Recent Articles
How to Recover a Role for Congress and the Courts in Decisions to Wage War
A recent set of cases on congressional standing opens up an opportunity to restore Congress’ recourse to the courts for serious war powers violations—if Congress is willing…
The Early Edition: January 10, 2020
Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here. Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and…
Why the 2002 AUMF Does Not Apply to Iran
There is no congressional statute authorizing military attacks on Iran.
How Should FOIA Be Reformed to Prevent Further Abuse of Redactions?
To ensure the FOIA is not weaponized and used as an instrument of secrecy, Congress should reform the statute to mirror how the deliberative process privilege is treated in the…
Reevaluating Our Counter-Terrorism Information Sharing Methods
Senator Hassan writes for Just Security about bipartisan legislation that she introduced with Republican Senator Johnson of Wisconsin, Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental…
The Early Edition: January 9, 2020
Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here. Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and…
Mark Esper vs. Mark Esper on the 2002 AUMF and Iran
In his recent nomination hearing for Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper told Senator Duckworth the 2002 AUMF would not cover military action against Iran.
Lawful Self-Defense vs. Revenge Strikes: Scrutinizing Iran and U.S. Uses of Force under International Law
Here's what Congress should examine to determine if the U.S. strike complied with the law that we as a nation and our military champion. The same law that applies to Iran's actions.
Trump’s Threat to Target Iranian Cultural Sites: Illegal Under International, Domestic and Military Law
In response to a potential Iranian armed retaliation following the United States’ killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, President Donald Trump tweeted that the U.S. military…
As Conflict with Iran Intensifies, the U.S. Intelligence Community Is Still Leaderless
At a time when policy decisions that should be based on intelligence assessments are being made that bring us ever-closer to full-blown war, it’s critical that we have leadership…
The Targeted Killing of General Soleimani: Its Lawfulness and Why It Matters
Analyzing the killing of Soleimani from an international law standpoint matters a great deal. Reasserting the primacy of international law in such times of crisis is a solemn and…
Iran’s Unlawful Reprisal (and Ours)
"By Iran’s own standard, last night’s operation was unlawful." So was the US strike on Soleimani. Time to stop this cycle of unilateral illegal acts.