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Yesterday I posted a lengthy response to Gabor Rona’s critique of the Brennan speech, and Gabor has now replied to my comments. Alas, we seem to be speaking past one another in various ways (for example, I critiqued what I understood to be Gabor’s argument for a narrow domestic law interpretation of the AUMF as a matter of domestic law, and Gabor responds that I improperly focused on domestic law when it is IHL that is really in issue), and worse we may be misunderstanding one another’s positions (for example, a reader of Gabor’s response who did not read my original post almost certainly would come away thinking that I had argued for a simplistic equation of IAC and NIAC targeting concepts (as opposed to what I actually did, which was to write several paragraphs surveying the range of positions in the NIAC-specific debate on this matter)). I think it best at this point simply to refer readers back to our original arguments. I believe mine stand entirely untouched by Gabor’s reply, and I am sure he feels the same way about his.
Robert (Bobby) Chesney is the Dean of the University of Texas School of Law, where he also holds the James A. Baker III Chair in the Rule of Law and World Affairs at UT. He is known internationally for his scholarship relating both to cybersecurity and national security. He is a co-founder of Lawfare, the nation’s leading online source for analysis of national security legal issues, and he co-hosts the popular show The National Security Law Podcast.