Afghanistan
367 Articles
Here’s the New U.S.-Afghanistan Bilateral Security Agreement
After much confusion over which was the final security agreement (news organizations citing it had linked to a November 2013 “predecisional” version) I’ve just…
Security Agreement With Afghanistan Raises Key Questions About How and When War Ends
Today, the United States and Afghanistan signed a long-awaited bilateral security agreement. The U.S. government promised to withdraw combat troops by December, and to leave nearly…
UK High Court Hears Case of Pakistani Held for a Decade Without Charges by UK and US
On Sept. 23, the United Kingdom High Court began its three-day hearing of a case involving the alleged kidnapping, torture, detention, and subsequent rendition of Pakistani citizen…
ISIS/ISIL remains associated with Al-Qaida because the UN Security Council says so?
There is considerable disagreement whether President Obama has acted unconstitutionally or unlawfully when proceeding to military action against ISIL/ISIS without new Congressional…
John Walker Lindh’s Legacy: To Join The Fight Is Criminal
The “British accent” of the individual(s) who participated in the tragic beheadings of journalists Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff has focused attention on the phenomenon of citizens…
Joint Chiefs of Staff: Bergdahl exchange vital to keeping faith with American service members
All seven members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have written a separate letter to the Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee stating their support for the exchange of the…
The D.C. Circuit, Article II, and the Constitutionality of the Guantánamo Transfer Restrictions
When President Obama transferred five Taliban detainees from Guantánamo in exchange for American POW Bowe Bergdahl, forests were felled over whether the Obama Administration…
Transparency and Lethal Operations: A Checklist of What’s Public and What’s Still Secret [Updated]
Transparency is the touchstone for many debates about US lethal operations against Al Qaeda and associated forces. This post contains a checklist of sorts—cataloguing what information…
10 Years of Drone Strikes in Pakistan–but do you know whether it’s an “area of active hostilities”?
Today marks the ten-year anniversary of the first reported US drone strike in Pakistan (punctuated by another one today). Yet there is still official silence about a crucial…
US Resumes Drone Strikes in Pakistan: A New Course of Action?
In the past 24-48 hours, the United States has reportedly conducted two successive drone strikes in Pakistan’s northwest tribal area—ending an almost six-month suspension of…
Clapper to Hagel: Taliban 5 return to battle “will not appreciably change the threat” to US or Afghanistan
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel testified before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday about the prisoner exchange involving Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and five Guantanamo detainees…
Secretary Hagel’s defense of the Bergdahl deal [UPDATED]
[slightly updated for clarification and to account for testimony during the hearing] The Secretary of Defense is testifying at a HASC hearing beginning now. Here are his prepared…