Deep Impact: The Effect of Drone Attacks on British Counter-Terrorism

The use of drones against targets along the Pakistani border has been a controversial tactic in the prolonged war in Afghanistan, though one that looks set to be a key part of Obama’s future strategy. But drone strikes are part of a complex chain of events, providing fuel for the jihad fire; for the UK [...]

Interesting articles

Beth van Schaack – International Criminal Law & its Enforcement
This chapter, to appear in the 2nd edition of Beth Van Schaack & Ron Slye’s International Criminal Law & Its Enforcement (Foundation Press 2010), covers the crime of torture under international criminal law. It begins with a doctrinal discussion of the elements of torture as elucidated [...]

New America Foundation: drones killed 320 innocents in Pakistan

How many civilians have been killed in the U.S. drone war in Pakistan? The number could be as high as 320 innocents, according to an analysis by Peter Bergen released today by the New America Foundation. That’s about a third of the 1,000 or so people slain in the robotic aircraft attacks since 2006, Wired [...]

The Afghan decision: focus on al-Qaeda not the Taliban?

As it reviews its Afghanistan policy for the second time this year, the Obama administration has concluded that the Taliban cannot be eliminated as a political or military movement, regardless of how many combat forces are sent into battle, the Washington Post reports. Some inside the White House have cited Hezbollah, the armed Lebanese political [...]

Intelligence community legal reference book

The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence has declassified its Intelligence Community Legal Reference Book from which the US intelligence community ‘draws much of its authority and guidance’. Download the 949 pages here.

U.S. covert operation kills alleged Al Qaeda terrorist in Somalia

On 14 September American Special Operations Forces from Africom killed Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, the alleged ringleader of an Al-Qaeda cell in Kenya, in Southern Somalia in a daylight raid carried out by four military helicopters. Commando’s firing .50 calibre machine guns quickly killed 6 militants. The helicopters landed, and the commandos inspected the wreckage [...]

Baha Mousa Inquiry into torture by UK troups in Iraq

Last month, a public inquiry in the UK began into the torture and killing of Baha Mousa, who was a hotel worker in Iraq suspected of terrorism. Already, the British authorities have admitted that he was beaten to death, and have made a settlement with the family. The inquiry is examining the broader context. The [...]

Pakistani security forces accused of sending death squads to execute suspected Taliban militants

The country’s leading human rights lawyer, Asma Jahangir, accused the armed forces of waging a campaign of extra-judicial killings in the Swat valley and called for an independent inquiry after reports that 20 bodies were found in a mass grave at the weekend. The Human Right Commission, which she founded, said it had compiled evidence [...]

CIA-Blackwater assassination contract points to larger connections

The CIA’s decision to hire contractors from Blackwater USA for a covert assassination program was part of an expanding relationship in which the agency has relied on the widely criticized firm for tasks including guarding CIA lockups and loading missiles on Predator aircraft, according to current and former U.S. government officials.

Killing with impunity in Chechnya

Tanya Lokshina has an open-ed in The Guardian on the killings of Zarema Sadulayeva and Alik Dzhabrailov, saying that an investigation must be started, or more murders will follow.