Department of Defense (DoD)
295 Articles
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…
War-Sustaining Activities and Direct Participation in the DOD Law of War Manual
In a recent post on Lawfare, Butch Bracknell discussed the use of leaflets by the United States to warn truck drivers transporting oil for ISIL of an impending attack. Bracknell…
Add Women and Stir? Women in the Military
At a midday Press Conference in the Pentagon Briefing Room, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter unexpectedly announced that that the Pentagon will open all combat jobs to women. He…
Honor, Morality, and the DOD Law of War Manual
As faithful readers of Just Security’s “mini forum” on the new DOD Law of War Manual may recall, Prof. Adil Haque and I sparred last summer over several of the manual’s…
Human Shields: The Weapon of the Strong
In a series of interventions, Adil Ahmad Haque and Charlie Dunlap have debated the Defense Department Law of War Manual’s position on human shields (here, here, and here). Claiming…