page_title: Targeted Killings
section_title: Content summary
hierarchical_section_title: Targeted Killings / Content summary
caption_attribution_description: English: US Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle. U.S. Air Force photo by Lt. Col. Leslie Pratt.
context_page_description: Targeted Killings: Law and Morality in an Asymmetrical World is a non-fiction compilation book about targeted killing edited by Claire Finkelstein, Jens David Ohlin, and Andrew Altman. It was published by Oxford University Press in 2012. The book grew out of contributions by the authors to a conference in April 2011 at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Targeted Killings features eighteen essays in five sections arranged by topic. The work argues that after the 11 September attacks by Al-Qaeda in 2001, the United States and other countries began to see the tactic of targeted killing differently. The practice of targeted killing had previously been accepted in situations of self-defence in military settings; after 11 September 2001 it was used to kill non-combatants and those not directly involved in a particular armed force.
  The book begins with a discussion of targeted killing of non-combatants, followed by discussions of legalities, the rationale of self-defence, the choice of targets, and when and whether the ends can be used to justify the means.
context_section_description: Targeted Killings: Law and Morality in an Asymmetrical World begins with an introduction by Andrew Altman. This is followed by eighteen essays broken into five sections arranged by topic. The work says that after the Al-Qaeda attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001, the US and other countries began to see the tactic of targeted killing differently. The practice of targeted killing had previously been accepted in situations of self-defense in military settings; after the attacks it was used to kill non-combatants and those not directly involved in a particular armed force.
  The first section of the book is a discussion of targeted killing of non-combatants. In an essay titled "Rebutting the Civilian Presumption: Playing Whack-a-Mole Without a Mallet?", Colonel Mark Maxwell criticizes the opposition of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to targeted killing. Maxwell writes that individuals may indeed serve a combat task without being a member of a particular state force. He argues for an extension of the definition of combatant to include those who arm themselves and engage in combat roles. "Targeting Co-Belligerents" by professor Jens David Ohlin supports Maxwell's opinion and describes an analytical viewpoint called "linkage" in which he states armed terrorists and members of organizations can be killed. Ohlin interprets the guidelines of the ICRC to include reliance upon a military system of identification of combatants. "Can Just War Theory Justify Targeted Killing" by professor Daniel Statman is an analysis of three thought processes used to discuss targeted killing rules: "contractualist", "collectivist", and "individualist". Statman writes that the tactic of targeted killing is a just form of combat in each of these analyses. New York University and Oxford University professor Jeremy Waldron deconstructs the morality associated with the tactic and argues against its use. He says that similar rationalizations could be used by the enemy against those conducting the targeted killings, there may be an inherent selection bias of targets, and warns of a slippery slope when defending an actor that uses the methodology.
  In the second portion of the book, a group of articles discuss which sets of laws should be used to regulate targeted killing. Philosophy professor Jeff McMahan of Rutgers University asks, "Targeted Killing: Murder, Combat or Law Enforcement?". He says that eliminating enemies for purposes of self-defense is justified. McMahan  writes about the problematic nature of targeted killing and emphasizes regulations for law enforcement to avoid abuses of process. University of Pennsylvania law and philosophy professor Claire Finkelstein writes in "Targeted Killing as Preemptive Action" about the difficulties of rationalizing targeted killing outside of the realm of typical combat between state actors. Finkelstein characterizes people as noncombatants unless they are a member of a group that includes identification through standardized attire and criminal behaviour patterns. Mississippi College School of Law professor Richard V. Meyer writes that current regulations and standards for targeted killing are inadequate. He says that any entity wishing to carry out targeted killing should first have to declare war on the targeted parties involved.
  The book's third group of essays analyzes the rationale of self-defence as a justification for targeted killing. Washburn University School of Law professor Craig Martin writes in "Going Medieval: Targeted Killing, Self-Defense and the Jus ad Bellum Regime" that self-defence is not an appropriate rationale for targeted killing because such a justification is restricted to conflicts between state actors. University of Tulsa School of Law professor Russell Christopher writes in "Imminence in Justified Targeted Killing" that self-defence should be ruled out as a suitable position in several examples of potential conflict. He critiques arguments by governments including the United Kingdom and the United States that self-defense can be used as a rationalizat
caption: A Predator  drone, a weapon used in targeted killings
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