Afghanistan
365 Articles
‘Flying Ginsu’ Missile Won’t Resolve U.S. Targeted Killing Controversy
Proponents of a new, modified Hellfire missile called the R9X tout it as a game-changer that can spare more civilian lives than traditional Hellfires. But the new technology can…
What Questions Is the Pentagon Avoiding?
No on-camera briefings at the Pentagon mean officials are getting away with not answering questions about policy decisions and ongoing combat operations.
New DoD Policy on Amends Needs to Address Transparency Gap
New information from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) reveals a previously unrecognized transparency gap in the U.S. military’s efforts to acknowledge and address civilian…
National Security at the United Nations This Week
Editors’ Note: This is the latest in Just Security’s weekly series keeping readers up to date on developments at the United Nations at the intersection of national security,…
The International Criminal Court Decision on Afghanistan: Time to Start a New Conversation
I did not anticipate waking up Friday morning to news that an International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber had rejected the Prosecutor’s request to authorize an investigation…
The ICC’s Afghanistan Decision: Bending to U.S. or Focusing Court on Successful Investigations?
"While it will be tempting to view the judges’ decision as simply a bend to the bullying power of the U.S., there is a larger and more complicated story here about charting a…
National Security at the United Nations This Week
The UN inquiry on 2018 Gaza protests is out; the ICJ tells the UK to relinquish the Chagos Islands; the Security Council rejects competing Venezuela resolutions; the UN will investigate…
Norms Watch: Damage to Democracy and Rule of Law in January 2019
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 those norms in reactions…
If Trump’s Syria and Afghanistan Decisions Seem Bad, Imagine What He’d Do in a Crisis
National security advisors for presidents of both parties have developed a process over 70 years to optimize decision-making. That's particularly critical in those moments of extraordinary…
U.S. Air Strike Data from Afghanistan Takes Step Back in Transparency
The U.S. military has stopped publishing important information on its air war in Afghanistan, just two months after deciding to release it. In October, the U.S. began publishing…
Uptick in U.S. Air Strikes on Buildings in Afghanistan Raises Questions
U.S. military aircraft bombed over 60 buildings in Afghanistan in October alone, reviving longstanding concerns that these kinds of strikes could risk higher numbers of civilian…
The Risks of Permanent War
In a widely shared opinion piece published in the New York Times on September 11th, U.S. Army veteran Joe Quinn observed that for “the past 17 years in Afghanistan, we’ve tried…