The @Biden admin's 1st strikes are said to be "in response to" recent attacks by "Iranian-backed militant groups" in #Syria.

A few things:

Int'l Legal Basis: I *hope* they mean in self-defense against an imminent threat of armed attack by these groups

defense.gov/Newsroom/Relea… The use of force is *prohibited* absent a valid claim of self-defense (or UN Security Council authorization, not an option here).

Force cannot be used for deterrence or retaliation.

And force must be *necessary* (in addition to "proportionate" as @DeptofDefense states).

With #Trump's term over, I updated the War Powers Resolution Reporting Project with the phenomenal team @RCLS_NYU.

The searchable database analyzes all unclassified 48-hr War Powers reports from enactment through 1/20/2021

warpowers.lawandsecurity.org Trump's war powers legacy is a mix:

-Expansive claimed authority to use force w/out congressional authorization, even against other countries

-Dubious drawdowns (#Syria) alongside troop build-ups (#Saudi)

-Obscuring info. from #Congress & the public

justsecurity.org/74903/trumps-w…

THREAD: I’m excited to launch the War Powers Resolution Reporting Project @RCLS_NYU today.

It’s a new database that analyzes the contents of all unclassified 48-hr reports since the WPR was enacted.

Here are a few of the initial findings....

#WarPowersRCLS First some background: the War Powers Resolution (WPR) requires Presidents to report to Congress within 48-hours in 3 situations:
- introducing armed forces into (imminent) hostilities
- deploying combat-equipped troops
- substantially enlarging a combat-equipped presence