Many years after the United States initiated a military response to the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, the nation continues to prosecute what it considers an armed conflict against transnational terrorist groups. Understanding how the law of armed conflict applies to and regulates military operations executed within the scope of this armed conflict against transnational non-state terrorist groups is as important today as it was in September 2001. In The War on Terror and the Laws of War seven legal scholars, each with experience as military officers, focus on how to strike an effective balance between the necessity of using armed violence to subdue a threat to the nation with the humanitarian interest of mitigating the suffering inevitably associated with that use. Each chapter addresses a specific operational issue, including the national right of self-defense, military targeting and the use of drones, detention, interrogation, trial by military commission of captured terrorist operatives, and the impact of battlefield perspectives on counter-terror military operations, while illustrating how the law of armed conflict influences resolution of that issue. This Second Edition carries on the critical mission of continuing the ongoing dialogue about the law from an unabashedly military perspective, bringing practical wisdom to the contentious topic of applying international law to the battlefield.

1. As you know, in the last few months since the President's death and the abrupt retirement of the Vice President, there have been some instances of public unrest. I fully appreciate that the threat of disorder occasioned by the absence of a Chief Executive precipitated your assumption of power as Commander-in-Chief, UAFUS, and your designation of yourself as permanent Military Plenipotentiary of the United States. It is obvious to me that strong leadership is needed in these troubled times. Indeed, I am convinced that it was inept civilian leadership that caused our defeat in the Second Gulf War. 2. Despite the approval of your actions by The Referendum, it was still necessary to make several arrests for acts of sedition. One of these traitors, I am sorry to say, is a retired officer and a 1992 graduate of the National War College. The officer, Prisoner 222305759, has been convicted by court-martial and is awaiting execution. In violation of my standing orders, the prisoner was allowed writing materials. Somehow he managed to draft a letter to a fellow alumnus chronicling what he calls the "Origins of the American Military Coup of 2012." By hand-writing the letter he defeated the electroscriber scanners we placed in his cell. Fortunately, our security forces were still able to intercept it. 3. Because of its potential interest to you, a copy of the prisoner's letter is attached. As the document indicates, the prisoner evidently had secreted into the stockade old notes, articles, and newspaper clippings he saved from his War College days. These documents were recovered in a search of the prisoner's cell. For your edification, I have had an intelligence agent analyze them and annotate your copy of the letter with endnotes citing these references where appropriate. 4. Upon receipt of your order affirming the sentence of the court, Prisoner 222305759 will be executed in accordance with applicable directives. /s/ Ben N. Dykarnilt General, UAFUS