Senators, representatives, and Presidential aspirants can all work to change this back to a first principle of restraint, and they should do so, argues John Ramming Chappell for @cipolicy.bsky.social. internationalpolicy.org/publications...

Analyzing the legal and moral stakes of the Caribbean strikes – and how Congress could respond. From Annie Shiel, @jwrchappell.bsky.social, Priyanka Motaparthy, Wells Dixon and Daphne Eviatar: www.justsecurity.org/120794/legal...

@jwrchappell.bsky.social via @cipolicy.bsky.social concludes "Congress should be working towards a reclamation of their constitutional authority and an end to the system that allows the president to sell weapons to war criminals and human rights abusers..." internationalpolicy.org/publications...

Israel bombed multiple countries across the Middle East in recent days. US military aid makes this possible. In our new factsheet we breakdown the $21.7B provided to Israel since Oct 7 & privileges it receives that allows it to carry on its war machine. mideastdc.org/publication/...

Spoke with @politico.com about the lethal U.S. strike in the Caribbean. “This is not about counterterrorism, war on terror, counter-narcotics. The really key issue here is the scope of the power being claimed by the president.” The power to kill outside the law. www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

In a new piece by me and @stimsoncenter.bsky.social's Elias Yousif, we discuss the risks of the admin's legally dubious decision not to release detailed accounting for how the government intends to spend future foreign assistance. A 🧵 mideastdc.org/publication/...

NEW: CIVIC is alarmed by the US strike on a vessel in the Caribbean that killed 11 people. An attack like this, outside of armed conflict, is an extrajudicial execution, not an act of war. Congress must demand transparency & accountability: civiliansinconflict.org/press-releas...

This is not a thorny issue. This is not fraught. It is extrajudicial killing. It is the killing of civilians under any standard of law. He killed them on the basis of his-say so that they are drug smugglers, mere criminals. It was premeditated. And he's saying he's going to do it again and again.

No pretense that US is somehow engaged in an armed conflict that might justify lethal targeting in this manner. As I told @npr.org this morning, we have a word for premeditated killing outside of armed conflict: murder. (Also the administration has not substantiated any of its factual claims.)

1/3 Just so we are all clear on this. Based on what this former official "who has years of direct experience in fighting drug cartels" told the Times. The order to blow up the Venezuelan boat may have instead killed migrants who were being smuggled. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/u...

I've read and coded every War Powers Report ever sent to Congress (check them all out, with interactive graphics and a searchable database 👇), and this one on #Trump's attack on an alleged drug smuggling vessel in the Caribbean stands out. I'll explain below: warpowers.lawandsecurity.org

Congress is back from recess soon. What are your representatives doing to end US support for carnage and starvation in Gaza? From @jwrchappell.bsky.social & me on why cosponsoring the Block the Bombs Act should be a benchmark in the House: responsiblestatecraft.org/house-vote-i...

Congress finishes August recess soon, and for weeks they've been facing constituents in their home districts asking: what are you doing to stop atrocities in Gaza? The benchmark for House members is cosponsoring the Block the Bombs bill. 1/ responsiblestatecraft.org/house-vote-i...

We at Center for Civilians in Conflict have been closely tracking civilian protection in the US-Nigeria security relationship, and I recently visited our teams in Abuja and Maiduguri digging into civilian protection issues. 1/

The time is long overdue for Congress to stop funding Israel’s illegal and horrific war against the Palestinian people. The U.S. must not support a government which is starving children. Tomorrow, I will force votes in the Senate to block the sale of weapons to Netanyahu.

These votes present Senators with a choice between backing up their condemnations of starvation and killing in Gaza with concrete action, or continuing to unconditionally send Israel the arms it is using to enforce its siege, fire on Palestinian civilians, and forcibly displace them from their land.

Votes are expected Wednesday on US arms to #Israel, namely SJ Res 34 & 41. See more details here on US law and these proposed sales and concerns armssalesaccountabilityproject.com/wp-content/u... and for a timeline of this administration's arms to Israel, see www.forumarmstrade.org/us-israel-tr...

In this article, I dig into @sarajacobs.house.gov's crucial new bill to require tracking of US weapons used in civilian harm, and to cut off arms sales to countries that use American weapons to carry out atrocity crimes.

@jwrchappell.bsky.social and Kate Fin (CIVIC) break down the Silver Shield Act, which they explain gives Congress an opportunity to take real action to prevent civilian harm from U.S. weapons transfers. www.justsecurity.org/117989/silve...

It is also US law. www.justsecurity.org/93589/no-mil...

I am sickened by what we’re seeing in Gaza right now. The IDF has blocked aid while shooting people waiting in food lines for what little aid is actually coming from the sham Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Israel needs to lift its blockade and the U.S. needs to stop sending bombs.

In recent decades, discussions of humanitarian intervention have focused on using force to stop atrocities. Here the issue is whether the U.S. will use its military support as leverage to stop atrocities. Colleagues of Cindy’s late husband should listen to this. m.youtube.com/watch?v=tlyy...

William Hartung @quincyinst.bsky.social argues "Congress should be increasing its ability to block dubious deals, not hobbling its own oversight role and ability to meaningfully weigh in on pressing U.S. national security matters." responsiblestatecraft.org/arms-sales-2...

Does President Trump's payment to El Salvador to detain hundreds of men without charges or a trial violate U.S. law? @seharrison7.bsky.social ( @crisisgroup.org) finds that loopholes in U.S. statues have provided a pathway for the use of security assistance for the purpose of imprisoning people.

🔔 New on the GO: Weapons without Consequences: How the Global Arms Trade Undermines the Protection of Civilians How do arms exports undermine civilian protection, and how can this be stopped? 👉 Read the full analysis: theglobalobservatory.org/1900/06/weap...

My latest for @justsecurity.org: "Lawmakers have an opportunity to use U.S. leverage to pressure the UAE to stop fueling devastating harm to Sudanese civilians – they should take it." Learn more about the UAE's role in the article and at www.speakoutonsudan.org.

NEW: Democratic lawmakers will force a vote to require the Trump Administration to report on compliance with court orders regarding US residents it deported to El Salvador and human rights conditions there. Failure to produce the report would mandate the cut-off of US security aid to El Salvador.

@kaine.senate.gov has introduced a privileged resolution to require the Trump administration to report on human rights conditions in El Salvador and specifically the notorious CECOT prison, where the Bukele government is detaining people deported from the US. 1/ apnews.com/article/sena...

Radhya al-Mutawakel: "At a time when they were hoping to see an end to this bloody chapter of their lives, they now find themselves potential targets of U.S. forces' attacks." 1/ www.mwatana.org/posts-en/doz...

"EXCLUSIVE: Dem Voters Overwhelmingly Say US Should Cut Aid to Israel Until It Stops Attacking Civilians" From Palestine to economics, a new poll from Data for Progress and Zeteo shows likely Democratic primary voters prefer a more progressive approach.

In its own diplomatic way, the GAO finds the Biden admin basically did nothing to stop civilians from getting killed in places like Gaza. “Further, as of December 2024, State had not completed any investigations into reports it deemed credible.” www.gao.gov/products/gao...

Getting rid of safeguards designed to limit civilian harm from U.S. military operations & ensure compliance with international humanitarian law undermines our credibility, jeopardizes our missions & raises the risk of natl security threats.

This week, Senator Sanders is expected to force a vote on two resolutions of disapproval on US arms sales to Israel. Yesterday, 4 resolutions were introduced in the House. See our timeline for details and resources www.forumarmstrade.org/us-israel-tr...

There is a major risk that a court won't even reach the merits in the Alien Enemies Act litigation, dismissing it as a political question. @ebrightyon.bsky.social lays out the arguments and precedents for why the judiciary can and should intervene.

In New Mexico: "ICE hasn’t identified any of the 48 people they arrested, nor indicated where or in what conditions they’re being detained, whether they have access to attorneys or which agency is holding them." sourcenm.com/2025/03/17/i...

Netanyahu has not allowed any food, water, or fuel into Gaza in two weeks. Now he has resumed bombing, killing hundreds of people and breaking the ceasefire that had given Gaza a chance to live again. NO MORE MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL.

A new data visualization by Costs of War contributor @stephensemler.bsky.social shows that the U.S. exports more weapons than the next seven largest arms exporters combined. www.stephensemler.com/p/the-us-exp...

Based on the latest data, the US exports more weapons than the next SEVEN countries combined, making it the world's largest arms dealer by a long shot. Remember this chart next time someone says "if the US doesn't sell weapons to [insert bad actor here], Russia or China will."

"Accepting the Trump administration’s contention, either directly or tacitly, risks turning the traditional separation of powers on its head and may well invite further executive branch intrusions into Congress’s own constitutional authority over foreign affairs," argues @sranderson.bsky.social.

Pax Americana and the rules-based international order have always been built on flawed foundations, writes @matiangai.bsky.social “The world worth fighting for is a radically transformed one.” www.justsecurity.org/108311/how-n...

Need a primer on the #AlienEnemiesAct and how it might be used (or abused) in the #immigration context after yesterday's news that #Trump may soon invoke it to speed deportations? We have you covered via @justsecurity.org's analyses by leading experts: www.justsecurity.org/108460/exper...

Trump is revoking the policy that countries receiving U.S. taxpayer-funded weapons must use them in compliance with our laws, values and interests. I fought to secure that policy and Trump’s shameful action is another blow to U.S. leadership. Not America First — America in Retreat.

New: Trump repeals Biden's NSM-20 directive that sought to ensure US allies don’t block US aid or use US weapons for war crimes. While proponents said NSM-20 served as a means to pressure Israel to allow aid to Gaza, critics note Biden never used the leverage it afforded

1/ See press release from @sanders.senate.gov on resolutions of disapproval on more than $8.5 billion in potential arms sales to Israel www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releas...

“USAID is not a perfect agency,” writes @jeremykonyndyk.bsky.social, the president of Refugees International. “No government institution is. But from the Green Revolution to humanitarian relief to the fight against HIV, it has built a more stable world while advancing U.S. interests.”

With our Tracker, we are now following 41 cases 1. Immigration and citizenship 2. Structure of government/personnel 3. Federal assistance 4. Civil liberties 5. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility 6. Removal of information from government websites 7. Actions against FBI employees

Trump sidestepped Congress to push these sales through in a gift to Israel's far-right government. These are the same bombs that have made Gaza unlivable for Palestinian civilians. Let's call it what it is: a power grab to fuel atrocities. 1/

Following Trump’s endorsement of the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.

It's Friday, the date for State to notify Congress of controversial arms sales. Today it's #ISRAEL for >$7B * $6.75 billion for more than 20,000 bombs or JDAM kits www.dsca.mil/press-media/... * $660m for 3000 Hellfire missiles www.dsca.mil/press-media/... we'll update our resource pages shortly

The Trump-Vance State Department just approved $7.41 billion in weapons sales to Israel. $6.75 billion in bombs & weapons guidance kits $660 million in Hellfire Missiles "This sale will increase interoperability with U.S. forces," the administration writes.