The Significance of Targeting Soleimani

Critics warned that by boasting about and declaring responsibility for the killing, the United States has set a dangerous precedent that will be exploited by others with similar capabilities but different perspectives on legitimate targets (i.e. that the President of the United States will become a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American diplomacy 2020-05, p.1-4
Main Author: Falk, Ophir
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
21st century
Age
Armed forces
Assassinations & assassination attempts
Civilians
Counterterrorism
Fatalities
Iranian foreign relations
Leadership
Nation states
Presidents
Retirement benefits
Soleimani, Qasem
Soleimani, Qassem
Terrorism
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Summary:Critics warned that by boasting about and declaring responsibility for the killing, the United States has set a dangerous precedent that will be exploited by others with similar capabilities but different perspectives on legitimate targets (i.e. that the President of the United States will become a target); that Major General Soleimani was a senior political official in the hierarchy of a sovereign nation-state; and that the mounting availability of technology along with an alleged deterioration in the accepted standards of legal compliance regarding targeted killing benefits weaker states and nonstate proxies, such as Iran and Hezbollah.[iii] In fact, there is precedence of US presidents taking credit for targeted killings considered of high value. Five days after the targeting, Iran launched a series of missile attacks on US forces based in Iraq, resulting in minor injuries to approximately a hundred US service men.Jxiiil The tone of escalating aggression, including threats from Hezbollah's leader that "American army bases, the American naval fleet, and every soldier and officer in the region will have to pay the price"[xiv] still looms but has not been acted upon in full. By making it clear that Iran and its senior officials will be held accountable for terrorism directly carried out by Iran and by its proxies, the United States took an important step in the right direction. jV Ophir Falk is a research fellow at the International Counterterrorism Center (ICT), a founder of Acumen Risk Ltd., and the author of the forthcoming book: 'Targeted Killing, Law and CounterTerrorism Effectiveness' (Routledge 2020) https://www.routledge.com/Targeted-Killings-Lawand-Counter-Terrorism-Effectiveness-Does-Fair-Play/Falk/p/book/9780367339265 Notes Щ Nine others were killed alongside Soleimani, including chairman of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and commander of the Iran-backed Kata'ib Hezbollah militia, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. [ii] "Report: U.S. Gives Israel Green Light to Assassinate Iranian General Soleimani", Haaretz, 1 January 2018 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/u-s-gives-israel-green-light-to-assassinate-iran-s-generalsoleimani-1.5630156 [iii] Audrey Kurth Cronin, 'The Age of Open Assassination', Brookings Institute, https://www.lawfareblog.com/age-open-assassination, January 19, 2020 fivl 'Bush tells troops terrorists cannot hide', CNN June 18, 2004 https://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/18/bush.fort.lewis/index.html Jvļ 'Bin Laden is Dead, Obama
ISSN:1094-8120
1094-8120