National Security Law Commons^™

Piracy, Terrorism, And The Law: Differential Equations In Hostage Situations, Gabriel Hallevy

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Pirates have taken the crew of an American ship hostage. They promise to release the hostages only if another pirate who is held in an American prison for commission of piracy crimes against American citizens, is released. Should the U.S. government enter into negotiations with them? Should they send armed forces and risk the hostages? Should they release the prisoner immediately and unconditionally? The article models and analyzes possible policies regarding sensitive situations involving hostages and other related risks using differential equations. The solutions are surprisingly simple, but not necessarily intuitive. Our analysis aims to demonstrate how powerful mathematics is …

'Are We Doing The Right Thing?' Utilising Security Governance To Reform The Us Drone Program, Jane Minson

Theses

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, for counterterrorism purposes by the United States within its targeted killing program has been deeply controversial. Used in each presidential administration since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, drones have sparked debate, in part due to their contribution to civilian deaths; their killing of high-value terrorist targets including, on at least one occasion, a US citizen; and the heightened secrecy that has surrounded the program with little formal oversight and, as such, little accountability. This thesis uses this contextual framework – with a particular focus on the administration of President Barack …

Congressional Oversight Of Modern Warfare: History, Pathologies, And Proposals For Reform, Oona A. Hathaway, Tobias Kuehne, Randi Michel, Nicole Ng

William & Mary Law Review

Despite significant developments in the nature of twenty-first century warfare, Congress continues to employ a twentieth century oversight structure. Modern warfare tactics, including cyber operations, drone strikes, and special operations, do not neatly fall into congressional committee jurisdictions. Counterterrorism and cyber operations, which are inherently multi-jurisdictional and highly classified, illustrate the problem. In both contexts, over the past several years Congress has addressed oversight shortcomings by strengthening its reporting requirements, developing relatively robust oversight regimes. But in solving one problem, Congress has created another: deeply entrenched information silos that inhibit the sharing of information about modern warfare across committees. This …

New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. V. Bruen: Brief Of Amici Curiae Former National Security Officials In Support Of Respondents, Barbara L. Mcquade

Appellate Briefs

Amici are former federal national security and law enforcement officials who have significant experience protecting our communities from acts of terror and domestic extremist violence. Amici represent a broad cross section of the national security community, including former career and politically appointed officials from the National Security Council staff, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, National Counterterrorism Center, Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Department of State.<\p>

As experienced counterterrorism officials, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers, Amici understand that unfettered access to firearms poses a grave national …

Promotion And Protection Of Human Rights And Fundamental Freedoms While Countering Terrorism: Re-Education Camps, Sumaya S. Bamakhrama

University of San Francisco Law Review

No abstract provided.

Lessons From The Mueller Report, Part Ii: Bipartisan Perspectives: Hearing Before The H. Comm. On The Judiciary, 116th Cong., June 20, 2019 (Statement Of Carrie Cordero), Carrie F. Cordero

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

The Convergence Of The War On Terror And The War On Drugs: A Counter-Narcoterrorism Approach As A Policy Response, Lindsay Burton

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis investigates how and why U.S. policies and agencies are ill-equipped to respond to narco-terrorism and offers some policy recommendations for remedying that. Narco-terrorism is the merging of terrorism and drug trafficking. Terrorist organizations and narcotics traffickers each have much to offer the other; there is potential for symbiosis in the form of cooperation and even hybridization. Examination of the dynamics between terrorist organizations and drug traffickers, combined with an evaluation of the US responses to narcoterrorism in Colombia and Afghanistan, makes it clear that current US policy responses fail to recognize narcoterrorism as a unique challenge, and instead …

From Protecting Lives To Protecting States: Use Of Force Across The Threat Continuum, Milton C. Regan

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The increasing prominence in recent years of non-international armed conflicts that extend across state borders has strained the traditional legal categories that we use to regulate state use of force. Simultaneous with this phenomenon has been growing acceptance that human rights law and international humanitarian law should co-exist, with the former informing interpretations of the latter to varying degrees. Scholars continue to debate vigorously the implications of these developments and how these bodies of law should interact. As Kenneth Watkin’s book Fighting at the Legal Boundaries: Controlling the Use of Force in Contemporary Conflict observes, however, commanders have no choice …

United To Deter: Dealing With New Means Of Supporting Terror, Frank A. Florio

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Theory And Practice At The Intersection Between Human Rights And Humanitarian Law, Monica Hakimi

Reviews

The United States is more than fifteen years into a fight against terrorism that shows no sign of abating and, with the change in administration, appears to be intensifying. Other Western democracies that have historically been uneasy about U.S. counterterrorism policies have, in recent years, shifted toward those policies. And armed nonstate groups continue to commit large-scale acts of violence in multiple distinct theaters. The legal issues that these situations present are not entirely new, but neither are they going away. Recent publications, like the three works under review, thus provide useful opportunities to reflect on and refine our thinking …

How The War On Terror Is Transforming Private U.S. Law, Maryam Jamshidi

UF Law Faculty Publications

In thinking about the War on Terror’s impact on U.S. law, what most likely comes to mind are its corrosive effects on public law, including criminal law, immigration, and constitutional law. What is less appreciated is whether and how the fight against terrorism has also impacted private law. As this Article demonstrates, the War on Terror has had a negative influence on private law, specifically on torts, where it has upended long-standing norms, much as it has done in the public law context.

Case law construing the private right of action under the Antiterrorism Act of 1992, 18 U.S.C. § …

Deterrence & Security Assistance: The South China Sea, Tommy Ross

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article identifies how the United States can apply security assistance to support regional security in the South China Sea in order to counter China’s assertive expansion strategy.

Next Generation Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Law: Renewing 702, William C. Banks

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Security Council Resolution 2178 (2014): An Ineffective Response To The Foreign Terrorist Fighter Phenomenon, Cory Kopitzke

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Thousands of foreign terrorist fighters poured into the Middle East from almost every country across the globe. Radicalized by professionally edited videos and propaganda disseminated through the Internet, people from all walks of life were captivated by the Islamic State's rhetoric, and nations were struggling to figure out how to stop them. One solution came in the form of a United Nations Security Council Resolution- Resolution 2178 (2014). This resolution is directed specifically at foreign terrorist fighters and calls upon all Member States to act with haste to address this new phenomenon. Critics were quick to call into question the …

The Lawyers' War: Counterterrorism From Bush To Obama To Trump, Dawn E. Johnsen

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Obama's National Security Exceptionalism, Sudha Setty

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The label of national security exceptionalism fits the Obama administration in two ways: first, although the administration has actively sought to address and improve the protection of human rights and civil rights of racial minorities suffering disparate negative treatment in a variety of contexts, those moves toward rights protection generally do not extend to the realm of counterterrorism abuses, although almost all of those who have suffered from violations of human and civil rights in the post-9/11 counterterrorism context are racial and/or religious minorities. One of the justifications for this exceptionalism is based on the widespread view that national security …

Contemporary Practice Of The United States Relating To International Law, October 2016, Kristina Daugirdas, Julian Davis Mortenson

Articles

In this section: • Iran and United States Continue to Implement Nuclear Deal, Although Disputes Persist • United States Continues to Challenge Chinese Claims in South China Sea; Law of the Sea Tribunal Issues Award Against China in Philippines-China Arbitration • U.S. Navy Report Concludes That Iran’s 2015 Capture of U.S. Sailors Violated International Law • United States Justifies Its Use of Force in Libya Under International and National Law • U.S. Drone Strike Kills Taliban Leader in Pakistan • U.S. Government Releases Casualty Report, Executive Order, and Presidential Policy Guidance Related to Its Counterterrorism Strike Practices • The Department …

The Need To Refocus The U.S. Government's Post-9/11 Counter-Terrorist Financing Strategy Directed At Al Qaeda To Target The Funding Of Isis, Jimmy Gurulé

Journal Articles

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ("ISIS") is the most deadly and well-funded foreign terrorist organization in the world. There are estimates that ISIS has an annual budget of over $2 billion to finance its goal of establishing a caliphate, or Islamic state, governed by its twisted version of Islamic law.1 Flush with funds, the terror group has acquired and controls large swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq, and the threat it poses extends to Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Lebanon, and beyond. 2 While depriving ISIS of funding is a central component of the United States …

The United States, In Comparative Counter-Terrorism, Sudha Setty

Faculty Scholarship

The United States, like all other democratic nations that have suffered terrorist attacks, continues to struggle with questions of how to keep its population safe while maintaining the principles of democracy and the rule of law. This Book Chapter discusses the United States' counterterrorism policies, particularly since the September 11 terrorist attacks, and the resulting changes in societal viewpoints, political agendas, and the legal authority to combat terrorism and threats of terrorism.

The government’s aggressive counterterrorism stance has influenced actions and policies outside the United States. The Author’s exploration of counterterrorism policies in the United States include: criminal law and …

Defining The Battlefield In Contemporary Conflict And Counterterrorism: Understanding The Parameters Of The Zone Of Combat, Laurie R. Blank

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Identifying The Enemy In Counterterrorism Operations: A Comparison Of The Bush And Obama Administrations, Boaz Ganor

International Law Studies

Identifying the enemy plays a crucial role in providing the government with the authority needed to fight terrorism—from the authority to investigate threats to the authority to detain and use lethal force. The two administrations significantly differ in their understanding of the enemy, both at the organizational and individual levels. They also differ in their understanding of the boundaries of the battlefield. Ultimately, contrasting the policies adopted by the Bush and Obama administrations reveals that the early identification of the enemy by decision makers shaped the nature and scope of each administration’s counterterrorism strategies.

Country Report On Counterterrorism: United States Of America, Sudha Setty

Faculty Scholarship

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, led to profound changes in societal viewpoints, political agendas, and the legal authorization to combat terrorism. The United States continues to struggle with keeping its population safe while maintaining the principles of democracy and the rule of law essential to the nation’s character. The U.S. response to terrorism has been multifaceted and expansive, reflective of the U.S. role in global security; debate over these matters will continue for the foreseeable future.

This report, prepared for the American Society of Comparative Law, offers summary, analysis and critique of many aspects of counterterrorism law, including …

Beyond The Battlefield, Beyond Al Qaeda: The Destabilizing Legal Architecture Of Counterterrorism, Robert M. Chesney

Michigan Law Review

By the end of the first post-9/11 decade, the legal architecture associated with the U.S. government’s use of military detention and lethal force in the counterterrorism setting had come to seem relatively stable, supported by a remarkable degree of cross-branch and cross-party consensus (manifested by legislation, judicial decisions, and consistency of policy across two very different presidential administrations). That stability is certain to collapse during the second post-9/11 decade, however, thanks to the rapid erosion of two factors that have played a critical role in generating the recent appearance of consensus: the existence of an undisputed armed conflict in Afghanistan, …

Strategic Landpower And The Arabian Gulf, W. Andrew Terrill

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

The Law Of Armed Conflict, The Use Of Military Force, And The 2001 Authorization For Use Of Military Force : Hearing Before The S. Committee On Armed Services, 113th Cong., May 16, 2013 (Statement By Professor Rosa Brooks, Geo. U. L. Center), Rosa Brooks

Testimony Before Congress

Mr. Chairman, almost twelve years have gone by since the passage of the AUMF on September 14, 2001. The war in Afghanistan–-the longest war in U.S. history--has begun to wind down. But at the same time, a far more shadowy war has quietly accelerated.

The Constitutional And Counterterrorism Implications Of Targeted Killing : Hearing Before The S. Judiciary Subcomm. On The Constitution, Civil Rights, And Human Rights, 113th Cong., April 23, 2013 (Statement By Professor Rosa Brooks, Geo. U. L. Center), Rosa Brooks

Testimony Before Congress

Mr. Chairman, the mere mention of drones tends to arouse strong emotional reactions on both sides of the political spectrum, and last week's tragic events in Boston have raised the temperature still further. Some demonize drones, denouncing them for causing civilian deaths or enabling long-distance, "video game-like" killing, even as they ignore the fact that the same (or worse) could equally be said of many other weapons delivery systems. Others glorify drones, viewing them as a low- or no-cost way to "take out terrorists" wherever they may be found, with little regard for broader questions of strategy or the rule …

Book Reviews: Time Out Of Joint, Kenneth Anderson

Book Reviews

(reviewing War Time: An Idea, Its History, Its Consequences by Mary L. Dudziak) American University, WCL Research Paper No. 2013-10 Abstract: The meaning of time in war is the topic of legal historian Mary L. Dudziak's 2012 book. This extended review essay (30 pp) considers both on its own terms of cultural criticism, and then from the standpoint of rationalist and realist critics. The book's overall cultural claim is that time in war is its own category and has effects and meaning in war independent of the considerations of security, liberty, and necessity in war that are often thought to …

A Systems-Based Approach To Intelligence Reform, Austen Givens

Journal of Strategic Security

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 prompted the most comprehensive changes to the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) since its creation via the National Security Act of 1947. Recent structural and organizational reforms, such as efforts to enhance information sharing and recruit speakers of hard-target languages, have also triggered new challenges to successful transformation. In light of the systemic problems facing the IC, this paper argues that systems engineering, a discipline increasingly useful in organizational change, offers a more efficient, holistic approach to the intelligence reform process than the status quo. Systems engineering views the IC as an integrated and …

Deterring And Dissuading Nuclear Terrorism, John J. Klein

Journal of Strategic Security

While nuclear deterrence theory may be well-suited to dealing with nuclear-armed states, its suitability for deterring nuclear terrorism has frequently been questioned since 9/11. While terrorist organizations do not necessarily act uniformly or according to the same underlying beliefs, many of the most aggressive organizations are motivated by an ideology that embraces martyrdom and an apocalyptic vision.1 This ideology may be based on religion or a desire to overthrow a government. Consequently, terrorists motivated by ideology who intend to use a stolen or improvised nuclear device against the United States or its interests may not care about the resulting military …

Policy Intervention In Fata: Why Discourse Matters, Nazya Fiaz Dr.

Journal of Strategic Security

Despite years of wide-scale counterterrorism measures in Pakistan's FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas), the injection of substantial funds, and the "close" collaboration between the United States and Pakistan, the ugly truth is that the extremism and militancy in FATA continues to recruit members. Moreover, there is little indication that the killing of Usama bin Ladin will have any significant effect on reducing support for militancy. While taking stock of these realities, this article will not seek to rehash the many successes and failures of the counterterrorist operations in FATA. Instead, its purpose will be to argue that while the causes …