Clarity and consistency required to achieve U.S. objectives in Iran
Following news about U.S and Israeli plans for possible new strikes on Iran following the midterm elections, U.S. Army General (Ret.) Joseph Votel joined NPR’s Leila Fadel to discuss the future of the conflict. General Votel, a member of CERL’s Executive Board, noted that new strikes may damage Iran, but that Tehran has demonstrated an […]
Reverberating effects of torture at Guantánamo Bay subject of new documentary
Mark Fallon, former Deputy Assistant Director and Chief Investigator for the Guantánamo Military Commissions and CERL Advisory Council Member, is a subject of the new short documentary Leaving Hotel California about his experiences and those of a detainee at Guantánamo. The film premiers this weekend at the Golden Isles Film Festival in coastal Georgia, and […]
Extreme and wide-ranging consequences of Trump administration’s climate decisions
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under President Trump, announced last month that it would roll back limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Experts at Penn, including CERL Affiliated Faculty Member Eric Orts, discussed the change with The Daily Pennsylvanian, noting that it could have irreversibly dire consequences, and hurt both individuals affected by climate change and […]
Experts discuss the implications of Nidal Hasan’s planned execution
The proposed public military execution of Nidal Hasan continues to provoke controversy around its rationale and implementation. CERL Distinguished Senior Fellow Brenner Fissell, quoted by the Associated Press, notes that while execution by firing squad actually has the potential to be a clean, quick, and humane method, in this instance it was likely chosen as […]
Moral and procedural questions surround the Pentagon’s decision to publicly livestream a military execution
As the Pentagon announced contentious plans to publicly execute Nidal Hasan, convicted of murdering 13 people and injuring dozens more at Fort Hood in 2009, experts weighed in to give context to the events and offer predictions for how the legal proceedings will unfold. In interviews with Fox 4 Dallas News Live and CBS News, […]
New decisions show the continuing stain of the 9/11 commission
Since the end of August, the presiding judge in the 9/11 military commission has decided to suppress the “confessions” of three of the four accused masterminds of the 9/11 attacks, part of a larger pattern in which governmental evidence in the 9/11 cases has proven inadmissible due to the way it was obtained. In a […]
Middle East threats show success of American efforts
General (Ret.) Joseph Votel, former leader of CENTCOM and a member of CERL’s Executive Board, recently joined Fox News’ America Reports to discuss new threats in the Middle East from the IRGC and the Houthis. To General Votel, the threats showcase the success of U.S. efforts to financially squeeze Iran, and indicate a coordinated Iranian […]
CERL experts explore the prospect of midterm election interference
As the midterm elections approach, experts warn about the legal and institutional tactics President Trump could employ to attempt to turn them in his party’s favor. Writing for the Democracy Project at NYU Law, Faculty Director Claire Finkelstein and Distinguished Senior Fellow Brenner Fissell explain that the president could attempt to invoke several different laws […]
Implementing feminist concerns in foreign policy infrastructure
The Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies in Sri Lanka recently hosted a webinar on feminist diplomacy and its role shaping Sri Lanka’s future. The panel, which included CERL Affiliated Faculty Member Rangita de Silva de Alwis, discussed both Sri Lanka’s strong history of female representation in top leadership positions as well […]
Frozen conflicts in Iran and Ukraine lead to shifting balance of power
CERL Affiliated Faculty Member and Penn Perry World House Director joined India Today this week to discuss strategic advantages in ongoing conflicts, current events such as the FlyDubai attack and involvement of technology executives in American defense policy, and his predictions for the future of warfare. In particular, Professor Horowitz explained that while the United […]
Prof. Kumar’s work on efficient robotic learning methods wins awards
A study co-authored by CERL Advisory Council Member Vijay Kumar has recently been recognized for its role in advancing AI-enhanced robotics. The paper, on enhancing robotic efficiency at performing multi-step series of actions while learning efficiently and scalably, won both the Best Paper Award in Planning and Control and the Best Conference Paper overall at […]
General Votel addresses movement of more troops to the Middle East
In an October 2, 2026, appearance on Fox News, CERL Executive Board Member and U.S. Army General (Ret.) Joseph Votel discussed a possible intersection between the conflict in Iran and the attempted hijacking of a FlyDubai flight. The general also weighed in on the movement of more troops to the Middle East, noting that economic […]
Updating the Supreme Court for the demands of a two-party system
The Supreme Court has seen renewed scrutiny in recent years over allegations that its decisions are unacceptably partisan. In a new piece for the Brennan Center for Justice, CERL Affiliated Faculty Member Kermit Roosevelt reflects on the varying conceptions of SCOTUS justices as heroes or villains, and notes that an integrated and historical approach to […]
Building successful partner air forces in modern warfare
Interviewed alongside several other guests for the Irregular Warfare Initiative, CERL Affiliated Faculty Member Michael Horowitz joined a discussion on the political, technical, and strategic dimensions of building partner air force capacity. The panelists explored lessons learned in recent conflicts; the breakdown of responsibility between U.S. forces, partner forces, and contractors; and how to orient […]
Slipping standards of nonpartisanship and decreased accountability at the DOJ
CERL Faculty Director Claire Finkelstein recently appeared on PBS News Hour to weigh in on Attorney General Todd Blanche’s seemingly partisan activities on behalf of President Trump and Republican candidates, despite the impartial demands of his role. Professor Finkelstein, who was a vocal opponent of AG Blanche’s nomination to the position, notes that these actions […]
General Votel: The U.S. needs clarity about strategic goals
CERL Executive Board Member Joseph Votel joined other distinguished national security experts to give his opinions at the 2026 Future Security Forum, co-hosted by Arizona State University and New America. Discussing the state of American national security in the 25 years since 9/11, General Votel offered that military aggressiveness is currently taking the place of […]
CERL, Lawfare, and leading law firms convene experts on implications of FARA expansion
Discussion at a September 24, 2026, conference co-hosted by CERL and Lawfare centered around a September 16 Justice Department press release on enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The Trump administration appears to be signaling increased usage of the act in the future, which several experts noted may mean a shift away from FARA’s […]
U.S.’s current approach to warfighting is unsustainable in the modern age
In a new opinion in Foreign Affairs, CERL Affiliated Faculty Member Michael Horowitz argues that the United States’ outdated approach to weapons system development is putting it at a disadvantage in Iran and other possible future conflicts. He notes that the conflict has shown that while expensive, top-of-the-line “exquisite” weapons still have a place, the […]
Lawyers explain implications of FARA press release
In a client alert issued by Covington & Burling, CERL Executive Board Member Robert Kelner and two of his colleagues warn that the DOJ’s September 16, 2026, press release on the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) may signal a change in how the administration views and enforces the act. It is unusual, they note, that […]
SCOTUS mail-in voting decision provides only temporary relief, argues CERL faculty director
In a new op-ed published in The Guardian, CERL Faculty Director Claire Finkelstein argues that last week’s Supreme Court decision in USPS v. California, while a temporary victory for midterm election integrity, is not a durable success. Although the Court ruled that the attempt to change mail-in ballot rules came too close to the elections […]
Xi Jinping’s failure to attend UN meetings sends a message about China’s human rights stance
Chinese President Xi Jinping will be in the United States this week to meet with President Trump, but will not attend the UN meetings in New York, which some experts say is an attempt to avoid diplomatic pressure over human rights issues. CERL Affiliated Faculty Member Mary Ellen O’Connell notes that China may want to […]
Iran conflict reducing American capacity in other key theaters
As the conflict in Iran continues, people dependent on U.S. military deterrence elsewhere have begun to worry about its effect on the U.S.’s defensive capacity. A Guam Daily Post article quoting CERL Executive Board Member Joseph Votel notes that nuclear attack submarines from the Navy’s Seventh Fleet, usually stationed in Japan and Guam, have been […]
Persistent uncertainty following Trump’s ban of media outlets
President Trump’s decision to ban CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the White House has disrupted the press corps and created uncertainty about how the order will affect coverage of key policy issues. In an article for Status, CERL Executive Board Member Mark Zaid predicted that the affected outlets will file legal action against the […]
Little consensus on global definition of terrorism under international law: CERL experts discuss
A social media personality’s recent comments about the United States’ role as a source of terror globally have provoked widespread discussion about the use and definition of the term. In an article for Newsweek, CERL Advisory Council Member Geoffrey Corn and Affiliated Faculty Member Mary Ellen O’Connell weigh in on the legal and practical dimensions […]
Importance of keeping Iranian nuclear development capacity in check
In a recent appearance on Fox News’s America Reports, CERL Executive Board Member Joseph Votel discussed new intelligence showing activity at Iranian nuclear sites and the role of the Bab al-Mandab Strait as a second chokepoint for global oil shipping. The retired general also addressed the claim that gaining nuclear weapons could actually make the […]
After years of neglect, the Pentagon must update its digital infrastructure to meet AI threats
As discussion about the threats AI development poses takes center stage, some experts are arguing that one of the greatest risks comes from the Pentagon’s outdated digital systems. A new Washington Post article citing CERL Affiliated Faculty Member Michael Horowitz notes that the Pentagon has long put off modernizing its digital infrastructure for the sake […]
CERL Affiliated Faculty Member reelected to CEDAW
Rangita de Silva de Alwis, a Penn Carey Law Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Law and Global Leadership and a member of CERL’s Affiliated Faculty, has been reelected to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Since her first election to the body in 2023, Professor de Silva de Alwis has […]
Iran conflict expands even as U.S. and Iran face military and economic constraints
On September 15, 2026, CERL Executive Board Member and U.S. Army General (Ret.) Joseph Votel joined Al Arabiya English to discuss the state of the war in Iran and its many geopolitical dimensions. Addressing the reignition of hostilities in Yemen, General Votel argued that Iran’s longstanding political and material support for the Houthis implicates that […]
25 years after 9/11, terrorist threats facing the United States have evolved
In the wake of 9/11 and the global war on terror, terrorist threats have changed, especially as the rise of the Internet has allowed many “lone wolf” actors to carry out individual attacks without the institutional backing of an established terrorist group. In an article quoting CERL Executive Board Member General Joseph Votel, RFE/RL lays […]