Gaddafi is gone and NATO's command center in Naples is closed, but on the legacy of the intervention in Libya, the debate has just begun. Allegations of civilians harmed are haunting NATO as nations opposed to the intervention -- namely Russia, China and South Africa -- point fingers about civilian...

Calls for justice after war are made compelling by horrendous stories of wrongdoing and resulting human suffering. This is certainly the narrative coming out of Libya. From prisoner abuse under Gaddafi to the alleged killing of African migrants by rebels, demands for accountability are loud and clear -- and quite...

I wouldn't drive a car without working brakes. And I need a wheel to steer, and a speedometer to tell me when I'm not following the speed limit.

Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) will assume responsibility for the security and stability of their own country by 2014....

So we lost Gen. McChrystal. No matter his diplomatic wrongs, there is one piece of him we need to keep in Afghanistan: his emphasis on civilian protection.

As he arrived to meet with President Obama, the New York Times was suggesting the...

Philip Alston, one of the most respected legal minds in the United Nations system, just issued his annual report. In it, he talks about his travels to war zones and notes an emerging practice: warring parties' "making amends" to civilians harmed in war.

Here's the...

On April 16, 2005, a hero to many Iraqis and Americans alike lost her life on Airport Road. The death of Marla Ruzicka by suicide bomb marked a particularly violent time in the Iraq War.

Five years later, what's changed for the civilian war victims for whom...

There's a new tactical directive from Gen. Stanley McChrystal, head of international forces in Afghanistan, on night raids--one of the most controversial tactics used by foreign and Afghan troops to search homes for suspected militants or weapons. The directive remains classified, but will likely put in place new rules to...

Nobody's manning the calculator at NATO.

This year is on track to be the deadliest for Afghan civilians since the war began in 2001. Yet Oxfam just reported that of the 700 Afghans they interviewed just 1% received any compensation or apology for the harm done to them....

The Security Council floor last week was littered with wandering ambassadors and foreign ministers, each waiting their turn to talk about the protection of civilians in war. One after another, they called for stronger protections, denounced war crimes, and offered their countries' concern and condolences for the tragedies civilians suffer...

The incoming US and Allied Forces Commander in Afghanistan has rightly put the "Afghan people" front and center. 

Let's set aside for the moment that the Afghan people should have always been the strategic imperative and roundly applaud the new leadership.



Afghan anger over civilian casualties peaked after last...

Conclusions from the US investigation into the May 4th airstrikes in Afghanistan are leaking out. It appears that US personnel made mistakes--resulting in civilian deaths--by not sticking to their own stringent guidelines on the use of force. After eight years in Afghanistan, American forces finally have good rules in...

Ask any civilian who has lost a loved one, a limb, or a home in war and they're likely to tell you they never received anything for their suffering. I've always found it shocking that international law doesn't generally require warring parties to help the people they've harmed.

Take...