Afghanistan
362 Articles

Understanding the “end of war” dispute in the al Warafi habeas case
Attorneys for Mukhtar Yahia Naji al Warafi have filed their reply brief in the habeas action challenging al Warafi’s continued military detention at Guantánamo. As I have previously explained,…

Letters to the Editor on End-of-War Claims from Guantánamo Detainees
My post from last Thursday has provoked a pair of letters-to-the-editor from lawyers for current and former Guantánamo detainees. Below the fold, I reprint them in full, and…

The Perverse and Unintended Consequences of Serdar Mohammed v. Defence
An important case in the United Kingdom (Serdar Mohammed v. Defence) and a major statement by the UN Human Rights Committee (General Comment 35) come to the wrong legal conclusion:…

Has the Government Conceded that Courts Can Review Detainees’ End-of-War Claims?
The first article I published after law school was a little piece in the January 2006 issue of the Journal of National Security Law & Policy, focusing on the then-hypothetical…

US Drone Killings of Western Aid Workers Highlight Problems of Nebulous War
President Obama’s apology for the accidental killings of two innocent hostages by US drones in Pakistan has led to understandable criticism of the United States’ secret drone…

No Asking and No Telling – A Quick Thought on Stephen Preston’s Speech at ASIL
As Marty Lederman and Jennifer Daskel have already noted, the Department of Defense’s General Counsel Stephen Preston gave an extensive and lengthy keynote speech on Friday last at…

Further thoughts on the Preston ASIL speech
This post is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a different Just Security editor examines the big stories from the previous week or looks…

Two Questions for Stephen Preston
As Marty has already written, the Department of Defense’s General Counsel Stephen Preston gave a speech tonight at the American Society of International Law “the Legal…

Highlights From DOD General Council Stephen Preston’s ASIL Speech
As I write this, DOD General Counsel Stephen Preston is delivering a speech at the annual meeting of the American Society of International Law on the topic of “the Legal…

When Does Int’l Humanitarian Law Call for Releasing Prisoners in Armed Conflicts
On March 30, lawyers representing five Afghan detainees at Guantanamo Bay asked President Obama and four senior administration officials to release their clients on the grounds…

End of War = End of Detention? Taliban detainee files renewed habeas petition
At year’s end, I examined here the possible legal significance of the President’s declaration on December 28 that “our combat mission in Afghanistan is ending,…

ISIS Fighting Against Taliban: The Enemy of My Enemy Is …?
In a surprising twist, reports are emerging this week that the Islamic State (IS) is making inroads into Afghanistan, and has engaged in fighting against the Taliban there. Afghan…