Kate Brannen
@k8brannen.bsky.social
Non-Resident Journalism Fellow at NYU’s Reiss Center on Law and Security. Formerly: Foreign Affairs, Just Security, Foreign Policy, and Politico.
Trump "wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle," Susie Wiles said. But there have been more than 20 strikes on suspected drug boats since Maduro’s capture in January. Why hasn’t the killing stopped if Maduro is sitting in a Brooklyn jail?
Why is the US continuing to strike boats in the Caribbean and Pacific? @k8brannen.bsky.social reflects on the on going strikes—that are costing lives. Zombie Mission: The US’ Killing Spree in the Caribbean and Pacific open.substack.com/pub/interrup...
Zombie Mission: The US’ Killing Spree in the Caribbean and Pacific
The US continues to target vessels in southern waters. Why?
open.substack.com
The Department of Justice is trying to get the NAACP’s Clean Air Act suit against xAI tossed because it claims the government should be able to block *all* citizen suits it opposes to avoid “Article II” concerns. As today’s “One First” explains, this argument is as scary and alarming as it is novel:
234. DOJ, Citizen Suits, and the xAI Litigation
DOJ's move to toss out a lawsuit against xAI for illegally operating gas-burning turbines to power data centers turns on a dangerous new constitutional claim.
stevevladeck.com
The U.S. military does not need a new “special” panel to review its legal system, write Franklin D. Rosenblatt and Eugene R. Fidell. Instead, "it is crucial that the Military Justice Review Panel be restored as required under statute." www.justsecurity.org/139098/armed...
The Armed Forces Need the Military Justice Review Panel
Former Judge Advocates General explain why it is crucial that the Military Justice Review Panel be restored as required under statute.
justsecurity.org
A great conversation. Mon 5/18 at 1pm ET Zoom Reporting at a Crossroads: National Security, Democracy, and Challenges to a Free Press Among best in the business Missy Ryan Ben Pauker David McCraw @bechamilton.bsky.social milton.bsky.social @k8brannen.bsky.social nen.bsky.social (moderator) RSVP
Reporting at a Crossroads: National Security, Democracy, and the Challenges to a Free Press - Reiss Center on Law and Security
A free and independent press has long been understood as a core element of healthy and secure democracies. Particularly in the realm of national security and foreign policy, news reporting and investi...
lawandsecurity.org
📣Join us today at 1pm (virtual)📣 #natsec media experts + top legal minds on "National Security, Democracy, and the Challenges to a Free Press" Missy Ryan Ben Pauker David McCraw @bechamilton.bsky.social @k8brannen.bsky.social W/ co-host @justsecurity.org 1-2 pm ET Join here👇
Reporting at a Crossroads: National Security, Democracy, and the Challenges to a Free Press - Reiss Center on Law and Security
A free and independent press has long been understood as a core element of healthy and secure democracies. Particularly in the realm of national security and foreign policy, news reporting and investi...
lawandsecurity.org
Very excited for this conversation on May 18: Reporting at a Crossroads: National Security, Democracy, and the Challenges to a Free Press An amazing panel brought together by NYU's @rcls-nyu.bsky.social. Sign up here: www.lawandsecurity.org/calendar/rep...
Reporting at a Crossroads: National Security, Democracy, and the Challenges to a Free Press - Reiss Center on Law and Security
A free and independent press has long been understood as a core element of healthy and secure democracies. Particularly in the realm of national security and foreign policy, news reporting and investi...
lawandsecurity.org
📣Virtual Event Reporting at a Crossroads: National Security, Democracy, & the Challenges to a Free Press Stellar panel: @bechamilton.bsky.social David McCraw Ben Pauker @nancyayoussef.bsky.social @k8brannen.bsky.social Join us 5/18 | 1-2pm ET | Zoom RSVP: www.lawandsecurity.org/calendar/rep...
Reporting at a Crossroads: National Security, Democracy, and the Challenges to a Free Press - Reiss Center on Law and Security
A free and independent press has long been understood as a core element of healthy and secure democracies. Particularly in the realm of national security and foreign policy, news reporting and investi...
lawandsecurity.org
The US military is great at lethality. Truly world-class. Point to something and the US military can kill everyone there. But lethality is a means, not an end. Ends are inherently political. Said millions of times but bears repeating, since the people who don’t get it are in charge of the country.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 5mo agoPalantir CEO Alex Karp: "What makes America special right now is our lethal capacities. Our ability to fight war."
"U.S. officials called London insurers and brokers, trying to figure out how the market operates, industry insiders said." When applied to the current administration, I urge caution in using terms like "plans," "strategy," "policy," or "doctrine." www.wsj.com/finance/u-s-...
U.S. Plan to Unblock Strait of Hormuz Collides With Realities of Global Insurance
The U.S.-centric insurance idea runs counter to the realities of an international market, according to industry executives.
wsj.com
It’s Trump’s War. We’re Stuck With the Bill. Check, please. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/o...
Opinion | It’s Trump’s War. We’re Stuck With the Bill.
nytimes.com
“Trump’s military habit will very likely be paid for by borrowing money, adding to the nearly $39 trillion national debt,” Kate Brannen writes. “Which means that whatever the other results of his military adventures, Americans will be paying for them for years to come.”
Opinion | It’s Trump’s War. We’re Stuck With the Bill.
What are we getting for all of President Trump’s military spending?
nyti.ms
Rand Paul: "I think we've gotten overextended. This is our second war in a month, and these wars are very very expensive not only in the lives that are lost, but also in treasure. I'm very very concerned about the debt. Half a trillion dollars for the military budget is fiscally irresponsible."
How much is Trump's war on Iran costing us In 6 days, it's cost over $11 billion. @k8brannen.bsky.social on the out of control military spending, which will add to our out of control debt. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/o...
Opinion | It’s Trump’s War. We’re Stuck With the Bill.
nytimes.com
"Rather than gutting everything else, Mr. Trump’s military habit will very likely be paid for by borrowing money, adding to the nearly $39 trillion national debt." www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/o...
Opinion | It’s Trump’s War. We’re Stuck With the Bill.
nytimes.com
It’s Trump’s War. We’re Stuck With the Bill. Check, please. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/o...
Opinion | It’s Trump’s War. We’re Stuck With the Bill.
nytimes.com
The prohibition on perfidy was established so that opposing armies won't shoot at targets that appear to be civilian. But here, the men on the boats weren't going to shoot at anyone, and *they* were the civilians who were unlawfully targeted.
This just shows how absurd the whole "armed conflict" framing is. The men on the boats weren't members of an organized armed force, and therefore the question of "perfidy" is inapposite. The problem is that they were civilians who were murdered. @justsecurity.org www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/u...
U.S. Attacked Boat With Aircraft That Looked Like a Civilian Plane
nytimes.com
i just watched this video and the fact that they believe this to be exculpatory is genuinely insane
conputer dipshit@davidcrespo.bsky.social · 7mo agoah. they all got the memo xcancel.com/JDVance/stat...
"Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents. They’ve had their necks kneeled on. They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear. At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them." (Published Oct. 2025)
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
propublica.org
ICE killed a member of our community today. ICE showed up at my kid’s daycare today. ICE is bragging about the number of families they’ve torn apart in a matter of days, and promising that their campaign of terror isn’t done.
Renee Nicole Good, the woman shot & killed by an ICE agent, had a young son whose father died in 2023, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune “There’s nobody else in his life,” the boy’s grandfather told the paper. “I’ll drive. I’ll fly. To come get my grandchild.” www.huffpost.com/entry/latest...
The fundamental problem here--even if there were some legal basis for using such force to destroy the cocaine headed to Suriname (there's not)--is that Bradley accepted at face value ... [1] @justsecurity.org
Ryan Goodman@rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 8mo agoTake this in. "[Admiral] Bradley ... affirmed having sought real-time legal advice, but that he did not say whether his military lawyer considered the survivors shipwrecked and out of the fight."
This is the big story: 1) The President ordered a killing campaign outside of the law. 2) He got OLC to make up a fake war to justify killing real people. 3) And he got the military to carry out the killings. Purporting to justify those killings is aiding in covering up that plain reality 👇 2/2
(1/3) It’s time for one of our favorite annual traditions, end-of-year book recommendations from the Just Security community! www.justsecurity.org/126111/just-...
The Just Security 2025 Year-End Book Recommendations
Just Security editors recommend books they read this year, including those that illuminated world issues and brought joy into their 2025.
justsecurity.org
