U.S. Material Support Laws: The Next Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell?

In late September the United States formally ended its “Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy for gays and lesbians in military service, ending a policy criticized for many years as discriminatory and leading to unequal enforcement. But the DADT concept appears to be alive and well. U.S. enforcement policy on the extremely broad definition of prohibited material support to terrorism in the context of humanitarian aid and efforts to end violent conflict is quickly evolving into a DADT approach.