Iraq
270 Articles
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…
The Increasingly Unsettling Indifference Toward the US Citizen “Enemy Combatant”
It’s now been over three weeks since an American citizen who is being held by the United States in military detention as an “enemy combatant” after allegedly…
New UN Team Investigating ISIS Atrocities Raises Questions About Justice in Iraq and Beyond
On September 21, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously passed resolution 2379 to pursue accountability for atrocity crimes perpetrated in Iraq by the Islamic State…
Legal Questions About the Airstrike Against the ISIS “Happy Journeys” Convoy
This week American-led airstrikes deterred the advance of a convoy carrying a group of ISIS fighters and civilians as it traveled from Lebanon to an ISIS safe-haven in Syria. The…
Bringing the AUMF Debate Back to its Constitutional Roots, and Recent History
A U.S. Army howitzer firing at Islamic State positions in Iraq in 2016. Last Friday, Rita Siemion published an insightful analysis of the Trump Administration’s first meaningful…
Rape as a Tactic of Terror: Holding the Islamic State Accountable
Earlier this year, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney spoke at the United Nations to press the global body to hold the Islamic State accountable for rape and other crimes committed…
Lessons From Mosul: How to Reduce Civilian Harm in Urban Warfare
Fighting in densely populated areas poses a number of significant challenges to forces trying to adhere to the rules that govern warfare. Even assuming that international humanitarian…
Letter to the Editor: There Is Much More to a Civilian Casualty Investigation than Eyewitness Accounts
I applaud and agree with Sarah Knuckey’s, Ole Solvang’s, Jonathan Horowitz’s and Radhya Almutawakel’s recent post (“Pentagon Admits Major Investigation Flaw: imeshey…
Pentagon Admits Major Investigation Flaw: They Rarely Talk to Air Strike Witnesses or Victims
In a transcript of a Pentagon Press Briefing, released this week by Airwars, Central Command’s Deputy Director for Operations made a striking admission about U.S. investigations…
America’s AUMF Problem: Tomorrow’s Senate Hearing and a New Proposal from Eliot Engel
Events over the last several weeks show that not only is the AUMF issue not going away, but that Congress continues to inch closer to agreement. This Tuesday, the Senate Foreign…
Changes to Rules of Engagement Approval Levels and Civilian Casualties
Anyone serious about combating ISIS and minimizing civilian casualties needs to consider the importance of the Rules of Engagement (ROE) in Iraq and Syria. We offer our thoughts…
The Importance of Protecting Civilians—Through Law, Strategy, and Tactics
The spate of allegations of civilian deaths as a result of US operations in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen over the last few weeks has garnered significant interest from humanitarian groups…