Philip Alston, former UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, has written a fascinating article on targeted killings. The full text of the article is available here.

Volume 3, Issue 1 of the Harvard National Security Journal is now available online. The articles will be available on Westlaw and HeinOnline shortly.  

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 […]

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 […]

By Jerry Brito* & Tate Watkins** — Click here to read the full text of the Article There has been no shortage of attention devoted to cybersecurity, with a wide range of experts warning of potential doomsday scenarios should the government not act to better secure the Internet. But this is not the first time we have been warned of […]

By Steven M. Bellovin*, Scott O. Bradner**, Whitfield Diffie***, Susan Landau****, and Jennifer Rexford***** — Click here to read the full text of the Article In an effort to protect its computer systems from malevolent actors, the U.S. government has developed a series of intrusion-detection and intrusion- prevention systems aimed at monitoring and screening traffic between the internet and government […]

The Obama administration has publicly accused Iran of plotting to kill Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Washington. Why?

The full complexity, benefits, and costs of the regulatory state, especially as they relate to national security, are too infrequently discussed or appreciated publicly in the United States.

On September 30, a United States drone strike in northern Yemen killed Anwar al-Aulaqi, an influential and American-born member of al-Qaeda. Al-Aulaqi is believed to have inspired several successful and attempted terrorist attacks, including the Fort Hood shooting in 2009 and the Times Square bomb attempt in 2010. There is a great deal of debate about the legal and policy […]

After a months-long investigation involving dozens of interviews with local and federal officials, the Associated Press has found that, since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the New York Police Department has transformed into one of the “most aggressive domestic intelligence agencies” in the United States, through its covert operations in Muslim neighborhoods designed to root out terrorist plots.