Targeted Killings and the Soldiers' Right to Life

Abstract

Targeted killings are a major, albeit controversial, policy in the modern war against terror. Yet, since modern warfare is conducted at large among civilian populations, the lives of troop soldiers, who are called to fight not behind battle lines but inside unknown hostile environments, are highly at stake. The present paper would like to present the position that subject to the principle of proportionality and irrespective of the legal regime governing targeted killings, extensive troop losses should also constitute, along with concern for enemy civilian casualties, a legitimate reason for the endorsement of the practice of targeted killings.