Congress
784 Articles
Hersh’s Syria Conspiracy Theory: The CIA and Intelligence Oversight Questions
In a previous post, I discussed the Senate Intelligence Committee report on the attack against U.S. facilities and personnel in Benghazi, Libya. That post contemplated bias by…
Civilian War Victims Receive Recognition in US Law
When the US military was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, it had no plan for addressing civilian casualties despite following rules prohibiting disproportionate or deliberate…
What to Listen for in Key Defense Hearings this Week
Congressional hearings this week will set the stage for the next and final two years of President Obama’s national defense policy. They should also begin to answer some big questions…
Benghazi Oversight: What New Congressional Reports Tell Us about Committee Clients
This week, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) issued a 31-page majority interim report on the September 11-12, 2012 attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya. The HASC…
Bob Gates, Disclosure & Executive Privilege
Former Secretary Bob Gates ignited a brushfire of criticism for the timing, disclosures, and motivations of his new book, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War. Much of the reporting…
Benghazi Oversight: A Chairman’s Resistance to Inconvenient Facts
In a previous post, I argued that overwrought politicized congressional oversight about the attack of the U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya would have a damaging effect…
The Parallels Between South African and U.S. Law On Universal Jurisdiction
The Parallels Between South African and U.S. Law On Universal Jurisdiction In an earlier post, we noted that the South African universal jurisdiction (UJ) statute is not particularly…
NDAA Passes House, Senate Expected to Vote Next Week
As Ruchi included in the news roundup this morning, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed the House last night by a vote of 350-69. In case you missed it earlier…
NDAA Redux – Provision on Lethal Targeting
In a post last night, I noted the key Guantanamo-related provisions in the latest version of the 2014 NDAA. It’s also worth highlighting the inclusion of another provision…
Progress on the 2014 NDAA — A Guantanamo Victory
Congress has now released its compromise version of the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act reconciling the House and Senate bills into a revised version that is slated to…
The Iran Nuclear Agreement and Foreign Secretary Hague’s Address to the British Parliament
On Monday, British Foreign Secretary William Hague addressed the House of Commons on the nuclear agreement with Iran (full transcript). The ensuing exchange with Members of Parliament…
Senate Reform Proposals on Sexual Assault in the Military
The scourge of sexual assault continues to plague military policy. This week, the Senate is considering competing reform proposals that could have dramatic consequences for sexual…