Terrorism & the use of force

Question 1

2 circumstances which exacerbate terrorist threats

Answer 1

o	Absence of Human Rights
•	Deprivation, discrimination
•	Responses to terrorist attacks often harsh
o	Absence of Rule of Law
•	Judicial recourse, restraint

Question 2

Lethal force

Answer 2

• Right to life is protected outright
• No automatic justification in the face of terrorism
• States must apply same rights to terrorists as to any other
• Just societies cannot be selective in their implementation of the law re: who is “worthy” of protection
• Apprehension is the priority EVEN if an arrest might be compromised

Question 3

Arbitrary detention

Answer 3

• holding someone indefinitely
“war on terror” indicates how terrorists will be treated
• Detention in Guantanamo Bay: detainees from Iraq, Afghanistan
• PROBLEM:
o None officially charged
o No access to judicial remedies

Question 4

Torture

Answer 4

• Never permitted under international law
• U.S.: engaging in extraordinary rendition: transferring detainees to countries which regularly engage in torture
• Limits American culpability (?)
• Acceptable to forestall a larger atrocity
• But long-term consequences?
o Unites terrorist bases
o Incites sympathy
o Elicits wrong information
o Not admissible in court
o Terrorist networks decentralized