Military, War, and Peace Commons^™

Operation Nation-Building: How International Humanitarian Law Left Afghanistan Open On The Operating Table, Nina Griscelli

University of Miami Law Review

Military campaigns often carry with them official names and underpinning objectives. In Afghanistan, these campaigns were known as Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, and later, in 2015, as Operation Freedom Sentinel. In total, the United States and its allies remained in Afghan territory for 7,268 days, twenty years, in support of the “Global War on Terror.” Within that time, the democratic construction of a “free” Afghan society—also known as nation-building, regime change, or transformative military occupation—deeply transformed the status quo of the population. To the West, “Operation Nation-Building” became the most strategic and “hopeful alternative to the vision of the …

The Faces Of War: Reintroducing Women's Narratives In War, Robin Makena Peterson

CMC Senior Theses

Women take part in every war, but their accomplishments are mostly unacknowledged in the thousands of war stories told in the aftermath which tend to valorize men’s contributions as political leaders and soldiers. This erasure of women’s experience’s and agency in war holds true for war in Afghanistan, as well. This thesis identifies the gendered narratives told in books, movies, television shows, and the media but then offers, in contrast, narratives of Afghan and American women’s action during the forty years of war in Afghanistan. By sharing and contextualizing women’s stories, this paper strikes a blow against women’s erasure from …

Law As Strategy: Thinking Below The State In Afghanistan, Charles H. Norchi

International Law Studies

In Doha, Qatar the government of the United States has conducted successive rounds of negotiations with a non-State, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban) over the future of a State that was not present—the Government of Afghanistan. Regardless of the outcome, the United States will retain a national security interest in Afghanistan and the region. Contextually nuanced strategic choices will be critical and law could be a key strategy. This article identifies relevant Afghan history—a collective longue durée—appraises the severable sovereignty of the Afghan State, and underscores the imperative of working below the State. Drawing on a 1952 …

Dogs Of War Get A New Lease On Life: Why The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act Violates The Eighth Amendment In Light Of United States V. Slatten, Michael D. Stinnett-Kassoff

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

The United States has relied on Private Military Firms (PMFs) extensively to carry out its numerous overseas military missions since the end of the Cold War. Civilians and contractors have always had a place in American wars, even during the American Revolution and beyond. But the recent American incursions into Afghanistan and Iraq brought an unprecedented number of private contractors into the forefront of these conflict zones, the discussions surrounding them, and the legal questions arising from their ashes. Particularly, private contractors in Iraq seemed to be operating in a legal grey area—they clearly were not soldiers, and they clearly …

The Durand Line: Analysis Of The Legal Status Of The Disputed Afghanistan-Pakistan Frontier, Bijan Omrani

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

During War, The Law Is Silent, Or Is It: Examining The Legal Status Of Guantanomo Bay, Kate Frisch

Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business

Instead, I argue that international human rights law precludes the existence of any "legal black hole." Human rights law protects the rights and liberties of individuals purely based on their status as human beings, regardless of their location. Therefore, an individual's rights cannot be suspended. As a result, it must be the responsibility of the entity that holds custody and control over the individual to protect those rights. In order to enforce the protection of human rights, international responsibilities stemming from treaties that have solidified the individual nature of the rights must be used as an instrument for enforcement to …

Practical Considerations For The Development Of Legal Standards For Intervention, Michael J. Matheson

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Boundless War: Challenging The Notion Of A Global Armed Conflict Against Al-Qaeda And Its Affiliates, Andrew Beshai

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

The U.S. military response to the 9/11 attacks has expanded into a “global war” without a definite geographic scope. Both the Bush and Obama administrations have executed attacks in several countries including Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen under the “global war” paradigm. This Article challenges the concept of a global armed conflict, instead favoring the “epicenter-of-hostilities” framework for determining the legality of military action against Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and other terrorist groups. This approach, rooted in established international law, measures the existence of specific criteria in each nation where hostile forces are present to determine if an armed conflict in …

Contemporary Practice Of The United States Relating To International Law, Kristina Daugirdas, Julian Davis Mortenson

Articles

In this section: United States Objects to Russia’s Continued Violations of Ukraine’s Territorial Sovereignty, Including by Convoys Purporting to Provide Humanitarian Aid • United States and Afghanistan Sign Bilateral Security Agreement • United States Announces “Changes and Confirmations” in Its Interpretation of the UNConvention Against Torture • United States and China Make Joint Announcement to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Bolstering Multilateral Climate Change Negotiations • United States Deepens Its Engagement with ISIL Conflict • NATO Affirms that Cyber Attacks May Trigger Collective Defense Obligations

Mercenaries, Myrmidons, And Missionaries, Robert Bejesky

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rethinking The Role And Regulation Of Private Military Companies: What The United States And United Kingdom Can Learn From Shared Experiences In The War On Terror, A. Grayson Irvin

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Contemporary Practice Of The United States Relating To International Law, Kristina Daugirdas, Julian Davis Mortenson

Articles

United States Negotiates Prisoner Exchange to Secure Release of U.S. Soldier Held in Afghanistan • United States Refuses to Grant Visa to Iranian UN Envoy • Multilateral Naval Code of Conduct Aims to Prevent Unintended Conflict in Contested Areas of East and South China Seas • Senate Approves Treaties to Regulate Fishing • United States Indicts Chinese Military Officials for Economic Espionage • U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Terminate Long-Running Efforts to Force Argentina to Pay Defaulted Sovereign Debt • United States Condemns Uganda’s Antigay Law as Violating Human Rights • President Barack Obama Certifies That U.S. Peacekeepers in Mali …

Contemporary Practice Of The United States Relating To International Law, Kristina Daugirdas, Julian Davis Mortenson

Articles

• Progress Is Made Implementing U.S.-Russia Framework for Eliminating Syrian Chemical Weapons • United States Advocates for Syrian Peace Conference • United States Extends Deadline for Signing of Bilateral Security Agreement with Afghanistan • China Announces New Air Defense Identification Zone over East China Sea, Prompting U.S. Response • United States and Six Other States Reach Interim Agreement on Iranian Nuclear Program

The Janus Moon Rising - Why 2014 Heralds United States' Detention Policy On A Collision Course...With Itself, Chris Jenks

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

2014 will serve as a test of the United States’ claims that its detention policy is consistent with the law of armed conflict (LOAC). If, as President Obama has repeatedly stated, U.S. involvement in the armed conflict in Afghanistan will end this year, then any LOAC based detention of belligerents linked solely to that conflict ends as well. That should mean the release or transfer of members of the Taliban currently detained at Guantanamo. It won’t.

American Exceptionalism And The International Law Of Self-Defense, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Mary Ellen O'Connell

No abstract provided.

Painting Ourselves Into A Corner: The Fundamental Paradoxes Of Modern Warfare In Al Maqaleh V. Gates, Ashley C. Nikkel

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Law And Policy Implications Of 'Baited Ambushes' Utilizing Enemy Dead And Wounded, Chris Jenks

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

When a state's armed forces is engaged in hostilities, how long after an engagement or firefight before the international humanitarian law requirement to search for and care for the wounded and find and bury the dead is triggered? This military practitioner's note discusses the legal and policy implications of 'baited ambushes,' the practice of utilizing wounded and dead enemies as the bait for follow on forces, which are then engaged.

A Human Rights-Oriented Approach To Military Operations, Federico Sperotto

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Counterinsurgency is the dominant aspect of US operations in Afghanistan, and since ISAF—the NATO-led security and assistance force—has assumed growing security responsibility throughout the country, it is also a mission for the Europeans.1 The frame in which military operations are conducted is irregular warfare, a form of conflict which differs from conventional operations in two main aspects. First, it is warfare among and within the people. Second, it is warfare in which insurgents avoid a direct military confrontation, using instead unconventional methods and terrorist tactics.

© Federico Sperotto. All rights reserved.

This paper may be freely circulated in electronic or …

Afghanistan And International Security, Adam Roberts

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Extraordinary Rendition: A Wrong Without A Right, Robert Johnson

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Law Of Armed Conflict And Detention Operations In Afghanistan, Matthew C. Waxman

Faculty Scholarship

In reflecting on the arc of US and coalition detention operations in Afghanistan, three key issues related to the law of armed conflict stand out: one substantive, one procedural and one policy. The substantive matter – what are the minimum baseline treatment standards required as a matter of international law? – has clarified significantly during the course of operations there, largely as a result of the US Supreme Court's holding in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. The procedural matter – what adjudicative processes does international law require for determining who may be detained? – eludes consensus and has become more controversial …

Preemption By Armed Force Of Trans-Boundry Terrorist Threats: The Russian Perspective, Bakhtiyar R. Tuzmukhamedov

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act And Its Implications For Private Military Companies, Dustin M. Tipling

ExpressO

Private Military Companies (PMCs) are civilian staffed corporations that provide military (and law enforcement) services, logistics, and support under contract to a government both inside and outside the country’s borders. Prior to Congress passing the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, U.S. courts lacked jurisdiction to prosecute civilians accompanying United States’ Armed Forces overseas. This article will specifically address how the United States exercises jurisdiction and prosecutes the civilian employees of PMCs in United States courts for crimes they have committed in foreign countries while working under contract to the United States government.

Neotrusteeship In Afghanistan, Melanie Kawano

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Afghanistan is currently under the tentative rule of an international administration, or neotrusteeship, thereby restricting its national sovereignty. However, self-determination and nonintervention have never been persistent features of Afghanistan. Foreign interventions, invasions and great power showdowns on its territory have made a truly autonomous Afghan state a shortlived phenomenon. The outcome at each stage of Afghan history has been an unstable state that seems to invite even more external involvement.

Democratization In Afghanistan, Chris Rowe

Human Rights & Human Welfare

What determines whether a specific country embarks on the road to democracy, if it completes that voyage successfully, and finally consolidates democratic values, practices, and institutions? Analysts have debated these issues for decades and have identified a number of historical, structural, and cultural variables that help account for the establishment of successful democracies in some countries and its absence in others. Frequently cited prerequisites for democracy include social and economic modernization; a large and vibrant middle class; and cultural norms and values relating to politics.

Human Rights And Post-War Reconstruction: Introduction, Roberto Belloni

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The expression “post-war reconstruction,” commonly adopted by both practitioners and academics, is somewhat misleading. Reconstruction does not entail rebuilding or return to the pre– war state of affairs as the expression seems to suggest. Rather, reconstruction involves difficult multiple transitions: from war to peace, from a state to a market economy, and from authoritarianism to democracy. Each transition taken by itself would be daunting. Taken together, they can be almost overwhelming.

Afghanistan, Greg Sanders

Human Rights & Human Welfare

After September 11, Afghanistan became the first battleground of the War on Terror when the Taliban government refused to turn over Osama Bin Laden and other Al Qaeda members. Human rights concerns about these events fall in two areas. First, did the United States violate human rights when it launched Operation Enduring Freedom to overthrow the Taliban and during the subsequent occupation? Second, have the occupation forces and new regime of under the leadership of Hamid Karzai done enough to improve the previously miserable human rights situation in Afghanistan?

State-Building In Afghanistan, Melanie Kawano, Amy Mcguire

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Since the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan in late 2001, Afghan citizens and members of the global community have been grappling with the question of how to build a state that can fill the void created by decades of conflict and violence. However, the concept of “state-building” is complex. The term describes both an internal process and international assistance; it requires short-term action as well as a long-term vision. While no precise formula for state-building exists, there are historical precedents and “models” of state-building expressed by great powers and multilaterals. In reality, however, these are based on best guesses that fail …

The Status Of Detainees From The Iraq And Afghanistan Conflicts, Srividhya Ragavan, Michael S. Mireles

Faculty Scholarship

The paper is premised on the idea that the future course of international law will be impacted by the United States' ability to adhere to international treaties to which it is a signatory. Hence, the current administration bears a responsibility to avoid unwisely stretching, distorting, or avoiding the principles of international law for short-term gain in a manner that jeopardizes long-term sustainable policy. The United States should be wary of creating a dangerous precedent - not only for the world, but for itself. If the United States shirks from or misinterprets international legal principles, it leaves the forum open for …

International Law And The Pre-Emptive Use Of Force: Afghanistan, Al-Qaida, And Iraq, Christopher Greenwood

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article will review the legal framework on the use of force and suggest that there are cases in which the use of "preemptive force" may be justified, provided that certain important conditions are satisfied. Parts III and IV will then apply this analysis to the two cases that have focused attention on the whole issue of preemptive action, namely, the threat from international terrorism (Part III) and the situation in Iraq (Part IV). The writer's conclusions are summarized in Part V.