Targeted Killings by Finkelstein, Claire; Ohlin, Jens David; Altman, Andrew;

Law and Morality in an Asymmetrical World

Series: Ethics, National Security, and the Rule of Law;

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Product details:

Publisher OUP Oxford
Date of Publication 1 March 2012

ISBN 9780199646487
Binding Paperback
No. of pages520 pages
Size 245x171x28 mm
Weight 902 g
Language English

Short description:

The controversy surrounding targeted killings represents a crisis of conscience for policymakers, lawyers, philosophers and leading military experts grappling with the moral and legal limits of the war on terror. The book examines the legal and philosophical issues raised by government efforts to target suspected terrorists without giving them the safeguards of a fair trial.

Long description:

The war on terror is remaking conventional warfare. The protracted battle against a non-state organization, the demise of the confinement of hostilities to an identifiable battlefield, the extensive involvement of civilian combatants, and the development of new and more precise military technologies have all conspired to require a rethinking of the law and morality of war. Just war theory, as traditionally articulated, seems ill-suited to justify many of the practices of the war on terror. The raid against Osama Bin Laden's Pakistani compound was the highest profile example of this strategy, but the issues raised by this technique cast a far broader net: every week the U.S. military and CIA launch remotely piloted drones to track suspected terrorists in hopes of launching a missile strike against them.

In addition to the public condemnation that these attacks have generated in some countries, the legal and moral basis for the use of this technique is problematic. Is the U.S. government correct that nations attacked by terrorists have the right to respond in self-defense by targeting specific terrorists for summary killing? Is there a limit to who can legitimately be placed on the list? There is also widespread disagreement about whether suspected terrorists should be considered combatants subject to the risk of lawful killing under the laws of war or civilians protected by international humanitarian law. Complicating the moral and legal calculus is the fact that innocent bystanders are often killed or injured in these attacks. This book addresses these issues. Featuring chapters by an unrivalled set of experts, it discusses all aspects of targeted killing, making it unmissable reading for anyone interested in the implications of this practice.

We are entering a new era in which targeted killing will be the preferred method of fighting enemies in a great many contexts. In terms of geographical reach, targeting precision, the manageability of the intervention, and the minimization of the cost and casualties, the practice is hugely attractive to militaries and politicians alike. But it also comes with potentially grave costs in terms of respect for basic moral principles, as well as established human rights and international humanitarian law. This book provides the best possible panorama of diverse and competing perspectives on emerging practices and will be an invaluable guide to those shaping future policies in this area.

Preface
Introduction
PART I: THE CHANGING FACE OF WAR: TARGETING NON-COMBATANTS
Allowing the State to Rebut the Civilian Presumption: Playing Whack-A-Mole Without a Mallet?
Targeting Co-belligerents
Can Just War Theory Justify Targeted Killing? Three Possible Models
Justifying Targeted Killing With a Neutral Principle?
PART II: NORMATIVE FOUNDATIONS: LAW ENFORCEMENT OR WAR?
The Ethics of Targeted Killing on a Moral Continuum
Targeted Killing as Preemptive Action
The Privilege of Belligerency and Formal Declarations of War
PART III: TARGETED KILLING AND SELF-DEFENSE
Going Medieval: Targeted Killing, Self-Defense, and the Jus ad Bellum Regime
Imminence in Justified Targeted Killing
Defending Defensive Targeted Killings
PART IV: EXERCISING JUDGMENT IN TARGETED KILLING DECISIONS
The Importance of Criteria-Based Reasoning in Targeted Killing Decisions
Are Targeted Killings Unlawful? A Case Study in Empirical Claims without Empirical Evidence
Operation Neptune Spear: Was Killing Bin Laden a Legitimate Military Objective?
Efficiency in Bello and ad Bellum: Making the Use of Force Too Easy?
PART V: UTILITARIAN TRADE-OFFS AND DEONTOLOGICAL CONSTRAINTS
Targeted Killing and the Logic of Double Effect
Targeted Killings and the Morality of Hard Choices
Targeted Killing and the Strategic use of Self-Defense
Index