 |
|
February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
|
| |
Jewish World Review
April 23, 2004
/ 2 Iyar, 5764
Back Bush on extra-judicial killings
By
Alan Dershowitz
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.jewishworldreview.com |
The U.S. Army was recently given a specific military order. According to the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Lieutenant-General Ricardo Sanchez, the mission is to kill the radical Shia cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr.
This order to target al-Sadr for extra-judicial killing is perfectly legitimate and lawful under the laws of war. Al-Sadr is a combatant, and it is proper to kill a combatant during a war unless he surrenders first. It does not matter whether the combatant is a cook or bombmaker, a private or a general. Nor does it matter whether he wears an army uniform, a three-piece suit or a kaffiyeh. So long as he is in the chain of command, he is an appropriate target regardless of whether he is actually engaged in combat at the time that he is killed or is fast asleep. Of course, his killing would be extra-judicial. Military attacks against combatants are not preceded by jury trials or judicial warrants.
Al-Sadr fits squarely into any reasonable definition of combatant. He leads a militia that has declared war on American and coalition forces, as well as on civilians, both foreign and Iraqi. He is at the top of the chain of command, and it is he who presses the on-off button for the killings. Like Osama bin Laden and Mullah Muhammad Omar, he is a proper military target, so long as he can be killed without disproportional injury to non-combatants. If American forces can capture him, they are permitted that option as well, but they are not required — under the laws of war — to endanger the lives of their soldiers in order to spare al Sadr's life. Indeed, unless he were to surrender, it is entirely lawful for American troops to kill him rather than to capture him — if it were decided that this was tactically advantageous. Although U.S. commanders mentioned capture along with killing as an option, it may well be preferable not to capture al-Sadr, for fear that his imprisonment would provoke even more hostage taking.
The world seems to understand and accept the American decision to target al-Sadr for killing, as it accepts our belated decision to try to kill bin Laden and Mullah Omar. There has been little international condemnation of America's policy of extra-judicial killing of terrorist leaders. Indeed the predominant criticism has been that we did not get bin Laden and Mullah Omar before September 11.
How then to explain the world's very different reaction to Israel's decision to target terrorist leaders, such as Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel-Aziz al Rantisi, the former leaders of Hamas? Surely there is no legal or moral difference between Yassin and al-Rantisi, on the one hand, and al-Sadr on the other. Yassin and al-Rantisi both ordered terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians, and praised them when they succeeded. Each was responsible for hundreds of civilian deaths and was involved in ordering and planning more terrorist attacks at the time of his death. They were terrorist commanders, just as al-Sadr is. They were both killed, along with their military bodyguards, in a manner that minimized civilian casualties, even though they generally — and unlawfully — hid among civilians, using them as human shields. Israel waited until they and their guards were alone and then targeted them successfully. There was no realistic possibility of capturing them alive since they had sworn to die fighting, and any attempt to extirpate them from the civilians among whom they were hiding would have resulted in numerous civilian casualties.
Reasonable people can disagree about whether the decision to target Yassin, al-Rantisi, al-Sadr, bin Laden or any other terrorist is tactically wise or unwise, or whether it will reduce or increase the dangers to civilians. But no reasonable argument can be made that the decision to target these combatants — these terrorist commanders — is unlawful under the laws of war or under international law.
The Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, was simply wrong when he declared that targeted assassinations of this kind — specifically referring to the killings of Yassin and al-Rantisi — are unlawful and in violation of international law. And he knows it, because his own Government has authorized the killing of terrorist leaders who threaten British interests. I challenge Mr. Straw to distinguish Israel's killing of Yassin and Rantisi from the coalition's targeting of al-Sadr, Saddam Hussein and his sons, bin Laden, and Mullah Omar. He could not do so. Any claims that Hamas is divided into military and political (or religious) wings is belied by the fact that Yassin and al-Rantisi both ordered the military wing of Hamas to engage in acts of terrorism and approved specific murderous acts in advance.
If Mr. Straw cannot distinguish between these situations, then does he disapprove of the American policy of killing al-Sadr? If British troops were to have al-Sadr — or for that matter bin Laden — in their sights, would they hold their fire because Mr. Straw has told them it would be illegal to pull the trigger? We have a right to know the answers to these questions, since American and British troops are supposedly operating under the same rules of engagement. Or would the Foreign Secretary simply (and honestly) say he is not applying the same rules to Israel as he is to his own nation and its military allies?
The international community cannot retain any credibility if it continues to apply a different, and more demanding, standard to Israel than it does to more powerful nations.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz's most recent book is "The Case for Israel." (To purchase, click HERE. Sales help fund JWR.) Comment by clicking here.
© 2004, Alan Dershowitz
|
