Today marks the six-month anniversary of President Obama’s now-famous speech at the National Defense University on May 23, 2013.  In his speech, the President described in broad terms the new framework for the conduct of hostilities outside the Afghan theater, hostilities that Mary DeRosa and Marty Lederman in an earlier post here on Just Security said would “comprise the bulk of U.S. operations in the conflict with al Qaeda and its associated forces after 2014.”  At the time, Ryan Goodman and Sarah Knuckey noted the speech “could mark a turning point as the president tries to steer the country away from ‘perpetual war,’ and toward a counterterrorism policy that better balances security and rights given the significance of the speech.”

Now at the half-year mark since the landmark speech, we thought it would be fruitful to provide a list of useful reads–both from Just Security contributors and elsewhere–that can help us evaluate how the U.S. national security and counterterrorism framework may have changed and where things arguably may have stayed the same.  For reference, we have also included below a video and link to the transcript of the speech:

(The reading list is after the jump). 

Select Readings on the President’s NDU Speech: