Al Qaeda
203 Articles
Conspiracy – A Quick Historical Survey
As the trial of Mr. Sulaiman Abu Gaith, the son-in-law of Osama bin Laden continues in New York in the United States District Court, we take this opportunity to provide a brief…
Crime, Sentencing and the War on Terror: Further Thoughts on the Al Darbi Plea
Last month, Ahmed Muhammed Haza al Darbi became the sixth Guantanamo detainee to plead guilty to war crimes before a military commission. The U.S. has accused al Darbi of various…
Nils Melzer on Whether U.S. Citizen Abdullah al-Shami is a Lawful Military Target
The Obama Administration is reportedly evaluating whether a lethal operation against a US citizen in Pakistan is legally permissible. Last Friday an important story by Mark Mazzetti…
The United States Cannot be at War With an Ideology
Testifying to the House Armed Services Committee this morning on the state of the Special Operations Command, Admiral William McRaven said that now that core al Qaeda has been…
House Committee on Foreign Affairs Hearing on “Al-Qaeda’s Resurgence in Iraq”
Yesterday was a busy day on Capitol Hill for those interested in various facets of U.S. national security policy with several hearings relevant to Just Security readers. Today…
“Associated Forces” has a legal meaning . . . but it’s not “every group that calls itself al Qaeda”
Daphne reports that at a House Armed Services hearing today, Christopher Swift of the UVa Center for National Security Law emphasized that “the United States has to stop…
“Associated Forces” Has No Legal or Strategic Meaning
Today was national security day in Congress, with three simultaneous hearings on the terrorist threat and how best to fight it. I watched the House Armed Services Committee hearing…
10 Things We Need to Know Now About the US Drone War
A year ago today, NBC News published a leaked copy of a Justice Department memo that justified the killing of a U.S. citizen without a trial in a foreign country outside a war…
Osama bin Laden’s Son-in-Law to Face Trial in NY Within a Year of His Arrest
Judge Lewis Kaplan in the Southern District of New York has been keeping busy. In just the last week, Judge Kaplan issued three decisions in the case of Osama bin Laden’s…
After the AUMF: Iraq and al Qaeda
On Tuesday, the Obama administration announced its support for repealing the 2002 authorization to use force in Iraq. This should not be surprising: after all, the President…
The Potential Pitfalls of Refusing to Reopen the Article III Door for Guantanamo Detainees
The version of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2014 (2014 NDAA) reported out by the Senate Armed Service Committee (SASC) would have eliminated the existing bar on…
Sixth-Month Anniversary of the President’s NDU Speech
Today marks the six-month anniversary of President Obama’s now-famous speech at the National Defense University on May 23, 2013. In his speech, the President described…