I always thought the 2002 AUMF was an obvious basis for air strikes against the Islamic State, easily in Iraq and possibly (given the right circumstances) in Syria.  Today Charlie Savage reports that “th...

In late August, I suggested several possible theories the Administration might invoke to argue that the use of force against ISIS in Syria is consistent with international law. In the wake of President O...

Secretary of State Kerry said yesterday: We're engaged in a major counterterrorism operation [against the Islamic State], and it's going to be a long-term counterterrorism operation.  I think war is the ...

I had a pretty harsh reaction to the administration’s claim that Congress in the 2001 AUMF authorized force against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.  (For a different view, see Marty Lederman’s post.)  While I th...

The Foreign Intelligence Court of Review ("FISCR") issued this order today. It concerns the FISC's 2008 opinion in In Re Directives, an appeal brought by Yahoo! and regarding directives for warrantless e...

That is the topic of my essay at Time.com in reaction to the announcement yesterday that the Obama administration believes the 2001 AUMF authorizes force against the Islamic State today.  The essay begin...

Like my colleagues Ben and Wells, I'm astonished to learn this evening that the Obama administration, having previously justified 140+ airstrikes against IS in Iraq on Article II grounds alone (at least ...

What Ben said. I certainly can see why the executive branch would want to adopt a reading as aggressive as this one: it nips some War Powers Resolution questions in the bud, and helps to make it more l...

Here's President Obama coyly not asking Congress to dance---that is, as I put it in my post earlier today, "signal[ing] that [he] would like to dance with Congress—saying [he] will consult with her, that...