Targeting
Hays Parks and U.S. Views on Targeting Law
Three decades after its publication, Colonel W. Hays Parks’s article Air War and the Law of War remains a key resource for attorneys who advise on targeting operations. The article is noteworthy for its deep exploration of the history of the law of war as well as its...
Hays Parks and Direct Participation in Hostilities
As he did with so many subjects of the law of war, W. Hays Parks left an indelible imprint on the long fraught question of direct participation in hostilities by civilians. From early legal advice to expert consultations and seminal academic contributions, his work...
“Over-the-Horizon Operations” in Afghanistan
The United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan has rightly dominated the world’s attention. The suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 26th, resulting in the loss of 10 Marines, 2 Army Soldiers, 1 Navy Corpsman, and 170 Afghan civilians, will...
Terrain Denial Fires on the Modern Battlefield
Stability and counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria have provided the primary source of operational experience for currently serving American military leaders and legal advisors. Regardless of whether U.S. forces will (or logistically can)...
Down Is Not Always Out: Hors De Combat in the Close Fight
Note: this piece builds on a recent article published in Infantry Magazine. While that article was intended “to equip infantry leaders with the knowledge required to train their soldiers to make confident, split-second decisions in combat,” this piece is focused on...
Targeting Dual-Use Structures: An Alternative Interpretation
In a recent Articles of War piece, I discussed protection of the media under international humanitarian law, a topic that had come to the fore when the Israel Defense Force (IDF) attacked the Al-Jalaa Tower, a 12-story building in the Gaza Strip on May 15. The...
Warnings as a Precautionary Measure: Gaza
On May 15, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) gave advance warning of an airstrike against the Al Jalaa Tower in Gaza. IDF operational summaries of Operation Guardian of the Walls highlight extensive use of warnings in furtherance of the recognized obligation to take...
Israel, IHL, and the Al-Jalaa Tower
The most recent flare-up of active hostilities between Israel and Hamas once again brought to the forefront of legal discussions questions of responsibility and accountability for civilian deaths and damage to civilian property caused by Israel’s attacks in the Gaza...
The Kargu-2 Autonomous Attack Drone: Legal & Ethical Dimensions
In March 2021, a UN Panel of Experts on Libya reported a possible use of lethal autonomous weapons systems—such as the STM Kargu-2—which “were programmed to attack targets without requiring data connectivity between the operator and the munition: in effect, a true...
Legal Protection of the Media in Armed Conflict: Gaza
On May 15, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted an airstrike on Al Jalaa Tower, a 12-story building in the Gaza Strip. Conducted as part of Operation Guardian of the Walls, the attack destroyed the tower, which housed the Associated Press and Al Jazeera...
Israeli Attacks on Gaza’s Tower Blocks
Once more, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has erupted into open violence and a miserable display of destruction and human suffering. In what has become a familiar pattern, the fighting on the ground is accompanied by a war of words. Mutual recriminations and...
Ntaganda Appeals Chamber Judgment Divided on Meaning of “Attack”
On 30 March 2021, the International Criminal Court Appeals Chamber issued its judgment in the Ntaganda case. The judgment, which primarily responds to the appeal submitted by Bosco Ntaganda against his conviction for numerous counts of crimes against humanity and war...