The tragic events of September 11, 2001, have forever changed the American perspective on foreign policies and international security. As a result of an extensive war against terrorism, President Obama approved Operation Geronimo on April 29, 2011 (Marks, 2019). The objective of the mission was to eliminate Osama bin Laden via a rapid raid on his fortified compound in Pakistan (Marks, 2019). However, shortly after the mission’s execution, many people questioned the legality of Operation Geronimo and claimed that it violated international laws. According to this perspective, the United States could justify the assassination of any notable figure in the world without facing direct consequences. Nevertheless, Operation Geronimo followed both the American regulations, such as the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists, and international conventions (Dunlap, 2019). Ultimately, the current essay demonstrates that President Obama had the legal authority to order Operation Geronimo and execute the plan.
The legality of Operation Geronimo is the most relevant issue concerning the mission and has been a topic of debate for more than ten years. Consequently, the controversial points include the place of the operations in Pakistan and bin Laden’s physical state. Regarding the former, Pakistan’s officials never agreed to this mission; therefore, Operation Geronimo could be considered an illegal operation on foreign soil. As a counterargument, America and the United Nations noted Pakistan’s willingness to provide bin Laden shelter for years, thus supporting his criminal activity (Soherwordi & Khattak, 2020). Pakistan’s denial of the operation’s legality is outweighed by the arguments of the United Nations concerning bin Laden’s critical threat to the civilized world. The implications of the operation led to additional tension in the Pakistan-US relationship, specifically due to the fact that bin Laden was able to find shelter in Abbottabad (Soherwordi & Khattak, 2020). The United States questioned the integrity of Pakistani politics, the competency of their intelligence agencies, and national security (Soherwordi & Khattak, 2020). Even though the countries collaborated prior to the operation in the war against terrorism, the United States lost trust in Pakistan’s security, thus, worsening the international relationship. Consequently, some people stated that bin Laden was hors de combat or physically unable to resist (Dunlap, 2019). According to the Committee of the Red Cross, shooting defenseless people is considered a war crime (Dunlap, 2019). The American officials rejected this claim since bin Laden had openly declared that he would never surrender, implying the possibility of suicide via explosives (Dunlap, 2019). Ultimately, most experts justify Operation Geronimo due to decisive arguments.
Consequently, it is essential to analyze the legality of Operation Geronimo from the perspective of international laws. In this context, one of the most fundamental regulations is Article 51 of the Geneva Conventions, which protects the civilian population during military missions (United Nations, 1977). The law states that neither of the armed conflict’s parties can target ordinary citizens unless they directly participate in hostilities (United Nations, 1977). Moreover, the parties must ensure that collateral damage to the civilian population is minimized and, therefore, choose the appropriate methods of warfare (United Nations, 1977). From these considerations, Obama’s choice to focus on the ground raid during Operation Geronimo satisfies Article 51 of the Geneva Conventions. If the United States agreed to the initial plan of dropping 2,000-pound JDAMs, it could potentially lead to significant human losses of the civilian population in Pakistan. This approach directly contradicts the Geneva Conventions and is deemed a war crime by international organizations. On the other hand, the chosen strategy of a ground raid allowed minimizing collateral damage and providing definitive proof of bin Laden’s death, justifying the mission and satisfying the international regulations.
Lastly, it is crucial to prove the legality of Operation Geronimo from the perspective of American laws. The most fundamental aspect in this context is the relation of the United States to international terrorism after the 9/11 events. In other words, America openly declared war with Al-Qaeda in 2001, implying that all operations against the terrorist organization would be perceived as justified military actions (Dunlap, 2019). The position of the armed conflict allowed the United States to pass the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists and even conduct operations on foreign soil (Dunlap, 2019). Since Al-Qaeda was formally at war with the United States, America did not recognize bin Laden’s death as an assassination. Osama bin Laden was a notorious terrorist figure who had admitted his crimes against the United States. Therefore, America perceived his death as a casualty in war and not as an assassination of a civilian target on foreign soil. Ultimately, this implication was of utmost significance to justify Operation Geronimo based on the laws of the United States.
The current argumentative essay has demonstrated that President Obama had the legal authority to order Operation Geronimo and execute the plan. The mission was conducted via a ground raid assault to minimize the collateral damage and ensure that Osama bin Laden was captured or killed. This approach satisfies Article 51 of the Geneva Conventions and other international regulations that protect the civilian population’s rights. Consequently, the United States has been at war with Al-Qaeda since 2001, implying that bin Laden’s death was not assassination but an objective of military action, justified by American laws. Lastly, there are certain controversies about the legality of Operation Geronimo due to military conduct on foreign soil and bin Laden’s potential status of hors de combat. Nevertheless, while these issues might be debatable from the perspective of morality, they do not directly contradict American or international regulations. Ultimately, President Obama had the legal authority to order Operation Geronimo and execute the plan.
References
Dunlap, C. J. D. (2019). Yes, the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden was lawful. Lawfire. Web.
Marks, J. (2019). How SEAL Team Six took out Osama bin Laden. History. Web.
Soherwordi, S. H. S., & Khattak, S. A. (2020). Operation Geronimo: Assassination of Osama Bin Laden and its implications on the US-Pakistan relations, War on Terror, Pakistan and Al-Qaeda. South Asian Studies, 26(2).
United Nations. (1977). Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts (protocol I), of 8 June 1977. Web.