A few days ago, I posted this little comment concerning Eugene Robinson's column on drones. The response to it has, I confess, surprised me, particularly as it has focused largely on an off-hand remark I...

Well, this is timely.  The Journal of National Security Law & Policy has just published this 104-page article from David Kris (who recently stepped down as the AAG for the National Security Division at D...

A couple of weeks ago, as Ben noted, Trevor Morrison posted an article addressing the Libya-hostilities-OLC debate.  An expanded and updated version of that paper is now available here at Harvard Law Rev...

What was the legal theory supporting the two-month period of military detention for Ahmed Warsame, preceding his arrival in the United States?  White House Spokesman Jay Carney had the following to say t...

Kandahar--Among the ceremonies in Afghanistan on this past July 4th was one having more to do with Afghans and their international partners than with the United States troops stationed here, though we Am...

One line of criticism emerging this morning in relation to the Ahmed Warsame situation is the argument that Warsame should be tried by military commission rather than in a civilian court.  Ben nails it h...

Bobby has already noted that the administration's handling of the Warsame case would not have been possible had either the suspect set foot in Guantanamo Bay under current law or if pending congressional...

As Bobby notes, the recently announced criminal prosecution of Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, captured overseas almost three months ago by U.S. military forces, could be an important test of an emerging hybri...

This is, I think, a big deal. Hot on the heels of the fascinating testimony last week from Admiral McRaven and General Allen regarding disposition options for terrorism suspects captured overseas but out...

Last week I posted about testmony from Admiral McRaven and General Allen concerning the lack of U.S.-controlled detention option in a world in which the executive branch does not want to see anyone broug...

I could lard this post with all sort of platitudinous reflections on the continuing relevance of that old 18th Century text. But I'll refrain. Grill some meat. Drink some beer. Watch some pretty explosio...

Deborah Pearlstein and Ben have been exchanging posts in relation to the pending NDAA legislation and detention authority issues.  One passage in the exchange struck me as particularly significant.  Deb ...

Deborah Pearlstein answers my question: Ben Wittes, long an advocate for clearer domestic legislation authorizing U.S. detention operations,writes to ask whether my recent post favoring the Senate’s over...

This will show Rumsfeld! From CNN.com: Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- Iran plans to prosecute 26 current and former American officials, an Iranian lawmaker said Sunday, potentially escalating a tit-for-tat dispu...

My former colleague Eugene Robinson has a column in the Washington post entitled "Assassination by Robot," which seems to me to warrant a brief response. Robinson begins by saying that, "The skies over a...

I was intrigued by this post from a few days ago by Deborah Pearlstein over at Opinio Juris. Entitled "Catching Up with the Senate on Detainee Matters," it concludes as follows: the Senate bill is a subs...

The appointment of Brig. General Mark Martins as chief prosecutor of the military commissions, as Jack and I discussed here and here, is a step of enormous importance in establishing legitimacy for a com...

The White House announcement is here.