Charlie Savage of the New York Times reports that the Obama Administration is arguing that the Constitution does not require congressional authorization for the Libya intervention because it is not a “war,” but merely some smaller scale of military action: “The president does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack […]
Archive | War and Armed Conflict
Jack Goldsmith on the Constitutionality of the Libya Intervention
By Ilya Somin on March 22, 2011 5:17 pm in Constitutional Law, Constitutional Theory, War and Armed Conflict
Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith, a leading constitutional law and international law scholar, has an article in Slate defending the constitutionality of President Obama’s use of force against Libya without congressional authorization. I am a big fan of Goldsmith and his academic work. He’s one of the leading scholars in his field. In this case, […]
Does US Military Action Against Gaddafi Require Congressional Authorization?
By Ilya Somin on March 20, 2011 5:36 pm in Constitutional Law, Constitutional Theory, Separation of Powers, War and Armed Conflict
Several liberal Democratic members of Congress are claiming that President Obama’s decision to use force against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi requires congressional authorization: A hard-core group of liberal House Democrats is questioning the constitutionality of U.S. missile strikes against Libya, with one lawmaker raising the prospect of impeachment during a Democratic Caucus conference call on […]
Are New York Times Editorials Not Being Candid About What the Law Actually Says About Detention of Suspected Enemy Combatants?
So argues Benjamin Wittes (Lawfare), and suggests that there’s a pattern (see his earlier posts here and here). I read his posts and the editorials, and I think his criticisms are generally sound. Here’s an excerpt: The general point is that the Times repeatedly states, often in very strong terms, that detention without trial is […]
Judge Dismisses Al-Aulaqi Targeted Killing Case
By Kenneth Anderson on December 7, 2010 11:13 am in Targeted Killing, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
Presswires are reporting that Judge John Bates has dismissed the case which the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights sought to bring on behalf of Anwar Al-Aulaqi’s father, contesting the ability of the President to target an American citizen hiding abroad in Yemen who the government says is a targetable participant in a terrorist […]
Counterinsurgency Then and Now
By Kenneth Anderson on November 21, 2010 10:21 pm in Afghanistan, Uncategorized, War and Armed Conflict
Over at SSRN, I have posted up a very old article by Jean-Marie Simon and me, Permanent Counterinsurgency in Guatemala. It appeared in 1987 in the critical theory journal Telos (No. 73, Fall 1987, 9-46). Here is the abstract, which includes a bit of information on why I have posted it up now: This 1987 […]
Where Jus in Bello and Jus ad Bellum Come Together, or, ‘This Time of Damned Algebra’
By Kenneth Anderson on November 10, 2010 7:24 pm in International Human Rights Law, International Law, War and Armed Conflict
I’m at Penn Station, waiting for the train from New York City back to DC, happy but slightly dazed after the intense three day conference in celebration of the 35th anniversary of Michael Walzer’s Just and Unjust Wars that I mentioned in an earlier post. My thanks and congratulations to Gabby Blum, Ian Scobbie, and […]
Targeted Killing and Drone Warfare Debate between Mary Ellen O’Connell and Benjamin Wittes
By Kenneth Anderson on October 26, 2010 1:46 pm in Afghanistan, International Law, Targeted Killing, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
Interest in targeted killing and drone warfare is not letting up in intensity – at least to judge by the pace of events on the topic. Right on top of my debate with Notre Dame’s Mary Ellen O’Connell on this at Washington University two weeks ago, Professor O’Connell and the Brookings Institution’s (and Hoover Institution’s) […]
Self Defense and Non-International Armed Conflict in Drone Warfare
By Kenneth Anderson on October 22, 2010 6:31 am in Afghanistan, International Law, Targeted Killing, War and Armed Conflict
Over the past year, I’ve been spending much time on the questions of drone warfare and the legal issues raised – many talks, panel discussions, debates, and so on. In the course of those discussions, as well as discussions with many experts one-on-one, I’ve wanted both to clarify a couple of my views and acknowledge […]
Targeted Killing and Drone Debate at Washington University Law School Today
By Kenneth Anderson on October 8, 2010 12:00 pm in Targeted Killing, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
(Update: Sorry about leaving off a title! perils of posting from an Ipod!) Today at noon, the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute at Washington University Law School is holding a debate on targeted killing using drone aircraft. It features Notre Dame’s Mary Ellen O’Connell and yours truly, and moderated by Minnesota Public Radio’s Matt […]
Drone Warfare as Force Protection, and Drones as Strategic Air Power
By Kenneth Anderson on October 2, 2010 6:08 pm in Robotics, Targeted Killing, Uncategorized, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
Adam Entous, Julan E. Barnes, and Siobhan Gorman have an outstanding piece of national security reporting on the front page of the weekend Wall Street Journal, “CIA Escalates Campaign in Pakistan: Pentagon Diverts Drones to Afghanistan to Bolster Campaign Next Door.” This is a fine piece of journalism that integrates reporting from AfPak and Washington […]
Lawfare!
Lawfare is not just the name of a great new national security law blog, it’s also the subject of a conference this Friday at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Details, including information on viewing the webcast, here. UPDATE: Thoughts on “lawfare” and “Lawfare!” by Jack Goldsmith at Lawfare.
The Washington Post on Targeting Killing and US Citizens
By Kenneth Anderson on September 6, 2010 2:48 pm in Targeted Killing, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
Due to the press of a deadline for something else, I am not able to comment as fully as this all deserves, but I wanted to flag this morning’s editorial in the Washington Post, essentially defending and, in some ways, extending the Obama administration’s position on targeted killing, whether using drones or human teams, including […]
Today Is 61st Anniversary of the Geneva Conventions of 1949
By Kenneth Anderson on August 12, 2010 7:32 pm in International Law, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
John Bellinger, former legal adviser to the State Department, reflects on the meaning of the Geneva Conventions today, in a post at Foreign Policy. Today, 12 August, is the 61st anniversary of the signing of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, the international treaties designed to protect soldiers and civilians during armed conflicts. The treaties became […]
ACLU and CCR Sue US Government over Al-Awlaki Defense
By Kenneth Anderson on August 3, 2010 9:39 pm in Targeted Killing, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
Adam Serwer has a post up flagging a new suit by the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) against the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) over funds expended over the question of whether the Obama administration can designate and then target Al-Awlaki as a terrorist hiding out presumably in Yemen. […]