| Summary: | In this well-timed revision to the first edition published in 2009,
the authors allow the reader to benefit from their unique yet balanced perspectives as
they address some of the most pressing issues in the enduring campaign to defeat
terrorism insofar as they concern the laws of war. The six authors, all of whom served
in some capacity in the Armed Forces of the United States of America (USA), confess not
to provide a critical analysis of the official characterisation of the ‘War on Terror’
as a genuine armed conflict under international humanitarian law. A reader expecting
such an approach should invest their time and attention elsewhere. Whilst acknowledging
that ‘it is clear that the term “war on terror” is legally and operationally overbroad
and misleading’,1 the authors choose to ground their contributions on the basis that the
USA has operated, and continues to operate, as if it were in an armed conflict with
al-Qaeda and its associated groups. According to the authors, this stance is justified
by the argument that the three branches of government of the USA have repeatedly and
consistently reached decisions to this effect. As a result, many readers might be
inclined to approach the book with caution at first. This fundamental stance is however
well-noted, emphasised, and indeed reasonable as the authors approach the controversial
subjects from a factual, and most importantly, a military perspective.
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