Associated Forces
12 Articles

Why “Associated Forces” Should be Kept Out of Any New AUMF
Any new AUMF must be limited to only the clearly specified non-state armed groups Congress has voted to authorize war against. Otherwise, Congress risks hard-wiring a multi-front…

Questions for Congress to Ask the Biden Administration at the AUMF Hearing
Congress should seek to determine how the executive branch interprets and relies on the 2001 AUMF and where the administration stands on proposed reforms that have been widely…

Opaque Transparency on the Use of Force: Observations on the 2022 “1264” Report
The 2022 report illustrates the limits of congressionally mandated reporting requirements on matters of war and peace and the need for Congress to be more proactive in informing…

Questions for the Defense Department’s General Counsel
On Monday, Nov. 28 at 6 p.m., Jennifer O’Connor, general counsel of the Department of Defense, is giving a talk at NYU School of Law on “Applying the Law of Targeting to the…

The Fuzzy Scope of the Forever War Needs Definition
For years now, the questions of where and with whom exactly the United States is at war have been treated as somewhat academic. It’s not that they didn’t matter, but a gridlocked…

It’s All About the Associated Forces
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell quietly joined the battle over authorizing the war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant last week. To the surprise of many given…

Rep. Schiff’s Newly-Proposed AUMF: Praise And A Caveat
Over at Lawfare, Jack Goldsmith praises Adam Schiff’s newly-proposed Consolidated Authorization to Use Military Force. With one important caveat (see below), we share in Jack’s…

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…

Associated Forces: Why the Differences between ISIL and al-Qaeda Matter
Members of Ansar Dine in Timbuktu, Mali. Image credit: Magharebia via Wikimedia Commons. This post is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a…

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…

The importance (and difficulty) of the Stimson Task Force transparency recommendations . . . and a couple of legal corrections
Like Steve, I strongly recommend to Just Security readers the report on drone policy that the Stimson Task Force published yesterday. The report is very thoughtful and balanced,…
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