The Laws of War in the War on Terror1
Color profile: Disabled Composite Default screen VIII The Laws of War in the War on Terror1 Adam Roberts2 Introduction he laws of war—the parts of international law explicitly applicable in armed conflict—have a major bearing on the “war on terror” pro- claimed and initiated by the United States following the attacks of 11 Septem- ber 2001. They address a range of critical issues that perennially arise in campaigns against terrorist movements, including discrimination in targeting, protection of civilians, and status and treatment of prisoners. However, the ap- plication of the laws of war in counter-terrorist operations has always been par- ticularly problematical. Because of the character of such operations, different in 1. Copyright © Adam Roberts, 2002, 2003. This is a revised version of Counter-terrorism, Armed Force and the Laws of War,44SURVIVAL 1 (Spring 2002), 7–32. It incorporates information available up to 15 December 2002. I am grateful for help received from a large number of people who read drafts, including particularly Dr. Dana Allin, Dr. Kenneth Anderson, Dr. Mary-Jane Fox, Colonel Charles Garraway, Richard Guelff, Commander Steven Haines, and Professor Mike Schmitt; participants at the Carr Centre conference on “Humanitarian Issues in Military Targeting,” Washington DC, 7–8 March 2002; and participants at the US Naval War College conference on “International Law & the War on Terrorism,” Newport, RI, 26–28 June 2002. Versions of this paper have also appeared on the website of the Social Science Research Council, New York, at http://www.ssrc.org. 2. Sir Adam Roberts is Montague Burton Professor of International Relations at Oxford University and Fellow of Balliol College.
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