Assassination: A Tool to Counter Osama Bin Laden and Other Transnational Terrorists

Abstract

Osama bin Laden epitomizes the new face of transnational militancy--a terrorist who is not state supported and draws his followers from through out the world. When normal political, economic and diplomatic efforts fail to bring him to justice or to prevent further terrorist acts, should assassination be used to counter him? This paper addresses political, statute and ethical considerations in exploring this counter-terrorism option. Assassination is generally misunderstood because of a lack of a standard definition and interpretation of the law; therefore, each situation should be evaluated separately. Since bin Laden has not been brought to justice and he poses a continuing threat, the United States would be justified in killing him.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 07, 1999
Accession Number
ADA363926

Entities

People

  • Joseph M. Stoker

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Chemical Weapons
  • Counterterrorism
  • Foreign Policy
  • Governments
  • International Law
  • Law
  • National Security
  • Political Systems
  • Public Policy
  • Security
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • United Nations
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • War Colleges

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security
  • Strategic Security Studies