Department of Defense (DoD)
287 Articles
Technology and Autonomy in Warfare: A Consideration of the Issue by the US Defense Science Review Board
A new report from the Pentagon’s Defense Science Review Board (DSRB) provides a useful examination of the technical issues concerning the fielding of autonomous weapons. Unquestionably,…
Must Military Medical and Religious Personnel Be Accounted for in a Proportionality Analysis?
In a recent post, Marty Lederman echoed criticisms previously leveled by Oona Hathaway about the US DOD’s Law of War Manual. The thrust of their criticism is that several Manual…
Disappointing DOD Inspector General Report on Pre-Publication Review
Editor’s note: This post also appears on Lawfare. Earlier this year, we wrote about the US Government’s broken pre-publication review process (see here, here, here, here, and…
The Law of War Manual’s Threat to the Principle of Proportionality
On Saturday, I had the honor of speaking to the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) USA General Assembly. In preparing for my talk last week, I came across a section of the US Defense…
Moves toward greater transparency on the use of lethal force [UPDATED]
Unless I’m overlooking something, this weekend’s strike directed at Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansur, in the province of Baluchistan, was only the second…
What the Kunduz Report Gets Right (and Wrong)
Over the past week, many thoughtful posts have appeared, here and elsewhere, reacting to the US military’s report on the 2015 airstrike of a Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF)…
Military Justice and Its Reform
Congress is examining a significant Obama administration legislative proposal concerning military justice. The proposal provides an occasion to think not only about what ought…
The Law of War Manual Debate Goes to ASIL
Today, at the American Society of International Law Annual Meeting, I will be moderating a panel of on the US Department of Defense’s new Law of War Manual. (Full disclosure:…
The President’s Plan for Closing the Guantánamo Bay Detention Facility
It’s here. The President proposes that once current transfer efforts are completed this year, the remaining 30 to 60 GTMO detainees ought to be detained in a U.S. facility. This…
A Wider Talent Pool Means a Stronger Marine Corps: A Response to Rep. Hunter
In a January 8 interview with Politico, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) asserted that Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus’s support for opening all combat roles in the Marine Corps…
An unspecified (and unclear) debate about the Rules of Engagement in Syria
In a lead story today, the Washington Post reports that France, the U.K., and Iraqi commanders are all “chaf[ing] at” or “complain[ing] about” the United…
Human Shields: The Dialogue Continues
As avid readers of Just Security may recall, last summer Professor Adil Ahmad Haque and I engaged in an animated discussion about the new Defense Department Law of War Manual’s…