Military
813 Articles
Untangling the Issues in the “Transgender in the Military” Litigation
A few weeks ago, the Department of Justice made something of a splash by filing petitions for certiorari “before judgment” in three of the pending cases challenging then-Secretary…
Norms Watch: Damage to Democracy and Rule of Law in December 2018
Welcome to the latest installment of Norms Watch, our series tracking both the flouting of democratic norms by the Trump administration and the erosion of those norms in reactions…
How Far Can a Rogue Kremlin Push International Law?
The Russian-Ukrainian standoff at the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov shows that the Kremlin now is just ignoring international law. The United States and the West need to adjust…
George H.W. Bush’s Persian Gulf War: Victory, With Tragedy
Most tributes on the passing of George H.W. Bush from across the American political spectrum have used some variation of the word “honorable” or “decent” to describe the…
U.S. Lethal Operations in Somalia Are On the Rise. But Are They Effective?
A deep-rooted ideology cannot be defeated with bombs dropped from the sky. What is needed is a real shift in strategy.
Uptick in U.S. Air Strikes on Buildings in Afghanistan Raises Questions
U.S. military aircraft bombed over 60 buildings in Afghanistan in October alone, reviving longstanding concerns that these kinds of strikes could risk higher numbers of civilian…
Legal Analysis of “Cabinet Memo” on the Military’s Role at Southern Border
Avoidance of military involvement in civil society is part of America's political culture and heritage. The new White House order on U.S. Army role at the southwest border threatens…
The Pentagon Put Someone in Charge of Its Civilian Casualty Policy. Now What?
For all the time and attention that the Defense Department has rightly spent addressing civilian casualties, no single official at the Pentagon has ever been formally charged with…
Update: The Military, the Mexican Border and Posse Comitatus
Unlike the earlier deployment of National Guard personnel, the use of federal forces raises new issues concerning what they are permitted to do.
How Dangerous—and How New—Is the Defense Department’s “Collective Self-Defense” Theory?
The Defense Department’s reliance on a broad interpretation of “collective self-defense” appears to authorize military operations further removed from congressional approval…
Psy-Ops, Meet Cyber-Ops: U.S. Takes on Russian Trolls
A Russian troll sits down at his desktop and logs into one of the social media accounts he uses to impersonate and radicalize Americans. Suddenly, a direct message appears: “Hello,…
The Saudi Playbook: Self-Investigations of Civilian Deaths in Yemen and Khashoggi
We’ve been here before. Saudi Arabia has a sordid track record of announcing formal mechanisms to look into deaths of civilians at the hands of its own officers which have then…