Syria
544 Articles
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…
The Council of Europe’s Draft Protocol on Foreign Terrorist Fighters is Fundamentally Flawed
The Council of Europe last week released a Draft Additional Protocol to its 2005 Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism intended to assist European countries in implementing…
The Backroom: An Inside Account of UN Sec-General’s Statement on US War in Syria
President Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Image credit: White House/Pete Souza Several posts at Just Security have focused on international legal questions raised…
Jihad, Counter-Terrorism and Mothers
Women have had a limited presence in counter-terrorism discourses. When women come into view during conversations about terrorism they typically do so as the wives, daughters,…
Sunset and Supersede: Striking the Right Balance in the AUMF against ISIL
This post is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a different Just Security editor examines the big stories from the previous week or looks…