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:
- Remarks by the President at the National Defense University, May 23, 2013
- White House, Fact Sheet: U.S. Policy Standards and Procedures for the Use of Force in Counterterrorism Operations Outside the United States and Areas of Active Hostilities, May 23, 2013
- Ryan Goodman & Sarah Knuckey, “What Obama’s New Killing Rules Don’t Tell You,” Esquire, May 24, 2013
- Sarah Knuckey, Transparency on Targeted Killings: Promises Made, but Little Progress, October 1, 2013
- Mary DeRosa & Marty Lederman, The President’s May 23d NDU Speech in Action: The Broader Significance of the al-Liby and Ikrima Operations [Updated October 15], October 15, 2013
- Response to Mary DeRosa & Marty Lederman at Lawfare by Jack Goldsmith, Thoughts About the Obama Administration’s Counterterrorism Paradigm in Light of the Al-Liby and Ikrima Operations, October 13, 2013
- Response to Mary DeRosa & Marty Lederman at OpinioJuris by Deborah Pearlstein, Speaking of Evolving Approaches to Counterterrorism II, October 13, 2013
- Daphne Eviatar, The Al-Libi Case Is a Step Forward, Even if Not (Yet) A Paradigm Shift, October 15, 2013
- Harold Hongju Koh, “Ending the Forever War”: A Progress Report, October 28, 2013
- David Cole, The End of the War on Terror?, New York Review of Books, November 7, 2013