Author name: harvardnsj

Main Articles, Volume 14

Symbiotic Security and Free Speech

Michael J. Glennon [*] [Full text of this Article in PDF is available at this link] Introduction It has long been axiomatic that the Constitution limits only action by the state. Private actors cannot abridge freedom of speech; only the government can be charged with that. It has more recently become accepted that the government’s own speech is insulated from constitutional constraints; government could hardly promote its policies if it were limited, say, by First Amendment viewpoint neutrality requirements. The “state action doctrine” and the “government speech doctrine,” so-called, are now settled principles of American constitutionalism. Whether the speaker is […]

Main Volumes

Advantaging Aggressors: Justice & Deterrence in International Law

By Paul H. Robinson* & Adil Ahmad Haque** — Click here to read the full text of the Article Current international law imposes limitations on the use of force to defend against unlawful aggression that improperly advantage unlawful aggressors and disadvantage their victims. The Article gives examples of such rules, governing a variety of situations, showing how clearly unjust they can be. No domestic criminal law system would tolerate their use. There are good practical reasons why international law should care that its rules are perceived as unjust. Given the lack of an effective international law enforcement mechanism, compliance depends

Main Volumes

Demystifying the Title 10-Title 50 Debate: Distinguishing Military Operations, Intelligence Activities & Covert Action

By Andru E. Wall* — Click here to read the full text of the Article Modern warfare requires close integration of military and intelligence forces. The Secretary of Defense possesses authorities under Title 10 and Title 50 and is best suited to lead US government operations against external unconventional and cyber threats. Titles 10 and 50 create mutually supporting, not mutually exclusive, authorities. Operations conducted under military command and control pursuant to a Secretary of Defense-issued execute order are military operations and not intelligence activities. Attempts by congressional overseers to redefine military preparatory operations as intelligence activities are legally and

Uncategorized

Goldsmith & Heymann Debate Options for KSM

Click here to listen to the full debate By Mat Trachok, NSJ Staff Editor – On April 19th, Professors Jack Goldsmith and Phil Heymann of Harvard Law School debated what the Obama administration should do with alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM).  According to both Goldsmith and Heymann, the United States has three options available: it can try KSM before a military commission, it can try him in a civilian court, or it can continue to hold him in military detention.  Both professors agreed that trying KSM before a military commission was the worst option.  However, they also agreed

Features

Unmanned Robotics & New Warfare: A Pilot/Professor’s Perspective

By Mary L. Cummings – As the director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Humans and Automation Laboratory, I was asked to comment from a technologist’s perspective at the recent symposium Drone Warfare: New Robotics & Targeted Killings on the panel  “Unmanned Robotics & New Warfare.”  My perspective is unique in that not only do I conduct millions of dollars of research in the development of technologies to enable one or more humans to control unmanned vehicles (i.e., robots) more easily, but I also look at these issues from the perspective of having flown advanced fighters in the U.S. Navy,

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