THE NATIONAL SECURITY LAW BRIEF

By Lily Goff On Thursday, February 25, 2021, the United States conducted an air strike against Iran-backed militias located in Eastern Syria near the Iraq border. The strike came at the direction of President Biden and was conducted in response to an on-going threat posed by the militia group that had recently attacked US personnel in Iraq, according to the Department of Defense. While some members of Congress were notified of the strike before it was carried out, several sen

By Michael Thompson Introduction In February of this year, the Senate passed a joint resolution (S.J. Res. 68) by a bipartisan vote of 55 to 45, ordering President Trump to “terminate the use of United States Armed Forces for hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran or any part of its government or military, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force against Iran.” This resolution’s lead sponsor was Senator

By Michael Thompson Overview The Trump Administration used Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (codified as 8 U.S.C. § 1189) to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC), a branch of Iran’s military, as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) on April 8, 2019. This was the first time that the United States classified part of a foreign government as an official terrorist organization. President Trump asserted that “Iran’s actions are fundamentally dif