrorism Collides with Reality in Iraq,” blared the New York Times headline late last week, in a story that set forth the challenges of the…
The Stakes of al-Bahlul, Nine Months Later…
This past Monday marked nine months since the en banc oral argument in al-Bahlul v. United States, in which the D.C. Circuit is considering whether military commissions at Guantánamo…
Fifth Circuit on Extraterritorial Application of Fourth and Fifth Amendments
On the heels of this morning’s Fourth Circuit decision in the Abu Ghraib case comes another significant circuit-level decision–this one from the Fifth Circuit. The…
A Rejoinder to Jeff Kahn on Latif and Fundamental Rights
In Jeff Kahn’s response today to my post last week about American citizens’ right not to be stranded abroad by their government, Jeff asks more about my views: “Is international…
A Reply to Margo Schlanger on Latif and Fundamental Rights
Margo Schlanger’s post on Thursday takes as its “vital point” the right of an American citizen to reenter the United States. Margo is responding to Tuesday’s news about…
Fourth Circuit Holds Abu Ghraib Torture Claims Not Barred by Kiobel
Although it will likely be overtaken by the news set to come out of the Supreme Court later this morning, the Fourth Circuit has handed down a very big decision in the ongoing…
Abu Khattalah and the Evolution of Ship-Based Detention
The N.Y. Times reports that Ahmed Abu Khattalah arrived in Washington, D.C., this morning by helicopter following his transport across the Atlantic on a Navy warship. Khattalah,…