Iraq
270 Articles
The Investigation Into the Islamic State and Chemical Weapons
Reports of the presumed use of chemical weapons — chlorine and more recently mustard gas — by Daesh (also know as the Islamic State) in Northern Iraq and Syria have appeared…
Politicization of Intelligence: Lessons From a Long, Dishonorable History
The Daily Beast and the New York Times have reported allegations that senior (but thus far unidentified) Defense Department and United States Central Command (CENTCOM) officials…
It’s Time for a Civilian Protection Strategy in Iraq
Editors’ note: This piece is adapted from a longer article by the author originally published in the International Journal of Stability & Development. The military…
A Missed Opportunity: DOD’s Law of War Manual & Applying Law as a Matter of Policy
Editor’s Note: This post is the latest in Just Security’s “mini forum” on the new Defense Department Law of War Manual. This series includes posts from Sean Watts,…
Background Reading on Umm Sayyaf’s Transfer to Kurdish Authorities
The Pentagon yesterday announced that it has transferred Umm Sayyaf, the US’s first detainee in the campaign against ISIL, to the Interior Ministry of Iraqi Kurdistan where…
Is al-Qaeda v Islamic State the Right Question?
Which terrorist group is a bigger threat to the United States, al-Qaeda or the Islamic State (IS)? It almost sounds like the sort of question you’d put to a child comparing movie…
It’s Complicated: The Nuance of Any US Effort to Defend Division 30 from Assad
It has been reported that President Obama has authorized the US armed forces to come to the defense of the new non-State group the United States is training to fight ISIS (Islamic…
Drones and Contractor Mission Creep
I have written previously about the transparency, oversight, and accountability issues that outsourcing aspects of the U.S. drone program can pose – issues that often get lost…
ISIL’s Online Offensive: Challenges in Countering ISIL in Cyberspace
The US-led campaign against ISIL is going well in neither the terrestrial nor cyber realms. ISIL’s successful offensives against Ramadi in Iraq and Palmyra in Syria in late May…
Britain’s Al-Saadoon Case: A Matter of Human Rights Law and the use of Military Force Overseas
In March, the High Court of Justice of England and Wales found that the United Kingdom’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) can be activated extraterritorially…
Will Assad Put Himself in US Crosshairs by Working With ISIL?
The news that Syrian troops are providing support to ISIL may add a dangerous new twist to the US campaign against the terrorist group and open up legal authority for the US to…
A New Prospect for Congressional Debate on an AUMF Against ISIL?
This week has brought some interesting developments in Congress related to authorizations for the use of military force in the fight against ISIL. Most recently, Rep. James McGovern…