In its July 22 issue, The Weekly Standard published an article co-authored by Mr. Williamson entitled, “Where Is The Law of War Manual?” In the article, the authors complain that final publication of an updated Department of Defense Law of War Manual, which provides “authoritative guidance to military personnel on the customary and treaty law of war,” has been delayed for over 30 months.

The authors express concern that changes are being made to the near-final document for political reasons, the recent lack of transparency and the harm this could cause to U.S. troops. The authors suggest “the confirmations of the new State Department legal adviser and DoD general counsel offer the Senate the opportunity to get answers to these troubling issues.”