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Privacy vs. Precaution in Future Armed Conflict
The operational demands of modern armed conflict highlight a pressing need for information, including highly private data about persons. This post examines the balance between personal privacy and armed forces’ need to identify persons with a high degree of integrity...
Over-the-Horizon Operations – Part III: How May Force Be Used?
Part I of this series examined when the United States may lawfully resort to force in the form of over-the-horizon (OTH) operations, a question that looms large given President Biden’s July announcement that the United States is developing the capability in light of...
Over-the-Horizon Operations – Part II: Where May Force Be Used?
Part I of this series examined the issue of when the United States would enjoy a legal right to conduct over-the-horizon (OTH) operations. It identified three bases for such operations: UN Charter Chapter VII authorization or mandate, self-defense, and request from...
Over-the-Horizon Operations – Part I: When May Force Be Used?
Responding in early July to concerns about the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan after two decades of war, President Biden announced, “We are developing a counterterrorism over-the-horizon capability that will allow us to keep our eyes firmly fixed on any direct...
Russia’s ASAT Test and the Development of Space Law
On November 15, Russia launched a direct ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) missile that deliberately struck Cosmos-1408, one of its own satellites that had become inoperable years ago. Massing at about 2,000 kilograms and with an original orbital altitude of about 480...
A Review of U.S. Space Force’s First Year
The newest branch of the U.S. military, the United States Space Force, was mandated by Congress and signed into law and existence by the President on December 19, 2019. The Space Force Professionals, now called Guardians, of the U.S. Air Force had been...
Mercenaries on the Battlefield: What Legal Advisors Must Know
Mercenaries … are useless and dangerous. And if a prince holds on to his state by means of mercenary armies, he will never be stable or secure… -- Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince Mercenaries have been used since the dawn of war. In recent years, however, there has...
NATO in Outer Space: A Domain Too Far?
This post examines whether Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty is applicable to armed attacks in outer space. NATO nations have recently recognized outer space as a new operational domain for the Alliance. Although the drafters of the North Atlantic Treaty...
Space Power, Space Force, and Space Law
Space is a unique operational domain not only due to its physics, but also due to its legal regime. Although Space Power, the inaugural doctrinal manual of the U.S. Space Force, does not focus on legal issues in and of themselves, it does mention at least one...