and thanks for the plug:

from Wilf:
I am in no way qualified to answer the question as to legality. JMM has got to be the man on that one.
but right now I'm suffering from a bit of "burn out" on questions "COIN" and the applicability of the Laws of War and Rule of Law to "COIN".

I can spot the issues (of which there are many): but I also am somewhat overwhelmed by the confusion of "answers". For the most part, I've tried to report the various "rules" as they are developing and the cases as they have been decided, without an attempt to develop a cohesive system.

A large problems-solutions set area involves "transitions" - that is, situations where the Laws of War and Rule of Law switch - sometimes seemingly on a dime. We know the basic priniciples - the definition of the "enemy" and the distinction between combatants and non-combatants (the latter in general as the "people", but also more specifically as to distinguishing between enemy combatants and enemy non-combatants).

Yes, an enemy combatant is the guy who is shooting at you; but how do you stop him before he gets into that position - or before he sets the IED. Those are both military and legal questions; and, unless the answers are on the same page, we will continue to see contradictions which will lead to good people getting killed. That is one "transition" situation of many.

We probably could use a seminar on the interfaces between military (and paramilitary, including law enforcement) operations and "the law" (whether Laws of War or Rule of Law) in terms of guerrilla warfare and the larger political infrastructure that supports its guerrilla fighters - and on the many "transitions" that can occur in that context.

Best to all

Mike