Bashar al-Assad
42 Articles

Would airstrikes against Assad be lawful and effective?: Reactions to the State “dissent cable”
Editor’s note: This post also appears on Lawfare. As you have probably read, 51 career foreign service officers in the State Department have written an internal memorandum recommending…

Partition of Syria as Plan B?: The Case for Caution
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…

New Paths to Accountability for Crimes in Syria and Iraq (Including ICC Jurisdiction Over Foreign Fighters)
Horrific crimes in Syria during the Syrian Civil War and more recent ones in Iraq have led to widespread frustration at the present lack of a clear accountability mechanism. …

A Response to Jonathan Horowitz – Why Unwilling or Unable is Measured by a State’s Capacity to Act as Well as its Willingness to do so
Jonathan Horowitz responded to my earlier post and made two points about the “unable or unwilling” standard that I believe merit some clarification. Jonathan begins by agreeing…

Enforcing all the Security Council Resolutions: Who Comes to the Peace Table and Why Inclusivity Matters
The Geneva II peace conference faces tough challenges, as Gen. Salim Idris, the head of the opposition group Free Syrian Army stated recently, “We will not stop fighting at all,…

Just War in Syria and the U.S. Intervention Syllogism
First, I would just like to note that I am honored to be a part of the founding team of the Just Security blog and look forward to engaging with colleagues and readers throughout…