I’m excited to be joining Center for International Policy’s roster of senior non-resident fellows! I'm excited to keep pursuing research and advocacy around the arms trade and international law while also renewing and expanding my work in other areas. Thanks @nancyokail.bsky.social for welcoming me!

Nancy Okail@nancyokail.bsky.social · 21h ago

Thrilled to welcome @jwrchappell.bsky.social as Senior Fellow at @cipolicy.bsky.social on nuclear policy, arms control & other crucial issues as we expand our capacity to build a foreign policy that prioritizes diplomacy over militarism Read his full profile: internationalpolicy.org/about/#john-...

Thrilled to welcome @jwrchappell.bsky.social as Senior Fellow at @cipolicy.bsky.social on nuclear policy, arms control & other crucial issues as we expand our capacity to build a foreign policy that prioritizes diplomacy over militarism Read his full profile: internationalpolicy.org/about/#john-...

Members of the Senate are taking steps to regulate and restrict how the Department of Defense develops and uses AI in its operations. Sarah Wilbanks and @jwrchappell.bsky.social (John Ramming Chappell) break down the different proposals underway:

Civilian Protection in the Age of Military AI

Members of the Senate are taking steps to regulate and restrict how the Department of Defense develops and uses AI in its operations.

justsecurity.org

Cluster munitions haunt battlefields long after fighting is over, scattered bomblets remaining active for months years or decades, until painstakingly disarmed or tragically detonated. U.S. stopped purchasing cluster munitions in 2007, but restarted last year. internationalpolicy.org/publications...

Recommit to Restraint in U.S. Cluster Munitions Policy  - CIP

Recent backsliding in U.S. cluster munition policy implicates international law, breaks with longstanding policy, and demands an answer.

internationalpolicy.org

New article from Mina Nur Basmaci and John Ramming Chappell focused on concerning possible cluster munition procurement by the US, but also making much broader points. @banclusterbombs.bsky.social @jwrchappell.bsky.social @cipolicy.bsky.social internationalpolicy.org/publications...

Recommit to Restraint in U.S. Cluster Munitions Policy  - CIP

Recent backsliding in U.S. cluster munition policy implicates international law, breaks with longstanding policy, and demands an answer.

internationalpolicy.org

NEW― Sources familiar with US policies on civilian casualties are deeply worried about the possible toll of Trump's war on Iran -Key Pentagon teams focused on civilians have been slashed+reassigned (even at CENTCOM) -Israel role raising fears of Gaza-style impunity www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...

Before Trump Bombed Iran, Pentagon Slashed Teams Meant to Limit Civilian Casualties

The U.S. has "no stupid rules of engagement," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday.

huffpost.com

One of the great panels at this year's annual conference bringing together the responsible arms trade, human rights and anti-corruption communities. 12/10 in Washington DC. Sign up now www.forumarmstrade.org/annual2025.h... @jwrchappell.bsky.social @seharrison7.bsky.social @jeffabramson.bsky.social

Glad to speak with @yvonnemurray.bsky.social of @news.rte.ie about the lethal US maritime strikes and be quoted along with @jwrchappell.bsky.social and my @crisisgroup.org colleague @renatasegura.bsky.social. www.rte.ie/news/analysi...

US strikes on boats stoke fears of regional conflict

As details of the human cost of US strikes on boats in Latin America have begun to emerge, some regional leaders have declared support for US unilateral military action exposing a complex pattern of c...

rte.ie

Despite the narrow failure of a Senate War Powers Resolution last night, “There will be more opportunities for Congress to rally against the president’s killings of civilians without due process," @jwrchappell.bsky.social told Responsible Statecraft. More: responsiblestatecraft.org/senate-war-p...

Senate effort to rein in Trump war on 'narco-terrorists' fails

War Powers Resolution fails largely along party lines

responsiblestatecraft.org

Senators, representatives, and Presidential aspirants can all work to change this back to a first principle of restraint, and they should do so, argues John Ramming Chappell for @cipolicy.bsky.social. internationalpolicy.org/publications...

Analyzing the legal and moral stakes of the Caribbean strikes – and how Congress could respond. From Annie Shiel, @jwrchappell.bsky.social, Priyanka Motaparthy, Wells Dixon and Daphne Eviatar: www.justsecurity.org/120794/legal...

Murder by Drone: The Legal and Moral Stakes of the Caribbean Strikes

If allowed to go unchecked, the Caribbean strikes could encourage additional unlawful executions by the United States and other leaders.

justsecurity.org

@jwrchappell.bsky.social via @cipolicy.bsky.social concludes "Congress should be working towards a reclamation of their constitutional authority and an end to the system that allows the president to sell weapons to war criminals and human rights abusers..." internationalpolicy.org/publications...

Think Big to Rein in the Arms Trade  - CIP

American weapons sales cause outsized harm. Congress can change that.

internationalpolicy.org

Israel bombed multiple countries across the Middle East in recent days. US military aid makes this possible. In our new factsheet we breakdown the $21.7B provided to Israel since Oct 7 & privileges it receives that allows it to carry on its war machine. mideastdc.org/publication/...

Extraordinary Sums and Privileges: U.S. Security Assistance to Israel Since October 7, 2023 - MEDC

mideastdc.org

Spoke with @politico.com about the lethal U.S. strike in the Caribbean. “This is not about counterterrorism, war on terror, counter-narcotics. The really key issue here is the scope of the power being claimed by the president.” The power to kill outside the law. www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

‘The GOP’s Elizabeth Warren’: Vance happy to feud with Rand Paul

The often outspoken senator blasted Vance's celebration of last week's missile strike on an alleged drug boat as 'despicable.'

politico.com

In a new piece by me and @stimsoncenter.bsky.social's Elias Yousif, we discuss the risks of the admin's legally dubious decision not to release detailed accounting for how the government intends to spend future foreign assistance. A 🧵 mideastdc.org/publication/...

President Trump is Undermining Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability - MEDC

mideastdc.org

NEW: CIVIC is alarmed by the US strike on a vessel in the Caribbean that killed 11 people. An attack like this, outside of armed conflict, is an extrajudicial execution, not an act of war. Congress must demand transparency & accountability: civiliansinconflict.org/press-releas...

No pretense that US is somehow engaged in an armed conflict that might justify lethal targeting in this manner. As I told @npr.org this morning, we have a word for premeditated killing outside of armed conflict: murder. (Also the administration has not substantiated any of its factual claims.)

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 11mo ago

Trump: "When I see boats coming in like loaded up the other day with all sorts of drugs -- probably fentanyl mostly -- we're gonna take them out. And if people wants to have fun on the high seas of the low seas they're gonna be in trouble."

1/3 Just so we are all clear on this. Based on what this former official "who has years of direct experience in fighting drug cartels" told the Times. The order to blow up the Venezuelan boat may have instead killed migrants who were being smuggled. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/u...

I've read and coded every War Powers Report ever sent to Congress (check them all out, with interactive graphics and a searchable database 👇), and this one on #Trump's attack on an alleged drug smuggling vessel in the Caribbean stands out. I'll explain below: warpowers.lawandsecurity.org

Congress is back from recess soon. What are your representatives doing to end US support for carnage and starvation in Gaza? From @jwrchappell.bsky.social & me on why cosponsoring the Block the Bombs Act should be a benchmark in the House: responsiblestatecraft.org/house-vote-i...

Does the House have the grit to 'Block the Bombs' to Israel?

Lawmakers returning from recess have a chance to do what their constituents are telling them to — stop US complicity in Gaza carnage

responsiblestatecraft.org

Congress finishes August recess soon, and for weeks they've been facing constituents in their home districts asking: what are you doing to stop atrocities in Gaza? The benchmark for House members is cosponsoring the Block the Bombs bill. 1/ responsiblestatecraft.org/house-vote-i...

Does the House have the grit to 'Block the Bombs' to Israel?

Lawmakers returning from recess have a chance to do what their constituents are telling them to — stop US complicity in Gaza carnage

responsiblestatecraft.org

We at Center for Civilians in Conflict have been closely tracking civilian protection in the US-Nigeria security relationship, and I recently visited our teams in Abuja and Maiduguri digging into civilian protection issues. 1/

Forum on the Arms Trade@forumarmstrade.bsky.social · 12mo ago

short 🧵State Dept announces major possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to #Nigeria today for $346 million to include (partial list) * 1,002 MK-82 general purpose 500 lb bombs; * 515 MXU-1006 AFGs for 250 lb Paveway II GBU-58 and more www.dsca.mil/Press-Media/...

The time is long overdue for Congress to stop funding Israel’s illegal and horrific war against the Palestinian people. The U.S. must not support a government which is starving children. Tomorrow, I will force votes in the Senate to block the sale of weapons to Netanyahu.

These votes present Senators with a choice between backing up their condemnations of starvation and killing in Gaza with concrete action, or continuing to unconditionally send Israel the arms it is using to enforce its siege, fire on Palestinian civilians, and forcibly displace them from their land.

Senator Bernie Sanders@sanders.senate.gov · last yr.

The time is long overdue for Congress to stop funding Israel’s illegal and horrific war against the Palestinian people. The U.S. must not support a government which is starving children. Tomorrow, I will force votes in the Senate to block the sale of weapons to Netanyahu.

Votes are expected Wednesday on US arms to #Israel, namely SJ Res 34 & 41. See more details here on US law and these proposed sales and concerns armssalesaccountabilityproject.com/wp-content/u... and for a timeline of this administration's arms to Israel, see www.forumarmstrade.org/us-israel-tr...

In this article, I dig into @sarajacobs.house.gov's crucial new bill to require tracking of US weapons used in civilian harm, and to cut off arms sales to countries that use American weapons to carry out atrocity crimes.

Just Security@justsecurity.org · last yr.

@jwrchappell.bsky.social and Kate Fin (CIVIC) break down the Silver Shield Act, which they explain gives Congress an opportunity to take real action to prevent civilian harm from U.S. weapons transfers. www.justsecurity.org/117989/silve...

@jwrchappell.bsky.social and Kate Fin (CIVIC) break down the Silver Shield Act, which they explain gives Congress an opportunity to take real action to prevent civilian harm from U.S. weapons transfers. www.justsecurity.org/117989/silve...

The Silver Shield Act: A Bill to Track Misuse of American Weapons

Congress can turn to the Silver Shield Act when it is ready to take real action to prevent civilian harm from U.S. weapons transfers.

justsecurity.org

It is also US law. www.justsecurity.org/93589/no-mil...

Section 620I: No Military Assistance to States Restricting U.S. Humanitarian Assistance

The United States should be using the leverage this provision creates to shape more responsible Israeli policies toward aid delivery.

justsecurity.org

Jen Bendery@jbendery.bsky.social · last yr.

In a new statement, Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) says he's done supporting any aid to Israel amid Gaza's nutrition and humanitarian crisis. "My litmus test will be simple: no aid of any kind as long as there are starving children in Gaza due to the action or inaction of the Israeli government.”

I am sickened by what we’re seeing in Gaza right now. The IDF has blocked aid while shooting people waiting in food lines for what little aid is actually coming from the sham Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Israel needs to lift its blockade and the U.S. needs to stop sending bombs.

More than 100 aid groups warn of 'mass starvation' in Gaza amid Israel's war with Hamas

A statement released by the 115 aid groups warned of "record rates of acute malnutrition" in the Gaza Strip.

abcnews.go.com