The manual provides a needed update from the US Army’s Field Manual 27-10’s rather brief treatment of weapons, which is limited to two pages in Section III, Forbidden Means of Waging Warfare. While Professor Glazier’s recent argument that some of these stated positions are not particularly useful is fair, one overlooked aspect of the manual’s helpfulness is its discussion on weapons law. For those of us tasked with applying the law of armed conflict to military operations, the manual finally provides the Defense Department’s (DOD) concrete positions on a variety of topics (an easy example is the section on “Civilians Taking a Direct Part in Hostilities”).

This series includes posts from Sean Watts, Eric Jensen, Adil Ahmad Haque, Geoffrey Corn, Charlie Dunlap, Jr., John Dehn, Rachel VanLandingham, Gary Brown, and David Glazier, with more to come.Īs evidenced by the posts on this blog and others, the new Department of Defense Law of War Manual has certainly given the academic community plenty to analyze.

Editor’s Note: Just Security is holding a “ mini forum” on the new Defense Department Law of War Manual.

What are the laws of armed conflict