Afghanistan
362 Articles
U.S. Military Justice and “Operational Mishaps”: A Primer
As the tempo and intensity of United States military operations increases, the likelihood of operational mishaps increases as well. These mishaps – an anodyne term that cannot…
“The Mother of All Bombs”: Understanding the Massive Ordnance Air Blast Weapon
The Massive Ordnance Air Blast Weapon (MOAB, known informally as the “Mother of All Bombs” and formally as the Guided Bomb Unit, or GBU, 43/B) has attracted a great deal of…
What Military Actions Are Trump’s vs. Obama Holdovers?
President Donald Trump has been in office for 83 days, and almost everywhere you look, the US military is escalating its operations. US warships are steaming toward North Korea,…
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…
UK Supreme Court Judgment on Extra-Territorial Detention in Iraq and Afghanistan
Today, the UK Supreme Court gave judgment (full text) in the joined appeals of Al Waheed v Ministry of Defence and Serdar Mohammed v Ministry of Defence (in which I represented…
Memo to President Obama: You Have Another Memo to Withdraw
The election of Donald Trump has triggered an anxious conversation about how President Obama can entrench some of his accomplishments before January 21, 2017. Importantly, given…
Congress on Track to Extend Condolence Payments to Syrians
The Pentagon will soon have permission from Congress to make condolence payments to the families of civilians killed or injured by American airstrikes in Syria, as well as Iraq…
Letter to the Editor: Bombing Hospitals: Why Bad Actors—Not the Laws of War—Are to Blame
In “Military Attacks on ‘Hospital Shield: The Law Itself is Partly to Blame,” the authors address the dangers of analogizing between human shields and hospitals,…
Military Attacks on “Hospitals Shields”: The Law Itself is Partly to Blame
The MSF Trauma Center in Kunduz, Afghanistan, following the US airstrike on the facility in October 2015. Image by Andrew Quilty. From the war in Afghanistan and the US-backed…
Just Security’s Questions for Clinton and Trump
Given the importance of tonight’s prime-time debate between US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, we’re again running our list of vital national…
Explainer: What Mental State is Required to Commit a War Crime?
What exactly is the definition of war crimes under international law or, more precisely, what mental state is required to commit such an offence? The synopsis below provides an…
British Forces Hit the Islamic State With ‘the Punisher’ – the Legality of Airburst Munitions
A few days ago, it was reported that British special forces had used a deadly new weapon, nicknamed the Punisher, in a confrontation with ISIL in the Libyan city of Sirte (see…