Department of Defense (DoD)
287 Articles
al Bihani is third successful GTMO detainee before PRB; SecDef considering transfer of six others to Uruguay
Two weeks ago, the GTMO Periodic Review Board determined that continued law-of-war detention of Ghaleb Nassar al Bihani “is no longer necessary to protect against a continuing…
Targeting Transparency: A Call for DoD to Automatically Release Investigations of Civilian Casualties in Armed Conflict
There has been much discussion on the lack of demonstrable government follow through after President Obama’s 2013 claims of increased transparency of US lethal targeting of suspected…
Secrecy, Nonacknowledgement, and Yemen
Ryan posted last week about varying accounts of who was killed in an attack on an apparent wedding party in rural Yemen on December 12, 2013. A Human Rights Watch report quotes…
In the Trenches: The Other Civilian/Military Conflict
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates new book, Duty, Memoirs of a Secretary at War, which describes the tensions and lack of trust between the White House and senior military…
Lethal Targeting of US Citizens: AP Report Raises More Questions Than Answers
In a highly provocative piece this morning, Kimberly Dozier writes that the Obama administration is weighing another drone strike against a U.S. citizen. That is obviously a…
Gates v. Biden on Afghanistan: What the Media Coverage Doesn’t Tell You
Robert Gates’s Duty contains a more nuanced account of his discord with Joe Biden on Afghanistan policy than any coverage of the book that you have likely read, seen or heard.…
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…
Gates vs. Gates
A good discussion is emerging about whether former SecDef Robert Gates’ new book Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War involves ethical breaches. The concerns raised involve Gates’…
Periodic Review Board Hearings start up at Gitmo this week – but why in Secret?
Although the Pentagon this week will finally start holding review hearings for Guantanamo detainees who remain in indefinite detention and haven’t yet been cleared for release…
The Process of Transferring Drone Operations from the CIA to the Pentagon: Slow Track, Just Stalled, or Terminal?
On Tuesday evening, Foreign Policy published an exclusive report, with a headline suggesting that the administration has terminated the idea of transferring drone operations from…
Good Reasons May Exist to Close CIA Drone Program—But Claim that CIA Agents are “Unprivileged Belligerents” is Not One of Them
Senator John McCain has vowed to accelerate the effort to transition control of drone operations from the CIA to the Pentagon, and he will likely have support from top Senate Democrats.…