All Posts

By Rachel VanLandignham Origially Published by MSNOW Here In what we might wish was satire from the likes of The Onion, CNN reported Sunday that U.S. Central Command (the command running the war with Iran) sent an email last week to military analystsunabashedly proclaiming that top military leaders “are looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran.” CNN cited a source familiar with the message when describing the email’s content and a second so

"Regardless of legality, the U.S. targeting Iranian infrastructure used by civilians is likely to cause far more civilian deaths than those caused by targeting purely military objects. In addition, under the laws of war, targeting civilian infrastructure is only lawful after a case-by-case determination is made that such an object makes an effective contribution to military action and that its destruction offers a military advantage. Publicly threatening automatic strikes aga

By Rachel VanLandingham Originally Published July 21, 2026 by MSNOW Here In its recent strikes in Iran, the United States widened its targeting aperture to bomb sites directly serving the Iranian population, such as electrical power plants, bridges, railway stations and roads. By doing so, the U.S. deliberately chose to inflict greater suffering on Iranian civilians. Over 500 Iranians have reportedly been injured this month, and more than 50 people, including children, have b

The military’s “Requirement for Exemplary Conduct” statute enables fair prosecutorial discretion By Dan Maurer Originally Published by Just Security Here Not long after beginning his second term in office, President Donald Trump addressed leaders in the Department of Justice: “So now as the chief law enforcement officer in our country, I will insist upon and demand full and complete accountability for the wrongs and abuses that have occurred.” He was, of course, referring to

By Rachel VanLandingham Originally published by MSNOW on June 10, 2026 Here There’s an old saying: There are no atheists in foxholes. Faith plays a large role in the lives of many service members (including, yes, uniformed atheists). The U.S. military has long provided religious support to service members who are naturally often far from home and their faith communities. Given that the First Amendment prohibits the government both from establishing a religion and from prevent

Originally Published in Just Security Here By Calvin Lederer, John Ewers, Eugene Fidell, and Steven Lepper The Former JAGs Working Group Please Note that the full PDF includes footnotes please view that version for full context. The Former JAGs Working Group is comprised of several dozen former judge advocates from all the Armed Services and components ranging from junior officers to admirals and generals. Perceiving that the Nation’s senior military officers are increasin

By Rachel VanLandingham Originally Published by MSNOW on May 25, 2026 Here On this Memorial Day, we should take stock that the U.S. military remains one of the most respected public institutions in America. And for good reason. Our military has strived mightily since its Vietnam War nadir to foster professionalism grounded on honor and implemented programs to help ensure that the American way of fighting comports with the law of war and American values to the greatest extent

By Franklin Rosenblatt and Eugene Fidell Published May 19, 2026 in Just Security Here As U.S. secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth is trying to overhaul how legal advice is provided in the Pentagon and how the broader military justice system operates. Although he’s referred to the Judge Advocate General Corps as “vital,” he has also called military lawyers “JAGoffs.” That contempt appears to be shaping many of his decisions. Soon after taking office, he fired the top lawyers fo

By Rachel VanLandingham Originally Published May 17, 2026 by MSNOW Here It is ironic as well as troubling that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently went on X to accuse Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a decorated naval aviator who flew combat missions and served as a NASA astronaut, of improperly sharing privileged military information on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. It’s ironic because Hegseth himself revealed classified information and compromised operational security last

Originally Published by Just Security Here Please Note that the full PDF includes footnotes please view that version for full context. Legal Foundations of Honorable Military Service The Former JAGs Working Group Perspective By Daniel Maurer, Steven J. Lepper and Eugene R. Fidell Since September, the United States has engaged in an invasion of Venezuela and initiated an armed conflict against Iran. In January, the Trump administration threatened to annex Greenland – an unprec

21 April 2026 FROM: The Former Judge Advocates Working Group SUBJECT: The Insurrection Act and Military Personnel at Polling Places In our Third Memorandum dated 7 October 2025, the Former JAGs Working Group alerted Congress to two potential threats to our democracy involving the (mis)use of our military: (1) the targeting of Americans under the pretense that they are members of “domestic terror organizations” such as “Antifa,” and (2) the intimidation of voters by posting tr

Retired Major General Steven Lepper, a former U.S. Air Force Deputy Judge Advocate General, discussed the right to free speech among current and former military and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Originally streamed by CSPAN follow link to view video here

Originally aired on CNN found here

Published by MSNOW article here By Lt. Col. Rachel E. VanLandingham (ret.) While a ceasefire agreement averted threatened devastation in Iran on Tuesday, President Donald’s Trump’s prior threat that “ A whole civilization will die tonight , never to be brought back again,” cannot and should not be forgotten. His words promising to inflict such massive violence should not be forgotten because they were, quite literally, criminal in their utterance , in addition to threatenin

Originally published by CNN found here

Originally Published by MSNOW can be found here

Published on TRT World Now can be watched here

Originally published by The Berkshireedge can be found here Written by Eugene R. Fidell April 6, 2026 In normal times, there would be every reason to expect that President Trump will continue to occupy the nation’s highest office until noon on January 20, 2029. That is a few months shy of three years from now. Given his age, debilitation, and increasingly aberrant behavior on a host of issues, however, there is reason to doubt whether he will be fit to hold office until then.

Originally published by Just Security and can be found here By Margaret Donovan and Rachel VanLandingham, Lt Col, USAF (Ret.) “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!” posted President Donald Trump on Easter Sunday. In case one thought that was an impulsive utterance, it’s notable that the president in apparently prepared remarks a few days earlier said , “If there is no deal, we are going to hit each

The downing of a US Air Force F-15E with two crewmembers is at the top of the news. Fortunately, one crewmember has been rescued. The Former JAGs Working Group – attorneys who have served as military judge advocates and have united to oppose the Trump Administration’s systematic dismantling of the military’s legal, ethical, and moral guardrails – hopes the US rescue efforts underway will result in the missing crew member’s quick recovery. If that doesn’t happen and Iranian mi