Counterterrorism
Did Al-Shabaab Attempt a 9/11-Style Aircraft Attack Targeting the United States?
Robert Chesney Wed, Dec 16, 2020, 2:09 PM
Three questions raised by the capture of Cholo Abdi Abdullah.
Latest in Al Shabaab
Somalia
American Hybrid Warfare: Somalia as a Case Study in the Real American Way of War in 2016
Robert Chesney Mon, Oct 17, 2016, 7:06 AM
The front page of the New York Times carried a story this Sunday that would have commanded the news cycle many years ago. It describes in previously-unappreciated detail the complex nature and large scale of the U.S.
PPG
DOD Airstrike in Somalia: Still Wondering About the PPG's Application
Robert Chesney Wed, Jun 1, 2016, 3:33 PM
DOD has announced an airstrike on an al Shabaab official in Somalia:
War Powers
Do the Strikes on al Shabaab Stretch the AUMF or The Unit Self-defense Doctrine?
Erica Gaston Fri, Mar 18, 2016, 10:00 AM
Charlie Savage’s piece on the legal basis for the March 5 U.S. strike against an al Shabaab training camp, which allegedly killed 150 fighters, raises the intriguing question of whether the AUMF has been stretched yet again, this time to justify U.S. operations against al Shabaab as a whole.
Somalia
Boots on the Ground in Somalia: Acting "By, With, and Through" a Local Partner to Minimize Friction
Robert Chesney Wed, Mar 9, 2016, 2:40 PM
These days, when the United States plays the lead role in using lethal force or detaining and interrogating prisoners, the force typically involves only airpower and detention-and-interrogation typically are just transient. This has the effect of tamping down the political, legal, and diplomatic headaches that follow from using boots-on-the-ground to conduct raids and from holding detainees for the long term. But these are not the only means by which to tamp down those frictions.
targeted killing
Airstrikes Outside Areas of Active Hostilities: Attacks in Somalia and Questions About the Current Shape of the Policy
Robert Chesney Mon, Mar 7, 2016, 4:45 PM
Just this morning, I was thinking that things have been rather quiet with respect to media coverage of U.S. operations against AQ and AQ affiliates in places like Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. Well...
2001 AUMF
What Is the Domestic Law Basis for U.S. Airstrikes Supporting AMISOM in Somalia?
Robert Chesney Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 3:58 PM
A few days ago, Ashley had an excellent post flagging an important shift in U.S.
Somalia
Defending Broadened U.S. Strikes Against al Shabaab?
Ashley Deeks Wed, Jul 29, 2015, 2:29 PM
A few days ago, Paul McCleary at Foreign Policy reported on U.S. airstrikes against al Shabaab, undertaken in defense of AMISOM forces. McCleary asked, “Is there a new U.S. airstrike policy in East Africa?” My question is, “Is there a new legal theory supporting U.S.