War Powers
103 Articles
Opaque Transparency on the Use of Force: Observations on the 2022 “1264” Report
The 2022 report illustrates the limits of congressionally mandated reporting requirements on matters of war and peace and the need for Congress to be more proactive in informing…
Missed Opportunities and Minor Progress: The FY 2023 National Defense Bill and War Powers
One big disappointing omission and otherwise a mixed bag from the standpoint of winding down the United States’ forever wars -- despite leaders of both parties having proclaimed…
How Support to Partner Forces Enables Secret War
With security cooperation as a means of pursuing U.S. military objectives becoming more frequent, Department of Defense-led security cooperation, particularly under §§ 333, 127e,…
Tit-for-Tat Hostilities In Syria: War Powers and International Law Implications
The Biden administration's latest war powers report to Congress and letter to the UN Security Council raise questions about the domestic and international legal basis for hostilities…
Top Experts Raise Questions Regarding Legal Basis of Zawahiri Strike
A note from co-editors-in-chief Tess Bridgeman and Ryan Goodman: Although Just Security is on hiatus this week, we wanted to be sure to examine and reflect on the U.S. airstrike…
The Biden Administration’s Options for Responding to Abbott’s Unconstitutional Border Enforcement Executive Order
The Texas governor has invoked war powers to respond to migrant arrivals at the border - potentially usurping federal prerogatives.
Ukraine and War Powers: A Legal Explainer
Top expert discusses whether arms and other military assistance to Ukraine would make US party to the conflict, what triggers War Powers Resolution, and role of NATO Article V.
2022 Update: Good Governance Paper No. 14: War Powers Reform
At one-year mark of Biden administration, top experts revisit proposals to restore and promote nonpartisan principles of good government.
Time for the Biden Administration to Disavow the Dangerous Soleimani Legal Opinions
The legal opinions' fundamental error: distorting accepted legal framework to fit inapposite facts. Still on the book, the opinions remain a loaded weapon for another president…
Failure to Warn: War Powers Reporting and the “War on Terror” in Africa
How prior administrations failed to tell Congress about special forces engaged in combat operations in Cameroon, Niger, Somalia, Tunisia, and what it means for War Powers and AUMF…
Paradigm Shift: The Consequences of Choosing a War Path, and Leaving It
We owe it to the next generation to grapple now with the consequences of remaining at war -- as well as the consequences of choosing not to be -- lest we find ourselves reflexively…
Crossing Back Over: Time to Reform Legal Culture and Legal Practice of the “War on Terror”
As the conflict has grown and changed, responsibility for these changes has too often been thrust on the shoulders of executive lawyers.