Department of Defense (DoD)
293 Articles

Biden’s Cooperation with the ICC Is a Step Toward Embracing Reality
Biden's decision may end a dangerous practice of wishful thinking about U.S. exposure to the ICC’s jurisdiction, one that has helped enable U.S. policies ranging from attacks…

Ukraine Shows that Military Aid Transparency Is Possible
While the administration deserves credit for transparency on aid to Ukraine, the approach casts a stark light on the opacity of broader security cooperation programming and begs…

Baghdadi Raid Documents Suggest New US Standards for Assessing Civilian Harm
If the U.S. government requires metadata to prove evidence of civilian harm, it essentially means researchers will have to find the exact person who took the original image, speak…

Department of Defense Issues Update to DoD Law of War Manual on Presumption of Civilian Status and Feasible Precautions to Verify Military Objectives
Commentary by Department of Defense General Counsel Caroline D. Krass

The House Closed a Key Loophole in Court-Martial Appeals. Will the Senate Follow?
The Senate should support the draft NDAA section that finally drops unfair limitations on GI access to the United States' highest court.

Senator Tommy Tuberville’s Dangerous Military Promotion Ploy
The U.S. military already faces a recruitment crisis. Senator Tommy Tuberville's politicization of the promotions process over abortion makes things worse, violating civil-military…

Civilian Protection Gains Stagnate in FY24 House NDAA
As the Senate considers the NDAA, U.S. policymakers should rally around the passed House amendments poised to make progress for civilians.

U.S. Cluster Munition Transfer to Ukraine Ignores History of Civilian Harm
Rather than revert to the era when the U.S. last used cluster munitions, the U.S. and Ukraine, as well as Russia, should cease transfer and use of cluster munitions to protect…

Is the Pentagon Relenting?: A Close Study of Opposition to the Int’l Criminal Court’s Ukraine Investigation
This chronology shows selected developments on the issue of U.S. support to the ICC’s Ukraine investigation. The Defense Department's objection appears to stand in the way of…

FBI, DHS Failed to Take Jan. 6 Threats Seriously, Senate Report Says
Despite receiving intelligence that threatened an attack on the U.S. Capitol, intelligence agencies downplayed the risk of violence.

Why President Biden Should Not Transfer Prohibited Cluster Bombs to Ukraine
Providing cluster munitions to Ukraine would be escalatory, counterproductive, and only further increase the dangers to civilians caught in combat zones and those who will, someday,…

The All-Volunteer Force at 50: Civil-Military Solutions in a Time of Partisan Polarization
Civilian and military elites, as well as the general public, have work to do to combat politicization of the all-volunteer force and help it survive another 50 years.