September 23, 2014 marks the official birthdate of Just Security. It has been a terrific first year! Our goal has been to raise and broaden the conversation on U.S. national security law and policy. In pursuit of that effort, Just Security has served in part as a platform for high-level debates between competing points of views. For readers tuning in for the first time and for those who have been with us from the start (and for all of you in-between), I thought it would be fun and informative to showcase some of the high-powered debates over the past year—especially because all of the issues in essence remain relevant today.
Check out this sample of lively debates and exchanges:
The role of legal advisors in the State Department on law and politics of humanitarian intervention in Syria 2013: Harold Koh (Round 1 and 2) v. David Kaye v. Ryan Goodman
The PCLOB Report on foreign intelligence surveillance: PCLOB Chair David Medine v. Jennifer Granick
The relationship between the intelligence community and national security lawyers: General Charles Dunlap v. Marshall Erwin
US spying on China: Edward Lucas v. Jennifer Granick
Democratic value of Snowden revelations (“espionage porn”): Steve Vladeck (Round 1 and 2) v. Rahul Sagar (Round 1 and 2)
U.K. detention powers (the arrest and interrogation of David Miranda): Jeremy Waldron v. Shaheed Fatima
Legality of US airstrikes in Syria 2014: Ryan Goodman (Round 1 and 2) v. Michael Lewis (Round 1 & 2) v. Jonathan Horowitz
Palestinian statehood: Fionnuala Ní Aoláin (Round 1 and 2) v. Nimrod Karin
Law on Al Qaeda and Associated Forces: Ryan Goodman (Round 1 and 2) v. Christof Heyns v. Kevin Jon Heller
Role of Congress in Iran nuclear agreement: David Golove v. Tyler Cullis
Federal media shield law: Sophia Cope v. David Pozen
President’s defense of NSA: Richard Epstein v. Jennifer Granick
Espionage and journalism: Gabriel Schoenfeld (Round 1 and 2) v. Steve Vladeck v. Marty Lederman
Transparency obligations for targeted killings: Philip Alston v. Eric Jensen
Extrajudicial release of Afghan detainees: Gabor Rona v. Christopher Rogers
Sting operations and counterterrorism: Samuel Rascoff (Round 1 and 2) v. David Cole
Metadata and the Fourth Amendment: Orin Kerr (Round 1 and 2) and Jennifer Granick (Round 1 and 2)
SIGINT-Based Targeted Killings: Geoff Corn & Chris Jenks (Round 1 and 2) v. Ryan Goodman & Derek Jinks
The role of military necessity and the Lieber Code: David Luban (Round 1 and 2) v. John Witt
Privacy rights and the collection vs. analysis of personal data: Charles Blanchard v. Brett Max Kaufman
The role of human rights law in armed conflict: Geoffrey Corn (Round 1 and 2) v. Derek Jinks (Round 1 and 2) v. Gabor Rona (Round 1 and 2)
Security detentions under human rights law: Judge Lech Garlicki v. Ryan Goodman
Amnesty International report on drone strikes in Pakistan: Naureen Shah v. Chris Jenks