(Special note: Lawfare, where I serve as His Serenity, Book Review Editor, is absolutely delighted VC’s own Orin Kerr has agreed to post there when the Spirit of National Security Law moves him.) Over at Lawfare, I have a longish post about the declared US government policy of preferring capture operations over kill operations where […]
Archive | Counter-Terrorism Policy
Bill to Be Introduced to Increase Armed Services Committees’ Oversight Over Special Operations
By Kenneth Anderson on May 9, 2013 9:48 am in Counter-Terrorism Policy, Drones (UAVs), Military, National Security, Targeted Killing, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), member of the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, plans to introduce a bill that would increase Congressional oversight over kill-capture operations conducted outside of Afghanistan by the US military. University of Texas law professor Robert Chesney discusses the proposed legislation over at Lawfare, and gives a section by section commentary. Whether […]
CIA Loses Drone Strike FOIA Appeal
By Jonathan H. Adler on March 15, 2013 12:46 pm in Counter-Terrorism Policy, Government Transparency, Targeted Killing, War on Terror
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) seeking information about drone strikes. The CIA filed a so-called “Glomar response,” refusing to confirm or deny the existence of material responsive to the ACLU’s request. The ACLU then sued, and the district court granted summary […]
War & Treaty Powers Applied to al-Shabab Fighters
By Eugene Kontorovich on January 9, 2013 10:29 am in Constitutional Law, Counter-Terrorism Policy, International Law, National Security, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
Continuing the analysis of possible Art. I authority for applying the Material Support of Terrrorism statute to three Somali nationals fighting on behalf of al-Shabab in Somalia, with no identifiable link to the U.S. – other than being brought here for trial. War Powers The U.S. is not at war with Shabab. They are at […]
Foreign Commerce Authority for Universal Jurisdiction over Terrorists
By Eugene Kontorovich on January 9, 2013 8:00 am in Alien Tort Statute, Constitutional Law, Counter-Terrorism Policy, Criminal Law, International Law, National Security, Necessary and Proper, Terrorism, Uncategorized, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
The government is prosecuting three foreigners for the participating in “combat operations” in a foreign civil war. The indictment apparently alleges no connection to America, or even foreign commerce (unlike a similar 2011 case that lacked an apparent connection to the U.S.) The defendants are Somalis who fought in Somalia. In a previous post, I […]
Material Support Statute: A Neutrality Act for Everyone
By Eugene Kontorovich on January 8, 2013 11:01 am in Constitutional Law, Counter-Terrorism Policy, International Law, National Security, Uncategorized, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
In the next few days, I’ll discuss possible sources of Art. I authority for the the federal prosecution of three foreigners for fighting on the side of al-Shabab in Somalia, and brought forcibly to the U.S. for trial. Previously, I’ve argued that this prosecution cannot be sustained under the Offenses Clause. But first lets put […]
National Security Law in the News
By Eugene Kontorovich on November 25, 2012 11:51 am in Constitutional Law, Counter-Terrorism Policy, Criminal Law, Executive Branch, International Law, Military, National Security, Press, Targeted Killing
National Security Law in the News: A Guide for Journalists, Scholars, and Policymakers is a new book published by the ABA’s Standing Committee on Law and National Security and Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. Despite the title, the book should be of interest to a general audience, as it offers a concise, broad plain-language overview […]
How Syria is Iran’s route to the sea
By David Kopel on October 24, 2012 2:29 am in Counter-Terrorism Policy, Iran, Israel, National Security, Presidency, Press, Terrorism
“Syria is Iran’s only ally in the Arab world. It’s their route to the sea.” So said Mitt Romney at the Monday debate. The Associated Press, The Guardian, The Telegraph, New York, U.S. News, Brad DeLong, Rachel Maddow’s Maddowblog, Comedy Central, and The Daily Kos promptly seized the opportunity to show off their superior geographical knowledge, pointing out that Iran […]
President Obama versus the Constitution
By David Kopel on April 2, 2012 11:54 pm in Congress, Constitutional History, Constitutional Law, Constitutional Theory, Counter-Terrorism Policy, Executive Branch, Federalism, Growth of Government, Habeas, Health Care, History, Individual Mandate, Jefferson, Judicial Power, Obama, Presidency, Public Opinion, Supreme Court, Uncategorized, War on Terror
President Obama today fired his opening salvo in an unprecedented attack on the Constitution of the United States. Regarding the impending Supreme Court ruling on the health control law, the President said, “Ultimately, I’m confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was […]
Senators Concerned about “Secret” Patriot Act Program
The NYT’s Charlie Savage has an interesting report that begins: For more than two years, a handful of Democrats on the Senate intelligence committee have warned that the government is secretly interpreting its surveillance powers under thePatriot Act in a way that would be alarming if the public — or even others in Congress — knew about it. On […]
Defense bill will allow President to indefinitely detain American citizens
By David Kopel on November 30, 2011 4:11 pm in Counter-Terrorism Policy, Obama, Terrorism, War on Terror
H.R. 1540, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, has already passed the House, and is currently before the Senate. One section of the bill gives the President the authority to detain indefinitely American citizens, picked up on American soil, because they are allegedly supporting the enemy: SEC. 1034. AFFIRMATION OF ARMED CONFLICT […]
Federalist Society Debate about Miranda and Questioning Suspected Terrorists
By Paul Cassell on February 9, 2011 9:58 am in Counter-Terrorism Policy, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure
Professor Guiora (a colleague of mine at Utah) and I recently debate the appropriateness of Miranda warnings in the context of terrorism investigations. Here’s a link to the Federalist Society’s podcast of the debate, which revolves around whether or not the “public safety” exception to Miranda should apply in the context of questioning suspected terrorists. I argue that, under […]
Time to Codify a Miranda Exception for Terrorists?
By Paul Cassell on October 21, 2010 10:27 am in Counter-Terrorism Policy, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Terrorism, Uncategorized
Today at 12:15 at the University of Utah College of Law I will be debating my colleague Amos Guiora about whether Miranda rights should be extended to terrorists. I have previously blogged here and here about my view that Miranda’s “public safety” exception means that law enforcement officers investigating terrorist incidents need not give Miranda warnings. […]
Will Brain Science Develop Alternative Technologies for Interrogation?
Via FuturePundit, who observes that this is really much more broadly about lie detection than counterterrorism as such, note this press release from Northwestern University: For the first time, the Northwestern researchers used the P300 testing in a mock terrorism scenario in which the subjects are planning, rather than perpetrating, a crime. The P300 brain […]
The Wall and the Least Dangerous Branch
Many of my posts have criticized privacy groups and their doctrines. How come, some of you have asked? Aren’t privacy advocates the Ewoks of the policy world — cute and cuddly and easy to like even when they’re on the other side? After all, most of us share their overall goal. We would all like more privacy. […]