Recent Articles

Ex-Military, Intelligence, and Foreign Policy Officials: Travel Ban Harms National Security
On April 25, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Trump v. Hawaii, the case testing the statutory and constitutional validity of President Donald Trump’s travel…

Another Airstrike in Kunduz, and More Civilian Deaths
Once again, airstrikes targeting insurgent leaders in Afghanistan have killed and injured dozens of civilians. On the morning of April 2, Afghan government forces attacked the…

U.S. Federal Statute on Aiding and Abetting: War Crimes in Yemen – Part II
This piece is the second of two on U.S. operations in Yemen and the War Crimes Act, and the latest article in our forum on the Yemen crisis and the law. In September 2017, Ryan…

Civilian Casualties and Effectiveness of U.S. Drone Strikes in Yemen
This is the first of two articles on U.S. counterterrorism operations in Yemen. It also the latest in a new series we are producing in partnership Columbia Law School’s Human…

A Damning Exoneration: DOJ’s Inspector General on the Apple v. FBI Crypto Fight
As the Department of Justice relaunches its perennial campaign to demand backdoor access to encrypted data and communications, a new report from DOJ’s Inspector General has…

The US, the War in Yemen, and the War Crimes Act – Part I
Editor’s Note: This is the third piece in our forum on the Yemen crisis and the law. The United States has conducted extensive airstrikes in Yemen since 2011, against both al-Qaeda…

Recap of Recent Pieces on Just Security (Mar. 24-30)
Surveillance and Technology Paul Seamus Ryan, Cambridge Analytica and Its Foreign National Staff Violated U.S. Laws Joshua Geltzer, It’s Not a Filter Bubble. It’s a Filter…

Just Security Podcast: The White House’s “Pardon Dangle” and Obstruction of Justice
News that White House lawyer John Dowd broached the possibility of pardoning Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn has prompted many experts to question whether Dowd could face charges.…

House Intel Committee Findings Contradict Kushner’s Testimony
An overlooked nugget in the the House Intelligence Committee's final findings. The Committee says Jared Kushner expected to get derogatory information on Clinton from Russian sources…

Exclusive: Mattis Drafting Specific Options for Using Defense Dollars to Pay for Trump’s Wall
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis feels that, at the very least, he owes Trump options for how the military could build the border wall, but all of them are fraught with political and…

Zero Shades of Grey: Russian-Ops Violate International Law
A lot more is known since January 2017 when I wrote a piece for Just Security arguing that the Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election should be interpreted as a violation…

The Early Edition: March 29, 2018
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 abroad.…