Borderless Wars Civil Military Disorder and Legal Uncertainty

In 2011, Nasser Al-Awlaki, a terrorist on the US 'kill list' in Yemen, was targeted by the CIA. A week later, a military strike killed his son. The following year, the US Ambassador to Pakistan resigned, undermined by CIA-conducted drone strikes of which he had no knowledge or control. The demands of the new, borderless 'gray area' conflict have cast civilians and military into unaccustomed roles with inadequate legal underpinning. As the Department of Homeland Security defends against cyber threats and civilian contractors work in paramilitary roles abroad, the legal boundaries of war demand to be outlined. In this book, former Under Secretary of the Air Force Antonia Chayes examines these new 'gray areas' in counterinsurgency, counter-terrorism and cyber warfare. Her innovative solutions for role definition and transparency will establish new guidelines in a rapidly evolving military-legal environment.

1. Introduction; 2. Civil-military relations: from theory to policy; 3. The counterinsurgency dilemma; 4. Civil-military implications: the demands of a counterinsurgency strategy; 5. Legal implications of counterinsurgency: opportunities missed but not lost; 6. Counterterrorism: the unquiet warfare of targeted killings; 7. Civil-military policy issues in targeted killing by UAVs; 8. The legal underpinnings for targeted killing by UAV: framing the issues; 9. Opportunities for stepping forward; 10. Cyber attacks and cyber war: framing the issues; 11. Implications for civil-military relations in cyber attacks and cyber war; 12. Legal implications of cyber attacks and cyber war; 13. International cooperation on training wheels; 14. Conclusion: the end is the beginning.

Antonia Chayes, former Under Secretary of the US Air Force, is Professor of Practice of International Politics and Law at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Massachusetts. Author of numerous articles, co-author of The New Sovereignty, Chayes has served on several government Commissions and on the Board of United Technologies Corporation.