JUSTIFICATION REDEFINED ; .. A year ago, the chief military lawyer of the United States promised Americans that the Obama administration, unlike the Bush administration, wouldn’t bend the law to suit its wishes. “In the conflict against an unconventional enemy such as al-Qaida, we must consistently apply conventional legal principles,” said Jeh Johnson, the Defense Department’s general counsel. “We must not make it up to suit the moment. Against an unconventional enemy that observes no borders and does not play by the rules, we must guard against aggressive interpretations of our authorities that will discredit our efforts, provoke controversy and invite challenge.”
Today, that promise is roadkill. To justify drone strikes against al-Qaida and its “associates,” the United States has redefined every legal term that got in the way. We have done this explicitly because honoring the original meanings of these terms would cost us too much.
White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan made the first public move in September 2011. The United States would strike only to avert an “imminent” attack, but with a caveat:
We are finding increasing recognition in the international community that a more flexible understanding of "imminence" may be appropriate when dealing with terrorist groups, in part because threats posed by non-state actors do not present themselves in the ways that evidenced imminence in more traditional conflicts. After all, al-Qaida does not follow a traditional command structure, wear uniforms, carry its arms openly, or mass its troops at the borders of the nations it attacks. Nonetheless, it possesses the demonstrated capability to strike with little notice and cause significant civilian or military casualties. ...CONT /-
JUSTIFICATION REDEFINED ; ..
ReplyDeleteA year ago, the chief military lawyer of the United States promised Americans that the Obama administration, unlike the Bush administration, wouldn’t bend the law to suit its wishes. “In the conflict against an unconventional enemy such as al-Qaida, we must consistently apply conventional legal principles,” said Jeh Johnson, the Defense Department’s general counsel. “We must not make it up to suit the moment. Against an unconventional enemy that observes no borders and does not play by the rules, we must guard against aggressive interpretations of our authorities that will discredit our efforts, provoke controversy and invite challenge.”
Today, that promise is roadkill. To justify drone strikes against al-Qaida and its “associates,” the United States has redefined every legal term that got in the way. We have done this explicitly because honoring the original meanings of these terms would cost us too much.
White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan made the first public move in September 2011. The United States would strike only to avert an “imminent” attack, but with a caveat:
We are finding increasing recognition in the international community that a more flexible understanding of "imminence" may be appropriate when dealing with terrorist groups, in part because threats posed by non-state actors do not present themselves in the ways that evidenced imminence in more traditional conflicts. After all, al-Qaida does not follow a traditional command structure, wear uniforms, carry its arms openly, or mass its troops at the borders of the nations it attacks. Nonetheless, it possesses the demonstrated capability to strike with little notice and cause significant civilian or military casualties.
...CONT /-