Over at Opinio Juris, Deborah Pearlstein says that “it’s disheartening to see conversation already turning to old, old debates about interrogation.” Pearlstein is upset because certain people (including us) have suggested that the fact that key pieces of information leading … Read more »

Yesterday I posted some initial thoughts on whether the UBL operation constituted a “covert action” for statutory purposes.  If so, the operation would require a presidential finding and notificiation to the SSCI and HPSCI. I argued that the operation was … Read more »

This article by Thomas Darnstädt, published online by Der Speigel, is getting a lot of attention today.  The thrust of the piece is captured by the tagline at the top: “Is this what justice looks like? ….Americans are celebrating, … Read more »

This morning I read Curt’s thoughtful piece reflecting on the news of Osama bin Laden’s death and how the news was received in various demonstrations across the country. I respectfully disagreed with some of his points–and I wanted to say … 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 »

The other night, with CNN reporting very tentatively that the Bin Laden operation had likely been a drone strike, Bobby and I got a little ahead of ourselves. Bobby said that it will “be interesting indeed to see how [drone] … Read more »

…albeit less directly than the AP, that some of the key the initial strands of intelligence came out of the CIA system. The Times reports:

Last night, an official said that “detainees” had identified a few years ago the

… Read more »

…that, as I speculated this morning, the original leads for what became the Bin Laden operation developed in the CIA’s secret prison’s program. The report reads:

Watching CNN last night, I was astounded to hear Peter Bergen assert that the death of UBL means the end of the war on terrorism (anyone have this on video?).  That is an extraordinary overstatement, as Daniel Byman explains here… Read more »

I recommend that Lawfare readers spend some time absorbing the entirety of this press briefing last night by “senior administration officials.” In particular, the following passage stands out and suggests that the full story here may–and I want to stress … Read more »

THE PRESIDENT:  Good evening.  Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for … Read more »

…that:

1) He directed CIA to make killing or capture of Bin Laden top priority of war against Al Qaeda;
2) Last August, he was briefed on a possible lead on Bin Laden, hiding within a compound deep inside Pakistan. … Read more »

CNN now seems more confident of Pakistani participation in the operation.

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CNN is reporting Bin Laden killed in a mansion near Islamabad, which would seem dramatically to reinforce perceptions that he has had some measure of protection or, at least, blind eye from Pakistani intelligence. On the other hand, CNN is … Read more »

This keeps getting more interesting.  A moment ago I raised the question how critics would respond if this proved to be a drone strike.  Now someone on CNN says it was a “human operation”.  Same legal questions, however. [UPDATE: Perhaps … Read more »

[SECOND UPDATE: Not a drone strike, and probably not a test of the legal questions raised by drones...see here.]

The President has not yet spoken to the public, but early reports indicate that UBL was killed by missile strike … Read more »

…says CNN.

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CNN reporting. President to speak momentarily.

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