Terrorism & Violent Extremism

Just Security provides expert legal and policy analysis of terrorism, counterterrorism, and domestic and international violent extremism.

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: National Counterterrorism Center Director Christopher Miller testifies before the House Homeland Security Committee during a hearing on 'worldwide threats to the homeland' in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill September 17, 2020 in Washington, DC.

Investigating Jan. 6 — Key Unanswered Questions for Congress and Media to Ask

Dozens of questions to focus on in Wednesday's congressional hearing.
A US army instructor walks next to Malian soldiers on April 12, 2018 during an anti-terrorism exercise at the Kamboinse - General Bila Zagre military camp near Ouagadougo in Burkina Faso. The Malian soldiers stand facing a hill while holding guns.

Twenty Years After 9/11, the US Needs a Better Strategy to Prevent and Counter Violent Extremism

Five steps the Biden-Harris administration should take to ensure that it is developing and implementing a more up-to-date and effective approach to P/CVE.
US psychologist James Mitchell speaks with an interviewer at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC on December 6, 2016.

Stopping Torture: Why Professional Governance Failed, and How It Can Do Better

Professionals -- psychologists, physicians, lawyers -- played key parts in enabling post-9/11 torture programs. Yet professionalism can also constrain state power. Gregg Bloche…

Trump’s Secret Rules for Drone Strikes and Presidents’ Unchecked License to Kill

FOIA lawsuit obtains Trump administration's playbook. Hina Shamsi writes about the broader lessons for secret presidential powers.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Chief of Staff Ron Klain and other cabinet members and immigration advisors in the State Dining Room on March 24, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Biden’s First 100 Days on Immigration: A Test of Leadership

The president may ultimately be judged not on any so-called border “crisis,” but for whether he remains true to his principles in the face of opposition.
Razor wire lines the fence of the "Gitmo" maximum security detention center on October 22, 2016 at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A U.S. flag is on the wall behind the fence.

A Letter to President Biden from a Former Intelligence Officer: Close Guantanamo Bay

There is shame in the knowing. There is greater shame in knowing, and doing nothing. Mr. President, you can do something. End this horrible era of American history.
The gallows Trump supporters erected during the January 6th insurrection. The Capitol Building can be seen through the frame of the gallows.

A Jan. 6 Commission is Crucial to Understand the Reality of the Attack, and the Alternate Reality of the Attackers

The United States needs a definitive account, not just of the reality of that deadly day, but of the alternate reality that produced it.
Bristish and US envoys to Libyan rebels Christopher Prentice and Chris Stevens attend a press conference of Libyan rebel leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil (not pictured) after his meeting with African head of states, in the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi, on April 11, 2011. A reporter with a camera sits behind them.

The Need for More Chris Stevenses: A Memorial Lecture at UC Hastings Law

On April 14, UC Hastings Law School hosted the 7th annual Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens Lecture honoring the memory, life, and work of UC Hastings graduate Chris Stevens, who…
Refugees on an inflatable raft in the dark of night.

Biden Approach to Immigration, Outlined at UN Human Rights Council, Leaves Serious Gaps

The administration has the authority to protect people and comply with international law and best practices. That requires concrete steps immediately.

Biden Team’s Litigation Tactics on Guantanamo Undercut Biden Policy to Close the Prison

The administration's new moves before Supreme Court raise questions about whether it will more broadly decline to use straightforward tools to close Guantanamo and end indefinite…
Iraqi fighters of the Hashed al-Shaabi units stand guard during a campaign gathering for the Fateh Alliance, a coalition of Iranian-supported militia groups, in Baghdad on May 7, 2018, ahead of Iraq's parliamentary elections to be held on May 12. Some hold weapons, and a few sit on the ground.

Team of Legal Gladiators? Iraqi Militias’ Tortured Relationship with Law

The country's Iran-backed militias are not law-abiding, but they know Iraqis care about rule of law and have adopted the law as a battlespace.
A woman cooks on the ground in the community of Ntocota, Metuge District in Pemba, Cabo Delgado Province on February 22, 2021, where thousands of displaced residents have been relocated due to recent attacks by armed insurgents in northern Mozambique.

The US Military Should Stay Out of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado; Send Diplomats Who Know the Terrain

The conflict's deep roots illustrate a case where the US should begin to reject two decades of conflict escalation that began with the Global War on Terror.
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