Many years after the United States initiated a military response to the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, the nation continues to prosecute what it considers an armed conflict against transnational terrorist groups. Understanding how the law of armed conflict applies to and regulates military operations executed within the scope of this armed conflict against transnational non-state terrorist groups is as important today as it was in September 2001.In The War on Terror and the Laws of War seven legal scholars, each with experience as military officers, focus on how to strike an effective balance between the necessity of using armed violence to subdue a threat to the nation with the humanitarian interest of mitigating the suffering inevitably associated with that use. Each chapter addresses a specific operational issue, including the national right of self-defense, military targeting and the use of drones, detention, interrogation, trial by military commission of captured terrorist operatives, and the impact of battlefield perspectives on counter-terror military operations, while illustrating how the law of armed conflict influences resolution of that issue. This Second Edition carries on the critical mission of continuing the ongoing dialogue about the law from an unabashedly military perspective, bringing practical wisdom to the contentious topic of applying international law to the battlefield.

Author BiographiesAcknowledgmentsList of Treaties and Sources Frequently Cited in this BookForeword to the Second Edition, by Major General (Retired) Charles J. Dunlap, Jr.Foreword to the First Edition, by Major General (Retired) Charles J. Dunlap, Jr.Introduction, by Geoffrey S. CornChapter 1Legal Basis for the Use of Armed Conflict / by Geoffrey S. CornChapter 2Triggering the Law of Armed Conflict? / by Geoffrey S. CornChapter 3Targeting of Persons and Property / by Eric Talbot JensenChapter 4Interrogation and Treatment of Detainees in the Global War on Terror / by Dick JacksonChapter 5Detention of Combatants and the War on Terror / by James A. Schoettler, Jr.Chapter 6Trial and Punishment for Battlefield Misconduct / by Dru Brenner-BeckChapter 7Battlefield Perspectives on the Laws of War / by Michael W. LewisIndex