Rational Security 2.0: The 'Anniversar-eve' Edition

Jen Patja, Alan Z. Rozenshtein, Quinta Jurecic, Scott R. Anderson
Wednesday, August 31, 2022, 12:00 PM

Published by The Lawfare Institute
in Cooperation With
Brookings

On this anniversary-eve edition, Alan, Quinta, and Scott reunited to hash through this week’s big national security stories, including:

  • “The Other Other Nuclear Option.” Hostilities in Ukraine are getting perilously close to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, with each side accusing the other of recklessly pursuing military in its vicinity. The IAEA is sending in a team to help secure the site. But what difference can the international community make? Does it need a different response?

  • “Biting the Hand that Retweets You.” A new report indicates that Meta and Twitter have taken down a network of accounts associated with a pro-Western information operation critical of China, Russia, and Iran. Should the United States and its allies be engaging in these sorts of activities? How should social media platforms be treating them?

  • “Fixing the CivCas Mismatch.” The Defense Department has rolled out a long awaited new policy aimed at finally accomplishing that many have long agreed on in principle, but have disagreed on how to prioritize: reducing civilian casualties from U.S. military operations. What does it do and is it likely to work?

For object lessons, Alan celebrated his recent trip to Miami by passing along a recipe for arroz con pollo. Quinta made up for last week with a double-headed set of endorsements: the Twitter feed @WatergateDayOf, which helps readers relive the Watergate scandal one day at a time, and the new Mountain Goats album "Bleed Out.” And Scott urged listeners to get excited about the most exciting biopic of a musician to come out in years: "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story." 


Jen Patja is the editor and producer of the Lawfare Podcast and Rational Security. She currently serves as the Co-Executive Director of Virginia Civics, a nonprofit organization that empowers the next generation of leaders in Virginia by promoting constitutional literacy, critical thinking, and civic engagement. She is the former Deputy Director of the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier and has been a freelance editor for over 20 years.
Alan Z. Rozenshtein is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School, a senior editor at Lawfare, and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, he served as an Attorney Advisor with the Office of Law and Policy in the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland.
Quinta Jurecic is a fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and a senior editor at Lawfare. She previously served as Lawfare's managing editor and as an editorial writer for the Washington Post.
Scott R. Anderson is a fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and a Senior Fellow in the National Security Law Program at Columbia Law School. He previously served as an Attorney-Adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State and as the legal advisor for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.

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