High Value Target HVT / Political Assassination

[Rex Brynen]

IR uses a lot of and poorly informed language. It's not rigourous, and highly pseudo-academic.

I'm not so sure I agree--typically IR folks use terms that are understood quite clearly by other IR folks, and where there are multiple meanings ("balance of power" for example) they're discussed and dissected at length.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of "policy" is:

a : a definite course or method of action selected from among alternatives and in light of given conditions to guide and determine present and future decisions
b : a high-level overall plan embracing the general goals and acceptable procedures especially of a governmental body

The term "policy" can thus subsume goals ("our policy is a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict"), strategy ("our policy has been to promote direct talks"), or well-established or habitual official actions ("our policy is not to allow searches of diplomatic vehicles at checkpoints"). Most IR folks (and most policy folks) would understand it as potentially meaning all those things.

A "political end state" sounds more like a goal, or possibly an interest.

[William F. Owen]

I'm not so sure I agree--typically IR folks use terms that are understood quite clearly by other IR folks, and where there are multiple meanings ("balance of power" for example) they're discussed and dissected at length.

OK, good points. Let me re-phrase. IR discussions on strategy are general very poor, because folks have not held to the correct use of language.

[davidbfpo]

nearly missed this comment piece on the KoW blog:http://kingsofwar.org.uk/2011/01/raf...-alternatives/

A curious link at the end, raising a point I'd not considered before - court judgements by the 'X' Supreme Court. The comments are a reasonable read too.

[davidbfpo]

An article to accompany a BBC radio programme this evening, by Gordon Corera, which opens with:

Can state-sponsored assassination work as a strategy? And can it ever be justified? Governments don't admit to it, but Iranian nuclear scientists know it happens - and it's not easy to distinguish assassination from the US policy of "targeted killing".

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17353379

It is a "broad brush", historical article and I'll link the radio podcast another time.

[jmm99]

What is the UK view of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) ?

Its projects re: drones, etc. are here, Covert Drone War. It will take one some time to work through the material. E.g., The Bureau's major database and linked search engines of all known CIA drone strikes in Pakistan.

Regards

Mike

[davidbfpo]

Mike,

You asked:

What is the UK view of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) ?

I have looked at the website before and to a non-media person it appears to be well funded, with a private trust's donation, based at a London university, with a mix of student and professional journalists - the later from mainstream outlets. Their aim appears to be to provide stories to the media. The subject matter varies and rarely - thankfully - appears to be PR-led.

London is awash with establishments where journalists and others mix, just like Washington DC.

[davidbfpo]

Anne Speckhard is a psychiatrist who has looked at women suicide bombers in the past and has written this short commentary for RUSI. From a comment on Amazon.com of her book, a very swift bio:

She has interviewed over 350 terrorists, extremists, their supporters, hostages, family members and their close associates in Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Iraq, Russia, Belarus, North Ossetia, Morocco, Belgium, UK, the Netherlands and France. She was responsible for the design of the psychological and Islamic challenge portions of the US Department of Defense Detainee Rehabilitation Program in 2006-7 for use with the 20,000+ security detainees held by US forces in Iraq.

She opens with:

In the last two-years, international counter-terrorism strategies have focused on decapitating terrorist leaderships. But the threat and the ideology remains. In the coming year it is important to address the psychological motivations for conducting terrorist acts.

Link:http://www.rusi.org/analysis/comment.../#.UQu8MR26eSo

There is a link to her book 'Talking to Terrorists: Understanding the Psycho-Social Motivations of Militant Jihadi Terrorists, Mass Hostage Takers, Suicide Bombers & Martyrs' too:http://www.amazon.com/product-review...owViewpoints=1

Another time a full, proper read; so straight to her conclusion:

Continued vigilance is called for and well thought out and well-informed policies that keep in mind all four levels of the terrorist cocktail - decreasing the political grievances that fuel the existence of groups as well as shutting them down, fighting the ideology of terrorism and social support for it and addressing individual vulnerabilities are going to be ever more important to keep us safe in the coming year. Simply decapitating the leadership is not likely to be enough.