The functional arguments in support of the killing of Al-Awlaki — that he posed substantial, verified threats to the United States and could not reasonably be apprehended and placed on trial — seem fairly strong. There is a different sort … Read more »
There is much discussion today about the apparent decision of the Obama Administration to ignore the provision in the War Powers Resolution that requires that the President either terminate the use of military force or obtain congressional authorization after 60 … Read more »
The Supreme Court recently granted review in a case, Zivotofsky v. Secretary of State, that concerns the scope of the President’s power to recognize foreign governments. This case is the latest iteration of a recurring dispute between Congress and … Read more »
Ross Douthat, a columnist for the New York Times, has an interesting op-ed today in which he notes that President Obama’s foreign policy is similar to that of President Bush’s but is subject to less of an institutional check, see … Read more »
In a recent post, Bobby raised the question of what impact, if any, Bin Laden’s death would have on the legal effect of the Authorization for Use of Military Force, or “AUMF.” As I noted in a post… Read more »
After giving myself a day to reflect on Bin Laden’s death, here are a few thoughts that occurred to me.
First, the killing of Bin Laden is obviously a significant development in the conflict with Al Qaeda, and a major … Read more »
I have recently blogged about two issues: whether congressional authorization is required as a constitutional matter for U.S. involvement in military operations such as the one in Libya, see here and here, and whether modern technology (such as unmanned … Read more »
The press coverage today of the leaked files concerning the Guantanamo detainees provides a dramatic contrast with public discussions over the operations in Libya. The focus on the detainees is agonizingly particularized and personal. By contrast, we know nothing about … Read more »
In my discussion earlier this week of some of the problems with relying on historical practice to support a constitutional claim of presidential authority to initiate military operations without congressional authorization, I focused on two broad positions in the war … Read more »
We at Duke University are initiating a year-long project in which a number of us will be considering and discussing the relationship between law and custom. In connection with that project, I have started thinking about the role of … Read more »
