The US position is that the attacks of 11 September 2001 were not simply crimes, but acts of war. Most notably, they provide that: (1) any person designated as a combatant in an armed conflict may be targeted with lethal force at any time by virtue of their status as a combatant, regardless of their conduct at the moment and (2) attacks on military targets may permissibly cause foreseeable but unintentional harm to civilians and civilian property as long as such harms are not “excessive” compared to the military advantage gained from the attack. These standards are more permissive than those under a law enforcement framework.
The significance of designating actions against members of these four groups as part of an armed conflict is that it triggers the application of standards for the use of force under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) set forth in the Geneva Conventions and their two Additional Protocols. Most of the operations under the US targeted killing program are conducted under this legal authority, while a smaller percentage are conducted as self-defense operations outside of armed conflict.
The US regards itself as being engaged in an armed conflict with Al Qaeda and the Taliban since 2001, with the Islamic State since 2004 (originally in the form of Al Qaeda in Iraq), and with Al-Shabaab since 2016. A distinctive element of United States (US) counterterrorism strategy is its reliance on military force in addition to various law enforcement measures.
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