The War on Terror and the Laws of War: A Military Perspective

When a soldier in the field of battle is under attack in a small village and comes upon a villager who could be a combatant or a civilian, what rules govern how that soldier should act? If the soldier detains the villager and determines that the villager is an unaffiliated combatant, what do the rules of detention require? In The War on Terror and the Laws of War, six legal scholars with experience as military officers bring practical wisdom to the contentious topic of applying international law to the battlefield. The authors apply their unique expertise to issues that have gained greater urgency during the United States' wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: including categorizing targets and properly detaining combatants. The modern battlefield has proven to be a difficult arena in which to apply traditional legal rules. The War on Terror and the Laws of War brings clarity to the subject with an insider's perspective.

Geoffrey S. Corn: Associate Professor of Law at South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas, where he has been on the faculty since 2005. He is a graduate of Hartwick College and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School. He earned his J.D. with highest honors at George Washington University and his LL.M. as a distinguished graduate at the Judge Advocate General's School. Prior to joining the faculty at South Texas, Professor Corn served in the U.S. Army for 21 years, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. He earned his commission in 1984 from the Officer Candidate School and served five years as a tactical intelligence officer before attending law school and joining the JAG Corps. As a Judge Advocate, Professor Corn's experience focused primarily on criminal and international law, including service as a supervisory defense counsel for the Western United States, Chief of International Law for US Army Europe, Professor of International and National Security Law at the US Army Judge Advocate General's School, and Chief Prosecutor for the 101st Airborne Division.

Eric T. Jensen: Chief, International Law Branch, Office of The Judge Advocate General, U.S. Army. LTC Jensen holds an LL.M. from Yale Law School, an LL.M. from The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School, and a Juris Doctor degree from University of Notre Dame Law School. He has served for twenty years in the U.S. Army and deployed as a legal advisor to operations in Bosnia, Macedonia, and Iraq. He was also an assistant professor at The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School, where he taught international law and law of war topics.

James A. Schoettler, Jr.: Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University Law Center. Professor Schoettler holds a Juris Doctor degree (magna cum laude) from Georgetown University Law Center, a Master's of Science in Foreign Service degree from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from The Johns Hopkins University. He has served for over twenty years as a reserve officer in the U.S. Army's Judge Advocate General's Corps, currently holds the rank of Colonel, and was formerly the Assistant Chief of the International and Operational Law Division in the Office of The Judge Advocate General.

Richard B. "Dick" Jackson: Special Assistant to the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General for Law of War Matters. He is a retired Colonel, with over 30 years' experience as an Infantryman and Judge Advocate in Panama, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Iraq. Dick Jackson retired from the Army in 2005, having served the previous ten years as a Staff Judge Advocate (the senior legal advisor) at the NATO Joint Forces Command in NATO, the U.S. Army Pacific, Multinational Division North in Bosnia, the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii, and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He was also the Chair of the International and Operational Law Department at the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia. Mr. Jackson has written extensively and has frequently lectured on law of war matters.

Victor M. Hansen: Associate Professor, New England Law School, Boston. Professor Hansen has a Juris Doctor (magna cum laude) from Lewis and Clark Law School, an L.L.M. from the Judge Advocate General's School, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brigham Young University. Professor Hansen teaches Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, and Professional Responsibility. Before joining the New England Law faculty, he was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army JAG Corps. His duty assignments included service as a regional defense counsel for the United States Army Trial Defense Service, military prosecutor, and supervising prosecutor; and he has been involved in military capital litigation as a prosecutor and as a defense attorney. He also served as an associate