A Practical Perspective on Attacking Armed Groups

In this Article, I will describe the three questions I ask and highlight some of the practical problems that can arise when we answer each of the three questions. After that, I will move on to a discussion of how organized armed groups are treated under the LOAC, and how that treatment is--and should remain--different from how civilians are treated when they directly participate in hostilities. I consider this distinction to be the most important part of the discussion about targeting persons in today\u27s conflicts, but I note that this key concept is sometimes misunderstood or misapplied, so it plays a prominent role in my presentation