Use of Force
239 Articles
On Israeli Airstrikes in Syria—Lawful and No Need for Transparency
In his post “Israeli Airstrikes in Syria: The International Law Analysis You Won’t Find,” Asaf Lubin is perplexed by the dearth of discussion by what he describes as jus…
Yemen’s consent for U.S. counterterrorism operations: Questions for the Trump Administration
On Thursday, the New York Times reported that Yemen had withdrawn its consent from US Special Operations ground missions in the country, following a commando raid Jan. 29, which…
What’s Actually New in the New Drone Strike & Military Force Disclosures?
Yesterday, President Barack Obama released a series of documents relating to the use of military force abroad, including a 66-page Report on the Legal and Policy Frameworks Guiding…
The Upcoming Release of Obama’s Targeted Killing Policy and Casualty Numbers
The Obama administration says it plans to release a redacted version of the policy standards and procedures that govern its “use of force in counterterrorism operations outside…
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…
Further thoughts on the Preston ASIL speech
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…
Two Questions for Stephen Preston
As Marty has already written, the Department of Defense’s General Counsel Stephen Preston gave a speech tonight at the American Society of International Law “the Legal…
Highlights From DOD General Council Stephen Preston’s ASIL Speech
As I write this, DOD General Counsel Stephen Preston is delivering a speech at the annual meeting of the American Society of International Law on the topic of “the Legal…
International Law and Cyber Attacks: Sony v. North Korea
It could only happen in the movies. A major Hollywood company produces a film starring well-known comedic actors which involves the tongue-in-cheek assassination of the leader…
International Law on Airstrikes against ISIS in Syria
The administration is actively considering the option of using military force against ISIS in Syria. As the New York Times editorial board states today: “The United States, however,…
Major development concerning transparency of the use of force in Yemen
“I think the rule should be that if we’re going to take actions overseas that result in the deaths of people, the United States should take responsibility for that.”…
State Practice and the Use of Force: Iran Invokes the “Unwilling or Unable” Test against its Neighbors
Can the United States send armed forces into another state to deal with a national security threat from a militant group when the host state is “unwilling or unable” to contain…