Armed Conflict
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Biden Releases Second 48-Hour War Powers Resolution Report on Counter-Houthi Mission
This latest report follows the second round of joint U.S.-U.K. strikes in Yemen. -
White House Releases 48-hour War Powers Report on Yemen Strikes
President Biden sent a War Powers Resolution letter to the speaker of the house notifying lawmakers of the U.S.’s Jan. 11 strikes on the Houthis. -
What Can a Secretive Funding Authority Tell Us About the Pentagon’s Use of Force Interpretations?
An obscure counterterrorism authority has been used to create and control proxy forces throughout the war on terror—its use across Africa and Asia points to broader interpretations of the 2001 AUMF and t...
Congress
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White House Releases War Powers Notice on Evacuation of Khartoum
The White House published a letter sent to congressional leadership regarding the evacuation of personnel from Khartoum. -
What Can a Secretive Funding Authority Tell Us About the Pentagon’s Use of Force Interpretations?
An obscure counterterrorism authority has been used to create and control proxy forces throughout the war on terror—its use across Africa and Asia points to broader interpretations of the 2001 AUMF and t... -
Supreme Court Embraces Broad Congressional War Powers in Torres
In Torres v. Texas Dep’t of Public Safety, the Court held that private suits against states are authorized under Congress’s war powers, carving out a new structural waiver exception to state sovereign im...
Courts & Litigation
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Supreme Court Embraces Broad Congressional War Powers in Torres
In Torres v. Texas Dep’t of Public Safety, the Court held that private suits against states are authorized under Congress’s war powers, carving out a new structural waiver exception to state sovereign im... -
War Powers and State Sovereign Immunity in Torres v. Texas Dep’t of Public Safety
The Torres decision will not only determine if protections are available to hundreds of thousands of veterans against employment discrimination but also could have broader ramifications for the war power... -
Remembering the Selective Draft Law Cases
On this day in 1918, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of a national draft. That ruling illustrates how military powers in the Constitution have continuously adapted throughout A...
Criminal Justice & Rule of Law
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Summary: Lawsuit to Release the Legal Justification of Syria Airstrikes
Earlier this month, Quinta Jurecic noted a suit filed by the nonprofit Protect Democracy under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain the Trump administration’s legal justification behind U.S. a... -
Documents: FOIA Suit on the Legal Basis of Syrian Airstrikes
In May 2017, the nonprofit Protect Democracy filed suit under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the Trump administration's legal justification behind the U.S. airstrikes in Syria during April of t... -
What’s the Legal Basis for the Syria Strikes? The Administration Must Acknowledge Limits on its Power to Start a War
Just over a month ago, the Administration launched missile strikes against the Assad regime in Syria. The strikes followed a brutal chemical attack that killed scores of innocent civilians. We are all di...
Cybersecurity & Tech
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The Legal Context for CYBERCOM’s Reported Operations Against Iran
Following news that Iran shot down a U.S. Navy Global Hawk—an unmanned surveillance aircraft—the Trump administration came close to ordering a responsive set of airstrikes but ultimately elected not to d... -
Iran Shoots Down a U.S. Drone: Domestic and International Legal Implications
On June 20, U.S. military officials confirmed media reports that Iranian military forces successfully shot down a U.S. drone in the vicinity of the Persian Gulf. -
Document: Office of Legal Counsel Memo on April 2018 Syria Strikes
On Thursday, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel issued the following memorandum opinion on the April 2018 U.S. airstrikes against three Syrian chemical-weapons facilities.
Democracy & Elections
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Law and Public Intuition on the Use of Force, Part 2: The Threat of Nuclear Weapons
This post is the second in a multipart series. For an introduction to the survey discussed and the methodology employed, be sure to read our first post. -
Law and Public Intuition on the Use of Force, Part 1: An Introduction
Tensions with North Korea have reinvigorated long-standing debates over when and how the United States should use military force. Legal experts have offered sometimes conflicting views on how domestic an... -
Does the Corker-Kaine AUMF Bill Really Open the Door to War with North Korea and Iran?
That’s the remarkable claim purveyed this morning in a New York Times editorial. Here is the relevant passage:
Executive Branch
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White House Releases War Powers Notice on Evacuation of Khartoum
The White House published a letter sent to congressional leadership regarding the evacuation of personnel from Khartoum. -
What Can a Secretive Funding Authority Tell Us About the Pentagon’s Use of Force Interpretations?
An obscure counterterrorism authority has been used to create and control proxy forces throughout the war on terror—its use across Africa and Asia points to broader interpretations of the 2001 AUMF and t... -
Supreme Court Embraces Broad Congressional War Powers in Torres
In Torres v. Texas Dep’t of Public Safety, the Court held that private suits against states are authorized under Congress’s war powers, carving out a new structural waiver exception to state sovereign im...
Foreign Relations & International Law
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What Can a Secretive Funding Authority Tell Us About the Pentagon’s Use of Force Interpretations?
An obscure counterterrorism authority has been used to create and control proxy forces throughout the war on terror—its use across Africa and Asia points to broader interpretations of the 2001 AUMF and t... -
Supreme Court Embraces Broad Congressional War Powers in Torres
In Torres v. Texas Dep’t of Public Safety, the Court held that private suits against states are authorized under Congress’s war powers, carving out a new structural waiver exception to state sovereign im... -
White House Releases Annual Report and Notice Concerning Legal and Policy Frameworks for War Powers
According to the report, the U.S. exercised military force in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Somalia in 2021.
Intelligence
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Remembering the Bay of Pigs: Law and Covert War
Tomorrow is an ignominious anniversary. On that date in 1961, about 1,400 American-trained Cuban exiles launched a secret invasion of Cuba in an effort to overthrow the Fidel Castro regime. After landing... -
U.S. Support for the Saudi Air Campaign in Yemen: The Legal Issues
For the past couple of weeks, a Saudi-led coalition has been engaged in a substantial air campaign against Houthi forces in Yemen. -
More on CIA Drone Strikes, Covert Action, TMA, and the Fifth Function
Yesterday Kevin Heller and I exchanged views on the possible sources of domestic authorization for the CIA to conduct drone strikes.
States & Localities
Surveillance & Privacy
Terrorism & Extremism
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The ISIS Lawsuit and the Perverse Effects of National Security Litigation
Last week, U.S. Army Captain Nathan Michael Smith sued the U.S. Government in federal court, seeking a declaration that Obama’s war against ISIS is illegal. Jack Goldsmith and Marty Lederman have put for... -
The War Against ISIS is Unconstitutional
As I explained in a New York Times op-ed today, Captain Nathan Smith has gone to court for a declaratory judgment on the legality of President Obama’s undeclared war against the Islamic State. While I en... -
Analysis of Lawsuit Challenging War Against ISIL
Charlie Savage reports that Captain Nathan Michael Smith, an army intelligence officer deployed in Kuwait, has brought a lawsuit challenging President Obama’s interpretive extension of the 2001 AUMF in r...