Recent Articles

Is the State Department Being Intentionally Gutted?
Amidst the public speculation of a State Department possibly in disarray, I know that officers at State are still hard at work. One example: I recently received in my email inbox…

U.N. Panel of Experts Finds “Widespread Violations” of International Law in Yemen
All parties to the war in Yemen, including the Saudi-led coalition, the Yemeni government, and the Houthi-Saleh forces, are implicated in “widespread violations” of international…

Why You Should Doubt Reports that the First Amendment Would Protect Gen. Flynn from Prosecution under the Logan Act
The Logan Act, a 1799 federal law that makes it a federal felony for a private person to engage in international diplomacy in a way that undermines U.S. foreign policy, has recently…
The Early Edition: February 28, 2017
Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news. The TRUMP CABINET’S RELATIONSHIP…
National Security-Related Congressional Hearings, February 27-March 3
Tuesday, February 28 10:00am – Senate Committee on Foreign Relations– Iraq After Mosul (here) 10:00am – House Homeland Security Committee – The Future of Counterterrorism:…

When Federal Courts Subtweet Sean Spicer…
On any other Monday, in any other year, it’s hard to imagine that today’s 19-page ruling by Judge Oetken in Nicholas v. City of New York would merit much attention.…

War of the Worst Case Scenarios
A few nightmare scenarios haunt the dreams of civil libertarians—scenes drawn from our long and ignominious history of intelligence abuses. One—call it the Nixon scenario—is…

9 Top First Amendment Experts React to White House Press Briefing Ban on CNN, NYT, Others
On Friday, the White House barred specific news organizations from attending a press briefing by spokesman Sean Spicer. Among the organizations excluded from the question and answer…

The General Assembly & Accountability for International Crimes
Further to Alex Whiting’s post on Russian objections to the U.N. General Assembly’s formation of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in…

Correcting the Record—Further Thoughts on the Intelligence Report on Civilian Casualties
In an exchange of posts over the past few weeks about the most recent casualty figures released by the Director of National Intelligence for theaters outside areas of active hostilities,…
The Early Edition: February 27, 2017
Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FOREIGN…

Will the World be Silent in Face of the Rohingya Calamity?–The time has come for a UN Commission of Inquiry
In so many ways, Myanmar, also called Burma, has embarked on a strikingly successful political journey, aided in part by the international community with leadership from many States.…