“Such operations are far from new ... developed in the context of the “war on terror” during the George W Bush administration, their use has been greatly expanded under Barack Obama. ... ... ... At the same time ... ... ...there is concern over the level of congressional oversight of such operations and a risk that the dividing line between espionage and regular military operations is being blurred...”
- Paul Rogers, "A Complex War in the Shadows" in International Security Monthly Briefing 2010. 9(2010-08).
2 comments:
I'm interested in this bit just after the extract above:
"a risk that the dividing line between espionage and regular military operations is being blurred, a tendency **that could mean military personnel losing protection afforded by the Geneva Conventions.**" [my emphasis]
This seems to be presenting the blurring in question as being problematic not only on moral grounds, but also on military/logistic ones. I haven't come across that argument before, and I realize I'm not aware about conditions under which Geneva Convention provisions can be decided *not* to apply...
I was caught by that bit, too, though not perhaps for the same reasons.
As you know, I'm no lawyer ... but as a quick rough approximation ... I think this relates to the Third Geneva Convention provisions for treatment of prisoners of war, which relate to uniformed combatants in a declared and accepted conflict between nation state signatories to the conventions.
The sort of warfare Rogers is considering would diverge from that in several ways. The warfare is in many cases not declared. It often involves at least one party (for example, the Taliban in Afghanistan) which is neither a nation state nor a signatory to the conventions. While the combatants fielded by the nation state prosecuting the action may be uniformed, they may also (looking back at historical precedents) often not be. The conflict may well take place on the territory of, and involve damage to, a nation state which (although signatory to the conventions) is not in acknowledged conflict with the one prosecuting the action.
I've strayed beyond my knowledge ... hopefully not making too many errors.
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