US Senate repeals authorizations for use of military force against Iraq
The US Senate repealed the authorizations for use of military force (AUMFs) against Iraq Wednesday by a vote of 66-30. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) made opening remarks addressing the 1991 and 2002 AUMFs formerly passed by Congress. He said: The United States, Iraq, the entire world has changed dramatically since 2002. These AUMFs [...]
Targeted Killing of Avowed Terrorists: Three US Presidents and Three Cases in Point
During the Barack Obama presidency, the Justice Department prepared a 16-page unsigned, undated “White Paper” that outlined the administration’s legal reasoning justifying unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-targeted killings of terrorism suspects if an informed high-level official decided that the target was a high-ranking al-Qaida figure or affiliate who posed an imminent threat of violent attack against [...]
Guantanamo Bay detainee Abu Zubaydah, who has been detained for 19 years without charges or a trial, filed a complaint on Friday with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions (UNWGAD) requesting intervention in his case. Zubaydah was captured in Pakistan after the September 11 attacks and was held and tortured by the CIA in [...]
Unilateral Humanitarian Interventions and the Legitimate Use of Force Under American Interpretations
The death of Iranian major general Qasem Soleimani, on January 3, 2020, revived the discussions and interpretations regarding national security on the international scene, the “right to protect”, the legitimate defense and the legality of the attack that caused his death through the United States’ unilateral intervention. This is an old worldwide discussion, with countless [...]
US President Donald Trump vetoed senate Joint Resolution 68, commonly known as the Iran War Powers resolution, on Wednesday. The resolution came in response to the assassination of Qassem Soleimani in early January. In a statement released by the White House, Trump called the resolution “insulting” and characterized it as a political attack by Congressional [...]
Writing in the New York Times, U.S. Senator Tom Cotton argued that President Donald Trump’s decision to kill Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was legally justified in three ways: under Article II of the Constitution, the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force aimed at those responsible for the September 11 attacks, and the 2002 Authorization [...]
Targeting Jihadist Terrorists: Identifying Pertinent Legal Guidelines
Targeted killing campaigns are still accelerating under the Trump administration, with fewer constraints and even less transparency. More precisely, it seems that the Obama-era Presidential Policy Guidance has been relaxed in two very meaningful ways: targets of “kill missions” are being expanded to include more Jihadist “Foot Soldiers” (rather than just identifiable terrorist leaders) and directed drone [...]
Here's the domestic legal news we covered this week: The Democratic National Committee (DNC) filed a lawsuit Friday against Donald Trump, Russia, Julian Assange, Wikileaks, and several Trump aids including Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and...
US Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) proposed a new bill Monday that would replace the 2001 and 2002 authorizations for use of military force (AUMF). The proposed legislation includes several new provisions including: the use...
On August 8, 2014 the US began airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq. The US has since expanded its operations into neighboring Syria. President Obama and his administration proceeded with the airstrike campaign without official congressional approval. Debate surrounding...
