The Legal Use of Terror as a Weapon

Abstract

This study investigates the legal use of terror as a weapon to accomplish national goals and objectives. This study does not advocate using terrorism. Terrorism, for the purpose of this paper, is illegal. Legal terror, by my criteria, conforms to the standards of the laws of land warfare. Specific Criteria are established to define what constitutes using legal terror as a weapon. These criteria are used to analyze specific case studies to determine if the United States has used legal terror in the past. There are two major factors in defining legal terror. First, the target must be legally viable as defined by the laws of land warfare. Secondly, the method of engaging that target must also conform to the laws of war. The conclusion of this study is that legal terror is a legitimate weapon. It has been used in the past and will probably be used in the future.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 05, 1992
Accession Number
ADA255168

Entities

People

  • David R. Hogg

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Army Personnel
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Criminals
  • Employment
  • Governments
  • Guerrilla Warfare
  • Insurgency
  • International Law
  • Military Organizations
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Students
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Strategic Security Studies
  • Systems Analysis and Design