Recent Articles
Recap of Recent Posts on Just Security (Apr. 1-7)
I. U.S. Intervention in Syria Just Security, Questions Raised by Syria’s Chemical Weapons Attack (Wednesday, Apr. 5) Ryan Goodman, Humanitarian Military Options for Syrian…
To President Trump on Syria: The Law Matters–What’s the Rationale?
Senators have just emerged from a closed door meeting with Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford about yesterday’s strikes in Syria. Yet, according to CNN on-air reporting…
Trump’s Muddled Message on Human Rights and Security
It seems that President Donald Trump and his Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, have their wires crossed yet again. The president, despite strong objections from human…
Reading the Tea Leaves of Trump’s NSC Shakeup
The announcement on Wednesday that President Donald Trump had removed political advisor Stephen Bannon from his guaranteed seat on the National Security Council’s (NSC) Principals…
My discrete but important disagreement with Harold Koh on the lawfulness of the strikes on Syria
I argued last night that the President’s strikes against Syria appear to violate Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter and that therefore it was unconstitutional for…
Norms Watch: Tracking the Erosion of Democratic Traditions (Mar. 31- Apr. 7)
Editor’s Note: Welcome to the latest installment of Norms Watch, our series tracking both the flouting of democratic norms by the Trump administration and the erosion of…
What Do Top Legal Experts Say About the Syria Strikes?
I asked several of the very top legal minds about their views concerning Thursday night’s airstrikes by the United States in response to the Syrian government’s reported…
The Early Edition: April 7, 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. US STRIKES SYRIA The US…
Not Illegal: But Now The Hard Part Begins
I am no fan of the Trump Administration, which in its short life has attempted many illegal acts. But neither do I automatically conclude that everything it does is illegal, as…
Why the strikes against Syria probably violate the U.N. Charter and (therefore) the U.S. Constitution
[UPDATED] The Pentagon has issued the following statement about the U.S.’s use of 59 Tomahawk missiles against the Shayrat Airfield in the Homs governorate of Syria this…
The U.S. Public Deserves More than Trump’s Silence on Afghanistan
When I graduated from West Point in 2009, the war in Afghanistan was one of the hottest topics. President Barack Obama’s campaign and young presidency had been defined, in large…
Humanitarian Military Options for Syrian Chemical Weapons Attack: “Illegal but Not Unprecedented”
Without Security Council authorization, any U.S. military force to respond to Assad’s chemical weapons attack would be a violation of international law, but … Policymakers…