Department of Defense (DoD)
290 Articles
Giving Thanks While Safeguarding Our Country’s Most Important National Security Assets
What are our country’s most important national security assets? While new weapons and hardware (drones, the latest fighter jet or technological wonder) receive a significant…
Military Planning for the Climate Century
Climate change has been described as the world’s greatest environmental threat. But it is also increasingly understood as a national security threat, that serves as both a “threat…
Acknowledging the Harm Done to Civilians by the U.S.-Led Coalition in Syria
Ahed is an 11 year-old Syrian girl whose life was upended on the evening of March 20 when an airstrike hit the school near Raqqa where she and her family had sought shelter. Ahed…
Animus, Not Readiness: Trump & Mattis Move Full Steam Ahead on Unconstitutional Trans Military Ban
While it all started with an early morning tweet (as it so often does), this week President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary James Mattis both took steps to enshrine Trump’s…
Just Another Mattis Pep Talk?: How “Hold the Line” speaks to civilian and military audiences
A video clip of Defense Secretary James Mattis speaking with troops deployed in Jordan has been making the rounds on various social media outlets, with varied and strong…
Tweets, Trans, and the American Military
On the morning of July 26, President Donald Trump turned out a triptych of tweets taking a policy position banning transgender people from serving openly in the U.S. military.…
The “Leahy Law” Prohibiting US Assistance to Human Rights Abusers: Pulling Back the Curtain
With almost weekly news reports of US support for foreign governments with track records of gross human rights abuse—think torture in Yemen by Emirati security forces, violations…
Exclusive: White House Officials Push For Widening War in Syria Over Pentagon Objections
A pair of top White House officials is pushing to broaden the war in Syria, viewing it as an opportunity to confront Iran and its proxy forces on the ground there, according to…
Leaving the Paris Climate Agreement: A Veteran’s Perspective
Early in the summer of 2003, as we made our initial push from the Kuwaiti border up through central Iraq and then on into Anbar Province, our armored cavalry unit was not meeting…
5 Best and 5 Worst Moments from the Week’s Confirmation Hearings on US National Security Issues
The week of confirmation hearings is over, and it’s time to take stock of what we have learned from the people the President-elect has nominated to lead his administration in…
Questions for Confirmation Hearings for Gen. James Mattis as Secretary of Defense
Retired Gen. James Mattis, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be defense secretary, will appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday at 9:30 a.m. Rep. Mike…
The Updated DoD Law of War Manual and the Precaution of Military Objective Selection
[Editor’s Note: On Tuesday, the Department of Defense released an updated version of its Law of War Manual. Just Security is hosting an online “mini forum” to discuss the…