I’m on the road right now, and won’t have the time to blog further about this, but I suspect that some of our readers have followed the case — especially given the defendant’s First Amendment arguments — so I thought I’d note today’s First Circuit opinion. (Note that the title of the post is an […]
Archive | Terrorism
Ice-T, Volokh, and Kopel: Together at last in a feature film
By David Kopel on June 23, 2013 3:12 pm in Constitutional History, Constitutional Law, Guns, History, McDonald v. City of Chicago, Popular Culture, Registration, Self-Defense, Terrorism
The film is Assaulted: Civil Rights under Fire. It opened Friday in a limited theatrical release. Assaulted tells the modern and historic story of the Second Amendment, with a particular focus on civil rights. The events include Reconstruction, the Deacons for Defense, the Battle of Athens, the post-Katrina gun confiscations, and much more. The narrator is Ice-T. […]
The Case for Drones
By Kenneth Anderson on May 22, 2013 10:50 am in Drones (UAVs), Targeted Killing, Terrorism, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
Just in time for President Obama’s big speech Thursday at the National Defense University on counterterrorism policy and strategy, Commentary Magazine has made available early my June cover article, “The Case for Drones.” (Available free and not behind the subscriber wall.) It’s a long essay arguing that drones are both effective and ethical, and addressing […]
My Upcoming Testimony on Drones and The War on Terror Before the Senate Judiciary Subcomittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights
For those who may be interested, on Tuesday at 4 PM, I will be testifying at a hearing on “Drone Wars: The Constitutional and Counterterrorism Implications of Targeted Killing,” held by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights. My testimony will focus primarily on the issues addressed in this post. […]
Upcoming George Mason University Event on Drones and the War on Terror
By Ilya Somin on April 8, 2013 10:40 am in Targeted Killing, Terrorism, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
This Wednesday, April 10, at 12 PM, I will be taking part in an event on the legal and policy issues surrounding the use of drones in the War on Terror, at George Mason University School of Law. I will be on a panel with my GMU colleagues Jeremy Rabkin and Nathan Sales. The event […]
What the Definition of Piracy Means for UNCLOS & ATS
By Eugene Kontorovich on February 28, 2013 1:05 pm in Alien Tort Statute, Criminal Law, International Law, Terrorism, War and Armed Conflict
Judge Kozinski has gotten considerable criticism from liberals for ruling that Sea Shepherd is involved in piracy under international law. A subsequent post will provide additional support for the decision on the merits. Here, I’d like to look at the big picture and suggest that liberals should be thanking Kozinski: a contrary ruling would have […]
Europe OK with Occupation – and With Hezbollah
Despite the recent United Nations Human Rights Council’s report, France and many other European countries are against attempts to revive the peace process, end the occupation and remove settlements. They prefer a “long-term stalemate” (which sounds like Boogie Yaalon’s “long term conflict management plan“). Outside pressure to push peace could backfire and benefit hardliners on […]
Pirates on Screen: My First Role
Somali pirates, and the broader contexts of state failure and the maritime economy, are the subject of the new documentary film “Stolen Seas.” It has just had its first U.S. release at Cinema Village in New York. The filmmaker quite adventurously spent significant time with Somali pirates on land and at sea, to good effect. […]
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 […]
The Offenses Clause & Universal Jurisdiction Over Terrorists
By Eugene Kontorovich on January 2, 2013 2:53 pm in Alien Tort Statute, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Global Governance/World Government, International Law, National Security, Terrorism, Uncategorized, War and Armed Conflict
A few days before Christmas, the U.S. indicted three men at the Federal District courthouse in Brooklyn for plotting suicide bomb attacks. This is an extraordinary, almost unique case: none of the people or conduct has any connection to the U.S. The defendants are foreign nationals, captured by some African government ont their way to […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
Is Obama Complacent about Terrorism?
According to Bob Woodward’s new book, Obama’s Wars, President Obama seemed to suggest that a terrorist attack on the United States might not be a big deal. According to the Washington Post, the President remarked that “we can absorb a terrorist attack.” In an instant, a campaign-season talking point was born: The President does not […]
Peter Spiro on Lieberman’s Citizenship-Stripping Legislation
I am not an expert on the law of citizenship in the United States, but my Opinio Juris co-blogger Peter Spiro is. Over at OJ he has a short doctrinal analysis of the case law that would likely be relevant to Joe Lieberman’s citizenship-stripping proposal. It seems to me analytically sound, although I do not […]