Terrorism & Violent Extremism
Just Security provides expert legal and policy analysis of terrorism, counterterrorism, and domestic and international violent extremism.
2,232 Articles
A Review of the Special Rapporteur Reports Regarding “Drones” and the Use of Lethal Force
Background The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Mr Christof Heyns, recently reported on the topic of the use of lethal force through armed…
Pentagon Ends Daily Hunger Strike Reports: Whither Transparency?
In warfare, many military actions must remain secret. Calls for “greater transparency” are often too simplistic and fail to properly accommodate pressing national security…
Sixth-Month Anniversary of the President’s NDU Speech
Today marks the six-month anniversary of President Obama’s now-famous speech at the National Defense University on May 23, 2013. In his speech, the President described…
Decision Time: Key Issues in the U.S.-Afghan Bilateral Security Agreement
The U.S. and Afghanistan agreed this week on the terms for an extended U.S. military presence in Afghanistan after 2014.The Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), which the Loya Jirga…
The D.C. Circuit and Guantánamo, Post-Filibuster Edition
I’ve written a lot (too much!) before about both the D.C. Circuit’s jurisprudence in post-Boumediene Guantánamo cases and the Supreme Court’s passivity in…
Equating Terrorism and Bubonic Plague: Bad for Counterterrorism, Bad for the Constitution
If I were Al Qaeda’s director of propaganda and managed to infiltrate an agent into the American judiciary, I’d want him to exaggerate the terrorist threat and then leverage…
Heartening News from the Senate — Sections 1031-1033 of the SASC NDAA Survive
The Senate has rejected the Ayotte Amendment by a 55-43 vote. Senators Donnelly, Hagan and Pryor were the only Democrats in favor; Senators Flake, McCain and Paul were the Republicans…
Senate to Take Critical Vote on Guantanamo’s Fate
The Senate is poised – possibly as early as this afternoon – to take one of the most important national security votes in years. As Daphne and Thomas have noted, at issue…
ICRC’s Public Reply Regarding Order to Turn Over Confidential Reports to Military Commission
As readers may recall, on November 6, Military Commission Judge James Pohl ordered the prosecution to hand over to him all ICRC confidential reports on its visits to Guantanamo…
Periodic Review Board Hearings start up at Gitmo this week – but why in Secret?
Although the Pentagon this week will finally start holding review hearings for Guantanamo detainees who remain in indefinite detention and haven’t yet been cleared for release…
Anonymous US Officials Admit CIA Accidentally Killed a Yemeni Child in a Drone Strike
Buried in a Los Angeles Times article yesterday was this remarkable government admission: In June, a drone-launched missile hit an SUV carrying an Al Qaeda commander in Yemen.…
Letter from Human Rights and Civil Liberties Groups Supporting Gitmo Provisions of NDAA
On Friday, a large group of human rights and civil liberties groups sent a joint letter to Members of the Senate in support of the provisions of the NDAA on Guantanamo Bay detainee…