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Full-Text Articles in Law

Kill-Lists And Accountability, Greg Mcneal Dec 2012

Kill-Lists And Accountability, Greg Mcneal

Greg McNeal

This article is a comprehensive examination of the U.S. practice of targeted killings. It is based in part on field research, interviews, and previously unexamined government documents. The article fills a gap in the literature, which to date lacks sustained scholarly analysis of the accountability mechanisms associated with the targeted killing process. The article makes two major contributions: 1) it provides the first qualitative empirical accounting of the targeted killing process, beginning with the creation of kill-lists extending through the execution of targeted strikes; 2) it provides a robust analytical framework for assessing the accountability mechanisms associated with those processes. …


Are Targeted Killings Unlawful? A Case Study In Empirical Claims Without Empirical Evidence, Greg Mcneal Dec 2011

Are Targeted Killings Unlawful? A Case Study In Empirical Claims Without Empirical Evidence, Greg Mcneal

Greg McNeal

Critics of the U.S. policy of targeted killing by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) generally lack credible information to justify their critiques. In fact, in many circumstances their claims are easily refuted, calling into question the reliability of their criticisms. This chapter highlights some of the most striking examples of inaccurate claims raised by critics of the U.S. policy of drone based targeted killing. Specifically, this chapter offers a much needed corrective to clarify the public record or offer empirical nuance where targeted killing critics offer only unsubstantiated and conclusory statements of fact and law. Section I of this …


New Approaches To Reducing And Mitigating Harm To Civilians, Greg Mcneal Dec 2011

New Approaches To Reducing And Mitigating Harm To Civilians, Greg Mcneal

Greg McNeal

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan highlighted the strategic importance of the U.S. commitment to civilian protection. Both wars were eventually fought as a counterinsurgency (COIN) and both revealed how protecting civilians is a central feature of COIN. This chapter examines the importance of civilian casualty mitigation in U.S. counterinsurgency operations, it describes the theoretical and practical lessons learned regarding civilian casualties and situates them in a broader strategic context. The chapter also describes the U.S. military’s newest doctrinal publication aimed specifically at preventing and mitigating harm to civilians. The chapter concludes noting that protecting the population and winning hearts …


The Federal Protective Power And Targeted Killing Of U.S. Citizens, Greg Mcneal May 2011

The Federal Protective Power And Targeted Killing Of U.S. Citizens, Greg Mcneal

Greg McNeal

In this responsive essay I argue that the Constitution envisions circumstances when the president may order U.S. citizens to be killed. It may be akin to the facts in al-Awlaki, where one is actively making war against the United States, or it may be in lesser circumstances that threaten the instruments of federal power. A settled example where a killing was authorized to protect the federal government was in Cunningham v. Neagle, 135 U.S. 1 (1890), there the Court addressed the killing of a U.S. citizen by Neagle, a federal marshal who was dispatched to protect Justice Field from an …


The U.S. Practice Of Collateral Damage Estimation And Mitigation, Greg Mcneal Dec 2010

The U.S. Practice Of Collateral Damage Estimation And Mitigation, Greg Mcneal

Greg McNeal

This paper explains how the U.S. military estimates and mitigates the impact of conventional weapons on collateral persons and objects in most military operations involving air-to-surface weapons and artillery. It is the descriptive part of a larger work discussing the normative implications of U.S. targeting practices. In recent years, an entire body of academic literature and policy commentary has been based on an incomplete understanding of how the U.S. conducts military operations. The literature is incomplete because U.S. practices are shrouded in secrecy and largely inaccessible. As a result commentators have lacked a descriptive foundation to analyze and critique U.S. …


The Status Quo Bias And Counterterrorism Detention, Greg Mcneal Dec 2010

The Status Quo Bias And Counterterrorism Detention, Greg Mcneal

Greg McNeal

Counterterrorism detention policy in the United States is a mess. Commentators on both sides of the political spectrum have decried the U.S. approach. Those on the left have criticized the arbitrary and unfair nature of U.S. policy; they argue that detention policy has unfairly trampled on the rights of individuals, producing results that are inconsistent and, perhaps, counterproductive, especially in the eyes of U.S. allies and the Muslim world. Others have approached this question from a security perspective, decrying the granting of privileges to those who fail to follow the rules of civilized nations yet then demand the protection of …


A Cup Of Coffee After The Waterboard: Seemingly Voluntary Post-Abuse Statements, Greg Mcneal Dec 2009

A Cup Of Coffee After The Waterboard: Seemingly Voluntary Post-Abuse Statements, Greg Mcneal

Greg McNeal

This symposium article focuses on the impact that abusive and coercive interrogation techniques will have on the admissibility of statements derived from non-abusive, non-coercive interviews. Were subsequent, legal, and humane interviews indelibly impacted by the "taint of torture" regardless of how they were conducted? Accordingly, are statements made in those subsequent non-coercive settings inadmissible on voluntariness grounds? This article first details the coercive interrogation techniques authorized against suspected terrorists detained in Guantanamo Bay Cuba. Next, the article details the changing circumstances of detainee custody and treatment to set the stage for a discussion of whether earlier abuses, if corroborated, will …


Organizational Culture, Professional Ethics, And Guantanamo, Greg Mcneal Dec 2008

Organizational Culture, Professional Ethics, And Guantanamo, Greg Mcneal

Greg McNeal

In this symposium essay I draw attention to the intersection between the social scientific literature on organizational culture and the legal ethics literature. Drawing from the organizational theory literature I detail a framework for assessing organizational culture and explain how organizational culture reflects more than rules and structure within an organization, but rather represents deeper values, practices, and ways of thinking. While organizational culture is difficult to change, it can be modified or sustained through power, status, rewards, and other mechanisms. After establishing a baseline for assessing organizational culture I highlight efforts by the Bush administration to exercise control over …


Cyber Embargo: Countering The Internet Jihad, Gregory S. Mcneal Apr 2008

Cyber Embargo: Countering The Internet Jihad, Gregory S. Mcneal

Greg McNeal

Terrorists are engaged in an online jihad, characterized by the use of the internet to fundraise, distribute messages and directives, recruit and proselytize. It is impossible to shut down the entire presence of terrorists on the internet; however, this article details a proposal which can have a marked impact on the presence of terrorists on the internet. Using existing statutes, it is possible to regionalize terrorist websites, limiting them to an extremely small number of countries from which they may receive internet services. Once the terrorist message is limited to a particular region, a modification of current laws can allow …


Beyond Guantanamo, Obstacles And Options, Greg Mcneal Dec 2007

Beyond Guantanamo, Obstacles And Options, Greg Mcneal

Greg McNeal

The essay focuses on the structure of the military commission system, to date left largely unaltered by Boumediene, but which Congressional reformers will need to modify in order to ensure fair trials. In Part 1, I identify three specific structural reforms necessary to improve military commissions. In Part 2, I focus on obstacles created by the current commissions system which will affect the ability of Congressional reformers to abolish military commissions or transition to national security courts.


Beyond Guantanamo, Military Commissions And National Security Courts: Options And Obstacles, Gregory S. Mcneal Dec 2007

Beyond Guantanamo, Military Commissions And National Security Courts: Options And Obstacles, Gregory S. Mcneal

Greg McNeal

After the Supreme Court’s Hamdan decision Congress passed The Military Commissions Act of 2006 intended in part to remedy the structural shortcomings in prior military commissions created by Presidential Military Order. Implementing the Military Commissions Act has proven more difficult than reformers imagined. Most recently military commissions observers witnessed the high profile resignation of the system’s chief prosecutor, and Congress has recently held a series of hearings regarding the future of terrorism trials. These developments led some to question the long-term vitality of military commissions and others to propose the formation of a national security court. This essay seeks to …


Snatch And Grab Ops: Justifying Extraterritorial Abduction, Gregory Mcneal, Brian Field Feb 2007

Snatch And Grab Ops: Justifying Extraterritorial Abduction, Gregory Mcneal, Brian Field

Greg McNeal

The United States government is actively engaged in a search for individuals believed to have killed American citizens and destroyed American property. As most of these individuals live openly in foreign states hostile to the United States, achieving extradition often proves impossible. Despite repeated diplomatic efforts to secure the transfer of these terrorists to America, many continue to operate in foreign states under the protection of the host country's continued denial of the terrorist's presence within their borders. The problem of bringing these individuals to justice is further complicated by the fact that the United States is rarely able to …


Show Trial Or Real Trial? A Digest Of The Evidence Submitted During The Prosecution's Case-In-Chief At The Dujail Trial Of The Iraqi High Tribunal, Greg Mcneal Dec 2005

Show Trial Or Real Trial? A Digest Of The Evidence Submitted During The Prosecution's Case-In-Chief At The Dujail Trial Of The Iraqi High Tribunal, Greg Mcneal

Greg McNeal

During the trial of Saddam Hussein evidence was largely ignored by media coverage. The media's focus on controversial judicial rulings, assassinations of defense counsel, resignation of judges, scathing outbursts, allegations of mistreatment, hunger strikes, and even underwear appearances ignored the fact that the Prosecution meticulously built a compelling case against Saddam and his seven co-defendants. This essay provides a detailed précis of the evidence submitted during the Prosecution's case-in-chief. It includes an analysis of the testimony of the three-dozen witnesses, the surprising admissions of defendants Saddam Hussein and Barzan al-Tikriti, and the numerous Exhibits that have been admitted into evidence. …


Unfortunate Legacies: Hearsay, Ex Parte Affidavits And Anonymous Witnesses At The Iht, Greg Mcneal Dec 2005

Unfortunate Legacies: Hearsay, Ex Parte Affidavits And Anonymous Witnesses At The Iht, Greg Mcneal

Greg McNeal

This brief essay was part of a symposium entitled Fairness and Evidence in War Crimes Trials. To mark the commencement of the first international criminal trials taking place at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, this special issue was devoted to the question whether a person facing charges for war crimes or crimes against humanity can receive a fair trial on the evidence. The Editors of ICE asked a number of experts in the field of international criminal law and evidence, including judges, practitioners, and academics, to submit short pieces on this topic. Unfortunate Legacies Details how The Iraqi …