About the Book
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.
Table of Contents:
Author Biographies
Acknowledgments
List of Treaties and Sources Frequently Cited in this Book
Foreword 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. Corn
Chapter 1
Legal Basis for the Use of Armed Conflict / by Geoffrey S. Corn
Chapter 2
Triggering the Law of Armed Conflict? / by Geoffrey S. Corn
Chapter 3
Targeting of Persons and Property / by Eric Talbot Jensen
Chapter 4
Interrogation and Treatment of Detainees in the Global War on Terror / by Dick Jackson
Chapter 5
Detention of Combatants and the War on Terror / by James A. Schoettler, Jr.
Chapter 6
Trial and Punishment for Battlefield Misconduct / by Dru Brenner-Beck
Chapter 7
Battlefield Perspectives on the Laws of War / by Michael W. Lewis
Index
About the Author :
Geoffrey S. Corn is The Presidential Research Professor of Law at South Texas College of Law in Houston Texas, who retired in 2004 from the U.S. Army as Lieutenant Colonel (Retired). Professor Corn's teaching and scholarship focuses on the law of armed conflict, national security law, criminal law and procedure, and prosecutorial ethics.
James A. Schoettler, Jr. is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. He is a retired U.S. Army Colonel, with 30 years of service as a Judge Advocate on active duty and in the Army Reserve.
Dru Brenner-Beck is an attorney in private practice in Littleton, Colorado, and consults on international law matters. She served in the U.S. Army initially as a Military Intelligence officer, and then as a member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps. She is also the current President of the National Institute of Military Justice.
Victor M. Hansen is Associate Dean and Professor of Law at New England Law Boston. Professor Hansen holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from Lewis and Clark Law School. He is a co-author of the first edition of The War on Terror and the Laws of War. He previously served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps.
Richard B. "Dick" Jackson is the Special Assistant to the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General for Law of War Matters. He is a retired U.S. Army Colonel, with over 30 years of experience as an Infantryman and Judge Advocate. Mr. Jackson has written extensively and frequently lectured on law of war matters.
Eric Talbot Jensen is an Associate Professor at Brigham Young Law School in Provo, Utah, where he teaches Public International Law, US National Security Law, Criminal Law, and the Law of Armed Conflict. He has written a number of law review articles appearing in such journals as the Michigan Journal of International Law, International Law Studies, and the Minnesota Journal of International Law.
Michael W. Lewis is a professor of law at Ohio Northern University School of Law. He has written extensively on various aspects of the laws of war and the conflict between the US and al Qaeda. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1987-95 where he flew F-14's from the aircraft carrier USS Independence.
Review :
"For the second time a seasoned group of scholars with extensive military experience have written a lucid, balanced, and especially valuable analysis of the laws of war in an era of transnational terrorism. I know of no other collection that so effectively and seamlessly blends the rich perspectives drawn from military experience with thoughtful scholarly analysis. From threshold questions of the applicability of the laws of war to detailed examination of
targeting, interrogation and treatment, detention and trial, this is a must-read." -William C. Banks, Director, Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism, Board of Advisors Distinguished
Professor, Syracuse University College of Law
"Issues of targeting, detention, interrogation, and prosecution are among the most pressing and controversial questions in our politics today. Some say the treatment of these topics in the laws of war must evolve in order to account for the changing face of armed conflict, while others argue that the case for new rules has not been made, and in any event disagreement abounds as to when the laws of war apply at all. Unfortunately, we don't often hear the
perspective of military practitioners in this debate. This indispensable volume closes that gap, and is a must-read for experts and novices alike."
--Professor Robert M. Chesney,
University of Texas School of Law, Member of the U.S. Dept. of Justice's Gitmo Task Force
"The authors' blend of scholarly perspective with military experience makes the discussion of intricate legal issues relating to the declared 'war on terror' more captivating."
--Gentian Zyberi
International Law Observer
"The best new book you can read on the subject. . . Rarely does one get the chance to read a careful, academic analysis written from the vantage point of scholars with such extensive experience with so many different facets of the subject of their study"
--Jeffrey Kahn, ConcurringOpinions.com
"This book is mandatory reading for both lawyers and policy makers involved in national security. While some people believe international law and the law of armed conflict are irrelevant in conflicts with terrorists that abide by neither, the authors thoughtfully argue that with advancements in applicable law for the law to retain legitimacy, and integration of law, policy, and strategy--we can win, but if we abandon the Rule of Law, we have already lost."
-Walter B. Huffman, Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law, Texas Tech University School of Law, Major General, U. S. Army, Retired
"The passing of 'industrial' wars, for which the basic laws of armed conflict were written, to today's unconventional wars challenges the utility of our force and the legal and moral foundations upon which Americans must fight. The authors elucidate and guide the reader through these complexities with powerful analysis. This is a book for warriors at all levels who have to make the agonizing decisions in the conduct of war." -Lt. Gen. Harry E. "Ed" Soyster,
US Army (ret)
