proportionality
62 Articles
Two lingering concerns about the forthcoming Law of War Manual amendments
We commend Department of Defense General Counsel Jennifer O’Connor for her very important speech at NYU Monday evening—especially for her vivid, detailed account of how the…
“Applying the Law of Targeting to the Modern Battlefield” – Full Speech Given by DOD General Counsel Jennifer O’Connor
Below is the speech, “Applying the Law of Targeting to the Modern Battlefield,” given by Jennifer O’Connor, general counsel of the Department of Defense, tonight…
A quick response to John Merriam on proportionality and military medical personnel
Thanks very much to John Merriam for his very thoughtful and insightful post responding to my concerns about the Law of War Manual‘s treatment of how the principle of proportionality…
Must Military Medical and Religious Personnel Be Accounted for in a Proportionality Analysis?
In a recent post, Marty Lederman echoed criticisms previously leveled by Oona Hathaway about the US DOD’s Law of War Manual. The thrust of their criticism is that several Manual…
Troubling proportionality and rule-of-distinction provisions in the Law of War Manual
Oona Hathaway is absolutely right to be alarmed, and deeply concerned, about the “civilians’ assumption of risk” provisions in the new DoD Law of War Manual. If you haven’t…
The Law of War Manual’s Threat to the Principle of Proportionality
On Saturday, I had the honor of speaking to the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) USA General Assembly. In preparing for my talk last week, I came across a section of the US Defense…
Is it legal to target ISIL’s oil facilities and cash stockpiles?
An important story in yesterday’s New York Times explains how the U.S. and coalition forces have dramatically increased their targeting of ISIL’s oil facilities (including…
Targeting Tankers — and Their Drivers — Under the Law of War (Part 2)
Leaflets dropped 45 minutes before airstrikes targeting ISIL oil tankers. Image credit: US Defense Department Editor’s Note: This is the second in a two-part post discussing…
Was the Kunduz Strike a War Crime?
As reports poured in over the weekend that the United States bombed a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, killing at least 12 MSF staff members and…
DOD’s Unbalanced Stance on Precautions Against Harming Civilians
Editor’s Note: Just Security is holding a “mini forum” on the new Defense Department Law of War Manual. This series includes posts from Sean Watts, Eric Jensen, and others.…
Casualties and Polls: Some Observations
In a recent post provocatively entitled “New Poll: American Support for Drone Strikes Plummets When Innocent US Civilians Killed,” Just Security’s editor Ryan Goodman energetically…
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…