Military
813 Articles
The Defense Department Stands Alone on Target Selection
A deeply troubling provision in the Defense Department’s new Law of War Manual suggests that commanders are not legally required to minimize civilian casualties when selecting…
Reflections on the Israeli Report on the Gaza Conflict
During last year’s Operation Protective Edge, a fascinating data visualization published in Medium revealed the extent of political polarization on Israel and Gaza and the scarcity…
Abu Ghraib and the Perversion of the Political Question Doctrine
I’ve written extensively about the important and complex legal questions raised by state-law tort suits against private military contractors, many of which have arisen in…
The Law of War Manual is here (no, really)
The last time the U.S. Department of Defense published a comprehensive manual on the law of war was in 1956, when Richard Baxter set the standard. Much has happened since then–the…
What Civilians Themselves Say about Targeting and their Participation in Conflict
“What I think is that there is no line at all … Civilians can turn into fighters at any time. Anybody can change from a fighter to a civilian, all in one day, all in one moment.”…
U.S. Special Forces kill ISIL leader, detain another, during capture operation in Syria [UPDATED]
Here’s the statement the Secretary of Defense issued this morning: Release No: NR-175-15 May 16, 2015 Statement by Secretary of Defense Ash Carter on Counter-ISIL Operation…
The Relationship Between Context and Proportionality: A Reply to Cohen and Shany
I am honored that Deans Amichai Cohen and Yuval Shany, both superb scholars that I hold in the highest regard, have responded to the Just Security post I wrote with my colleague…
Contextualizing Proportionality Analysis? A Response to Schmitt and Merriam on Israel’s Targeting Practices
In a recent post on this blog, Michael Schmitt and John Merriam discussed Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL), based on their recent visit to Israel…
The Government (Sort of) Wins a Guantánamo Military Commission Appeal
No, not that one. In a two-page order issued this morning, the D.C. Circuit (Tatel, Griffith, & Silberman, JJ.) dismissed the appeal of former Guantánamo detainee Ibrahim…
Ten More Strikes the Obama Administration Should Immediately Acknowledge and Investigate
The Obama administration took a long overdue step toward transparency for its “targeted” killing program when it last week openly acknowledged and took responsibility for the…
A Legal and Operational Assessment of Israel’s Targeting Practices
Over the course of 50 days in the summer of 2014, the Israeli Defense Forces conducted a high-intensity air and ground campaign against Hamas in the Gaza strip. Sparked by the…
The Power of Rhetoric in the Civilian-Military Divide
On April 10, Stephen Preston, General Counsel for the Defense Department, spoke at the annual meeting of the American Society of International Law. He ended his remarks on the…