Features

By James Moxness– Former Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism and the newest member of the NSJ Advisory Board, Juan Zarate, gave a lecture last week at Harvard Law School entitled “Whither the Arab Spring?” concerning the recent political upheaval in the Middle East, what it means for U.S. counter-terrorism policy, and the future of Al Qaeda. The unrest that has spread throughout the Middle East, originating in Tunisia and in short order emerging in Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, and now Syria (with perhaps other states to come), presents a serious messaging problem for Al Qaeda. As shown by […]

Now that indefinite, unreviewable military detention at Guantanamo is no longer an option, policymakers will have to decide whether and how to detain suspected terrorists.

President Obama announced that in an operation involving U.S. Navy SEALs, Osama bin Laden has been killed and his body recovered by U.S. forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The President’s remarks can be read here. For continuing updates on the U.S. operation and its consequences for the battle against Al Qaeda, follow the Lawfare blog. Three NSJ Advisory Board members address the legal and strategic implications of Bin Laden’s death. John B. Bellinger provides a legal justification for the U.S. special forces operation that led to the killing. Juan Zarate weighs in on the strategic implications of the killing for the

By Brian Itami — On April 1, 2010, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) upheld Russian preliminary objections in its dispute with Georgia over the application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) with regards to the 2008 conflict in South Ossetia. Georgia filed an application with the ICJ on August 12, 2008, four days after Russian forces entered South Ossetia and the same day on which Russian President Dimitry Medvedev agreed in principle to a European Union-negotiated ceasefire. The suit alleged Russian ethnic cleansing in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, violations of the

Brig. Gen. Martins delivered these remarks as part of the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series at Harvard Law School on April 18, 2011, upon receiving the Harvard Law School Medal of Freedom. By Mark Martins*– Click here to read the full text as a PDF Click here to view the accompanying slides Good afternoon.  Thank you for those gracious remarks, Dean Minow.  And thanks to all of you for that warm welcome.  It is a thrill and a privilege to be back home here in Cambridge, in such distinguished company, and following such accomplished prior recipients of this Medal. If I

By Steven G. Bradbury — Click here to read the full text of the Keynote Address Steven G. Bradbury provides a legal analysis of U.S. defensive and offensive cyber operations in his keynote address for the 2011 National Security Journal Symposium, “Cybersecurity: Law, Privacy, and Warfare in a Digital World.”   Image courtesy of the U.S. Air Force