Guiora on a Personal Note: who is a legitimate target?
Amos Guiora (Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Center for Global Justice at the S.J. Quinney College of Law) introduces himself, and elaborates on the legal complexities of counter-terrorism and drone policies. Who is a legitimate target? Professor Guiora stresses the importance of narrow definitions of ‘imminence’ and ‘self-defense’. What is more, as international law does not allow for revenge, Professor Guiora argues that the suspect’s role has to be sufficient enough that without his involvement the act of terrorism cannot go forward. As background: the Department of Justice White Paper on the legality of a ‘lethal operation directed against a US citizen who is a senior operational leader of Al Qaeda or an associated force‘.
On October 16th, Professor Guiora defended his Ph.D.-thesis at Leiden University. Bruno Braak interviewed him the next day.
For more information on Professor Guiora please refer to his profile at the University of Utah; his Wikipedia-page; the article ‘Drone Policy: a Proposal Moving Forward‘; and his article ‘Targeted killing’s ‘flexibility’ doctrine that enables US to flout the law of war‘ in The Guardian. His book ‘Legitimate Target: A Criteria-Based Approach to Targeted Killing’ (2013) can be ordered online.
