ndupress.ndu.edu SF No. 286 1
T
he struggle against terrorism—more specically, the eort to prevent
terrorist attacks—has raised dicult legal and policy issues including
so-called targeted killing, or the killing of specic individuals because
of their involvement in terrorist organizations and operations. As we shall see,
this form of targeted killing involves domestic and international legal authorities
and policy and prudential issues. A substantial number of countries confronting
what they consider to be terrorist attacks and threats engage in targeted killings.
Each has to resolve questions about authorities and prudence because, while
terrorists are always criminals, they also may be lawful military targets. e dual
character of terrorists leads to the conclusion that, as a matter of policy, a state
should weigh the totality of the circumstances and conclude that no other action
is reasonable to prevent a terrorist attack before engaging in the targeted killing.
Careful analysis in advance may preempt problems later.
is essay addresses the question principally from the American perspec-
tive. It examines the authority, as a matter of U.S. law, for the United States
to kill individual terrorists and the international legal context for such opera-
tions. e operating premise is that the targeted killing of al Qaeda leaders is
emblematic of the subject under review in contrast to such domestic police
action against terrorists as the arrest, prosecution, conviction, and execution
of Timothy McVeigh, who was principally responsible for the bombing of the
Federal oce building in Oklahoma City in April 1995.
1
e essay concludes
that authority in domestic and international law exists for such operations
and that, as a policy choice, the United States would do well to apply the Ge-
neva Conventions of 1949 in the conict with terrorists whether or not it is
legally required. In any event, policymakers need to weigh the consequences
of targeted killing operations because, like all military operations, unforeseen
results—positive and negative—are likely.
Targeted Killing of Terrorists
By Nicholas Rostow
Strategic Forum
National Defense University
About the Author
Dr. Nicholas Rostow is Distinguished
Research Professor and Senior
Director in the Center for Strategic
Research, Institute for National
Strategic Studies, at the National
Defense University. He is also a Senior
Research Scholar at the Yale Law
School.
Key Points
The battle against terrorism
raises important legal and policy
concerns for the United States.
Efforts to prevent terrorist attacks
include the controversial practice
of targeted killing, for example—
the identication and killing of
individuals involved in terrorist
operations and organizations.
Authority for targeted killing exists
in domestic and international law.
As a matter of policy even if it is
not legally required, the United
States should use the Geneva
Conventions of 1949 to guide its
confrontations with terrorists.
March 2014
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