Al-Qaeda's attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 shattered preexisting notions about terrorism. Historically, the world community has viewed terrorism as a criminal activity to be opposed by law enforcement. Post-9/11, opinion has shifted toward the view that international terrorists are combatants in an ongoing armed conflict between the United States and its allies. This paper asserts that targeted killing of terrorists is a legal and effective tool Combatant Commanders (COCOMs) should employ in the war on terrorism. To provide the legal basis for targeted killing, the author examines existing international legal opinion and the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), showing targeted killing is not assassination and that the targeted killing of terrorists can be defended -- when conducted according to LOAC -- as legitimate military action against unlawful enemy combatants. Included is a brief discussion of Israel's targeted killing campaign to demonstrate that targeted killing is an effective as well as a legal tactic. Finally, the paper contends that the authorization of targeted killing operations should rest with COCOMs, and makes recommendations to the operational commander for maximizing success without negatively impacting the overall campaign against international terrorism.
Targeted Killing: A Legal and Effective Tool for the Commander in the War on Terror
2008
30 pages
Report
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Social Concerns , Military Operations, Strategy, & Tactics , Assassination , Targeting , International law , Terrorists , Counterterrorism , Military tactics , Crimes , Law enforcement , Interagency coordination , United nations , United states government , Israel , Military forces(United states) , Military commanders , Targeted killings , Combatant of armed conflict , Al qaeda , Unlawful combatants , Loac(Law of armed conflict) , Legal analysis , Self defense , Geneva conventions
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