Syria
524 Articles
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…
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…
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…
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…
Questions About Baathists’ Role in the Islamic State
A fascinating article in Der Spiegel on April 18 details the supposed inner workings of an Islamic State that is less a caliphate and more a power being established by Saddam…
Has the Gov’t Under-Charged an al-Qaeda Recruit?: The Ohio case of Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud
An important criminal charge is conspicuously absent in the Indictment of Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud, who is reportedly “the first American accused of returning from Syria with…
Text of the Schiff-Cole Letter Requesting House Vote on an ISIL-Specific AUMF
Below is the text of the draft letter being circulated to House members by Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Tom Cole (R-Okla.) urging House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to hold…
No Asking and No Telling – A Quick Thought on Stephen Preston’s Speech at ASIL
As Marty Lederman and Jennifer Daskel have already noted, the Department of Defense’s General Counsel Stephen Preston gave an extensive and lengthy keynote speech on Friday last at…
Defeating ISIS in Iraq: We Cannot Fight Evil With Evil
News of the “liberation” of Tikrit, the city nearby the birthplace of Saddam Hussein, from occupation by ISIS militants two weeks ago was a welcome advance in the war to destroy…
Canadian Bombs Over Syria and a Reader’s Guide to the Legality of Airstrikes Against ISIL
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is introducing a motion to Parliament today (video here) that would extend Canada’s military mission against the Islamic State for another…
Why Sunset and Supersession Provisions Are Both Needed in an Anti-ISIL AUMF
Yesterday, I testified before the Congressional Progressive Caucus, led by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), in a forum on the President’s proposed authorization to use military…