Jennifer Marett investigates the little-known position of National Security Council Legal Advisor. Drawing on a wide range of historical material as well as interviews with several previous holders of the position, Marett traces its roles and responsibilities from inception through the current administration. She concludes by identifying several contemporary institutional challenges affecting this important intelligence… Continue reading The National Security Council Legal Adviser: Crafting Legal Positions on Matters of War & Peace
Category: Issue Archive
Setting the Record Straight: An In-Depth Review of “Duty” by Robert Gates
Bowman “sets the record straight” with his review of Bob Gates’ new book, Duty. He states that Duty is not a “tell all,” but rather a highly personal and almost daily reflection of what Gates thought and experienced during his time as US Secretary of Defense. Ultimately, Bowman concludes that while the book is very… Continue reading Setting the Record Straight: An In-Depth Review of “Duty” by Robert Gates
A Proposal to Reduce Government Overclassification of Information Related to National Security
Lin explores the phenomenon of overclassification in American society and proposes a classification cost metric in order to create serious economic incentives to reduce classification. The metric would provide decision makers with a way to judge the relative importance of different classified documents and allow officials to classify documents on a more objective scale. The… Continue reading A Proposal to Reduce Government Overclassification of Information Related to National Security