Somalia
78 Articles
Preventing the Next Black Hawk Down
(Editors’ note: This article is the third of a three-part series by the author on the Trump administration’s use of special operations. Read parts I and II here and here.)…
Did U.S. Provide Helicopter Used in Attack of Somali Refugees in Yemen?
Earlier this month, a dramatic event occurred in the war in Yemen that could even shock those numbed by the continued pace of civilian casualties. A military craft and helicopter…
Correcting the Record—Further Thoughts on the Intelligence Report on Civilian Casualties
In an exchange of posts over the past few weeks about the most recent casualty figures released by the Director of National Intelligence for theaters outside areas of active hostilities,…
Reasons to Distrust Intelligence Report on Civilian Casualties
Ryan Goodman is absolutely correct in what he wrote yesterday at Just Security. I have not proved the claim he attributes to me, namely, that “there is a gross underestimation…
How Trump’s Team Can Use Obama’s Counterterrorism Playbook to Defeat al-Qa’ida and ISIL
The First of Many Challenges. The U.S. military’s January 29 raid in Yemen vividly illustrates the high-stakes challenges involved in counterterrorism operations – particularly…
Comparing: The Leaked Draft vs Final Executive Order Barring Citizens of 7 Muslim-Majority Nations and All Refugees
On Friday, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order implementing new immigration policies, which he stated are designed to “keep radical Islamic terrorists out…
The ICRC Survey and Torture: A Glass Two-Thirds Full?
As indicated by Ryan Goodman in a recent Just Security post, the report, “People on War: Perspectives from 16 Countries,” by the International Committee of the Red Cross, provides…
The New Western Counter-Terror Wars: Toward US-European Convergence?
As Iraqi and other forces move forward with their long-awaited offensive to recapture Mosul from ISIS, Western airpower is playing an essential supporting role. The United States,…
The Drone Memos—The Book
My new book, The Drone Memos, will be published on November 15. It’s a collection of the most important legal and policy documents relating to the U.S. drone campaign, preceded…
The Good and Bad in the US Government’s Civilian Casualties Announcement
The US government on Friday, July 1 released long-sought information on its views as to how many people it has killed in drone and other strikes “outside areas of active hostilities,”…
The Fuzzy Scope of the Forever War Needs Definition
For years now, the questions of where and with whom exactly the United States is at war have been treated as somewhat academic. It’s not that they didn’t matter, but a gridlocked…
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.”…