Matthew C. Waxman examines whether cyberattacks are a use of force as defined by the UN Charter.

Civil liberties will present the winner of the 2012 U.S. presidential elections with challenges related to counterterrorism powers and practices, as well as challenges related to privacy rights, says CFR's Matthew C. Waxman.

Recent events in Darfur raise the familiar question of whether international law facilitates the kind of early, decisive, and coherent action needed to effectively combat genocide. Matthew C. Waxman argues that putting decisions about international intervention solely in the hands of the UN Security Council risks undermining the threat or use of intervention when it may be most potent in stopping mass atrocities.

In order to gain more congressional support for national security and foreign policy measures, "The Obama administration will need to pick its legislative priorities more deliberately, engage with allies and opponents in Congress more actively, and be willing to negotiate compromises or wage aggressive campaigns on key issues," says Matthew C. Waxman.

Kenneth Anderson and Matthew C. Waxman say some view automated technology developments as a crisis for the laws of war. But provided we start now to incorporate ethical and legal norms into weapons design, the incremental movement from automation to genuine machine autonomy already underway might well be made to serve the ends of law on the battlefield.

Matthew C. Waxman argues that international law still plays a powerful role in justifying or delegitimizing the case for military action. Just like in the Cuban missile crisis, the United States needs to present a plausible case for self-defense in order to strike Iran.

Post-9/11 U.S. counterterrorism and surrounding civil liberties issues are unlikely to stray far from currently policy no matter who is in the White House in 2013, says CFR's Matthew Waxman.

The NYPD's new "Domain Awareness System" raises familiar questions about privacy and transparency that are likely to spark a debate at multiple levels of government, writes CFR's Matthew Waxman.

Targeted killings are up in Yemen and military trials have resumed in Guantanamo. CFR's Matthew Waxman assesses the White House's evolving legal basis for its war on al-Qaeda.

News of planned military trials for five 9/11 suspects underscores the Obama administration's need to more forcefully defend the necessity of military tribunals if they are to have legitimacy at home and abroad, says CFR's Matthew Waxman.

Matthew C. Waxman discusses U.S. attorney general Eric Holder's address providing the Obama administration's legal rationale for targeted killings of certain al Qaeda suspects--including U.S. citizens.

Detainee policy that would mandate military custody for al-Qaeda suspects captured in the United States could have a detrimental impact on U.S. counterterrorism operations, say CFR legal experts Matthew C. Waxman and John B. Bellinger III.

Which policies have worked and which ones need work ten years after the worst terrorist attacks in U.S. history? CFR experts examine ten issues that have preoccupied U.S. planners.

Guantanamo Bay, where hundreds of terror suspects have been detained since 9/11, has underscored the need for flexibility and careful balancing in detainee policy to confront twenty-first-century threats, writes CFR's Matthew Waxman.

Matthew C. Waxman discusses the lawsuit challenging U.S. participation in the Libyan military mission.

U.S. drone strikes and "kill/capture" missions against al-Qaeda operatives, particularly in Pakistan and Yemen, have gained new attention and notoriety this spring. Four experts debate the legality and efficacy of the controversial counterterrorism strategy.

Daniel L. Byman and Matthew Waxman discuss six reasons why it's been so tough to get Muammar al-Qaddafi to quit.

As President Obama prepares to present his case for the Libya intervention, congressional members are squaring off over it. The president is on solid legal ground, but it could erode if Libyan operations continue for months, says CFR's Matthew Waxman.

With his new executive order on Guantanamo, President Obama acknowledges that the controversial detention center will remain open for some time, says CFR's Matthew Waxman, but provides improved protections and review processes.

Congress passed a short-term extension for three surveillance provisions of the Patriot Act to allow for more debate, which CFR's Matthew Waxman says will likely focus on tightening restrictions and oversight.

The Supreme Court's upholding of bans on "material support" for foreign terror groups, even involving legal activities, reflects a further post-9/11 broadening of federal powers, writes CFR's Matthew C. Waxman.

The Times Square bomb plot has triggered questions about when and whether suspect Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistan-born American citizen, should have been informed of his Miranda rights. These questions are likely to gain traction in the weeks ahead, says expert Matthew C. Waxman, who believes it would be wrong to treat all captured terrorists as enemy combatants subject to military trial.

Recent events in Darfur raise the familiar question of whether international law facilitates the kind of early, decisive, and coherent action needed to effectively combat genocide. Matthew C. Waxman argues that putting decisions about international intervention solely in the hands of the UN Security Council risks undermining the threat or use of intervention when it may be most potent in stopping mass atrocities.