Targeted Killing in the US War on Terror: Effective Tool or Double-Edged Sword? | INSS
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Strategic Assessment

Home Strategic Assessment Targeted Killing in the US War on Terror: Effective Tool or Double-Edged Sword?

Targeted Killing in the US War on Terror: Effective Tool or Double-Edged Sword?

Research Forum | April 2012
Einav Yogev
Yoram Schweitzer

Against the growing challenge posed by sub-state organizations, whose actions regularly endanger uninvolved civilians and consciously ignore the legal regulations and restraints of humanitarian international law, states have resorted increasingly to targeted killing operations that make use of advanced technological capabilities. This article describes the policy of the United States concerning targeted killing in its war on terror. Alongside the operational advantages are political challenges, specifically as they emerge in US-Pakistan relations, and within the framework of the public debate in the United States regarding the targeted killings in Yemen. In addition, the article examines whether there is a connection between US and Israeli operational policies, notwithstanding the fundamental differences between the two countries and their respective conflicts.


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  • Research

    • Topics
      • Israel and the Global Powers
      • Israel-United States Relations
      • Glazer Israel-China Policy Center
      • Russia
      • Europe
      • Iran and the Shi'ite Axis
      • Iran
      • Lebanon and Hezbollah
      • Syria
      • Yemen and the Houthi Movement
      • Iraq and the Iraqi Shiite Militias
      • Conflict to Agreements
      • Israeli-Palestinian Relations
      • Hamas and the Gaza Strip
      • Peace Agreements and Normalization in the Middle East
      • Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States
      • Turkey
      • Egypt
      • Jordan
      • Israel’s National Security Policy
      • Military and Strategic Affairs
      • Societal Resilience and the Israeli Society
      • Jewish-Arab Relations in Israel
      • Climate, Infrastructure and Energy
      • Terrorism and Low Intensity Conflict
      • Cross-Arena Research
      • Data Analytics Center
      • Law and National Security
      • Advanced Technologies and National Security
      • Cognitive Warfare
      • Economics and National Secutiry
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      • Preventing the Slide into a One-State Reality
      • Contemporary Antisemitism in the United States
      • Perceptions about Jews and Israel in the Arab-Muslim World and Their Impact on the West
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