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More on the UN Charter, Syria, and “Illegal but Legitimate”
Earlier today I said that President Obama’s dismissal of a Security Council authorization as a prerequisite for intervention in Syria “marks the death knell for the long-held USG view that humanitarian i... -
Five Fundamental International Law Approaches to the Legality of a Syria Intervention
Lurking behind international law arguments over a possible US armed intervention in Syria without Security Council authorization are fundamental divides over the nature of international law itself. Thes... -
Marty Lederman on the President’s Syria Press Conference, and a Brief Response
Marty Lederman writes in with a response to my last post: A quick, response to Jack's reading of the President's remarks in Stockholm yesterday: One should be very cautious, of course, about reading too... -
Two Important Implications from President's Press Conference in Sweden
I want to briefly unpack this extraordinary statement by President Obama yesterday in Sweden: [T]he truth of the matter is that under international law, Security Council resolution for self-defense or de... -
Recent Presidential Remarks on Syria
President Obama has recently made the case for taking action in Syria in two very different arenas: yesterday, in a statement made prior to his meeting with Members of Congress; and today, in Stockholm, ... -
SFRC Approves Syria Authorization Language [UPDATED]
So reports the New York Times on this afternoon's vote to authorize the use of military force in Syria. The vote was 10-7; the Republicans voting with a majority of the Democrats on the panel included: S... -
Today's Headlines and Commentary
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee came to a tentative, bipartisan agreement on the use of force in Syria, as Wells has noted. -
Response to Peter Spiro on the Senate’s Syrian AUMF, and a Request for Clarity
I disagree with Peter Spiro’s take on Section 4 of the draft AUMF. Section 4 terminates the congressional authorization after 60 (or 90) days, but it does not affirmatively prohibit the President from u... -
Van Hollen/Connolly Draft AUMF
Reps. Chris Van Hollen and Gerry Connolly have put forward another draft Syria force authorization. Here are some of the bill's key provisions, beginning with the authorization itself: SEC. 2. -
The Obama Administration's National Security Legal Team
Ben observed last week that in the midst of the most significant war powers debate of this Presidency, many of the top national security legal positions in the Administration remain unfilled. -
Our New Comments Policy
A little less than a year ago, I announced a very cautious experiments with comments on Lawfare---putting a Facebook comments box on each post. We now have enough experience with the experiment to determ... -
The Senate Draft AUMF for Syria is Narrower Than the Administration's Draft, But Still Broad In Some Respects
The draft Senate Syria AUMF contains a narrower authorization for the use of presidential force than the one the administration proposed. But it is in some respects still broad, and it actually enhances...
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