Terrorism & Violent Extremism

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

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Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli is sworn in before testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution about "anarchist violence" in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill August 04, 2020 in Washington, DC.

At Least 15 Trump Officials Do Not Hold Their Positions Lawfully

As of September 2, there were at least 15 offices with acting officials even though the Federal Vacancies Reform Act time limit for those offices had expired.
A U.S. Air Force MQ-1B Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), awaits a mission at an air base in the Persian Gulf region on January 7, 2016.

What a Few Cakes Say About the US Drone Program

Fondant creations on cakes - yes cakes - provide a rare window into a largely closed culture of national security policymaking. Their creation in 2013, publication, and re-emergence…
Boys lay on top of one another at an overcrowded Juveniles’ cell at Tal Kayf prison in April 2019.

How to Answer Iraq’s Failure to Put a Stop to Torture

Parliament should ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture. Short of that, Prime Minister al-Kadhimi can take action.
Trump and Chad Wolf speak to members of border control on August 18, 2020. Neither wear face masks.

Whistleblower: DHS Suppressed Reports on Central America and Inflated Risk of Terrorist Border-Crossers

Brian Murphy’s Whistleblower complaint confirms: White House officials and political appointees in federal agencies hid carefully investigated and proven facts and substituted…
Members of a displaced family sit outside a UNHCR tent in the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp in the al-Hasakeh governorate in northeastern Syria on August 25, 2020, where families of Islamic State (IS) foreign fighters are held.

Repatriating ISIS Family Members: A North Macedonia Model?

One of the smallest members of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS has adopted a comprehensive plan to bring home its citizens from squalid camps in Syria.
A protester holds a sign reading, “End Torture” at a rally to "demand Congressional action to stop torture" on Capitol Hill March 10, 2008 in Washington, DC.

Toward a New Approach to National and Human Security: Uphold the Prohibition on Torture

A full reckoning for state-sanctioned American torture remains unfinished. The Obama administration took important steps towards fulfilling US obligations but fell short of what…

Toward a New Approach to National and Human Security: End Unlawful, Secret, and Unaccountable Use of Lethal Force

A core component of post-9/11 counterterrorism policy has been the use of secretive and unaccountable killings of terrorism suspects. The killings must stop. Here's how the president…
US Army guards watch over detainees at Camp Delta, 12 September 2002, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Toward a New Approach to National and Human Security: Close Guantanamo and End Indefinite Detention

Closing Guantanamo responsibly is not an intractable problem, the checkered history of prior efforts notwithstanding. It can be done, and in relatively short order, if decision-making…
Razor wire tops the fence of the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay.

Toward a New Approach to National and Human Security: Introduction

One year from today marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11. A president addressing the nation on such a solemn occasion should be able to tell the American people not only that there…
A U.S. Army helicopter flies outside of Camp Shorab on a flight to Camp Post on September 11, 2017 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

On 9/11, Interrogating the Assumptions that Undergird the “Forever War”

To find a path out of the Forever War, we must begin by examining the assumptions that have underpinned our fight all along.
U.S. soldiers with an artillery supply infantry unit patrol April 24, 2004 in Morgan Keckeh, Afghanistan.

9/11’s Long Shadow: What’s at Stake in Afghanistan

Just as a false sense of security pervaded the country before 9/11, the threats still hiding in Afghanistan will not disappear by believing them gone and proclaiming “game over.”
France's president Emmanuel Macron (L) and Chad's president Idriss Deby shake hands as they hold a press conference at the presidential palace in N'Djamena, on December 23, 2018.

Chad’s Counterterrorism Support Abroad Drives Repression and Discontent at Home

The international community should ensure Chad’s military participation in countering terrorism does not come at the expense of freedoms for its citizens.
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