A good example of this could have been 9/11 where the U.S. government could have reacted with an armed line of self-defensive attacks if they feared that the first attack on the World trade centre would be followed by a series of similar attacks elsewhere. In other words, the anticipatory self-defence is perhaps most useful when there is clear cut evidence of a series of attacks. The downside, of course, is that if the state launches a defensive attack and is not able to present concrete evidence for it then that state would have to face serious repercussions from the international law and hamper its overall image in the international community. The important thing to note here is that the international community supports a defensive line of attack if the situation is that a state is under a series of attacks as previously mentioned.
The support of the international community for anticipatory self-defence on the part of the U.S. after 9/11 attacks was obvious as one saw the Security Council confirmed that the American government was under circumstances where the self-defence attacks were a necessity and a right for protection against future attacks. Furthermore, the U.S. line of self-defence was avidly supported by nineteen of the NATO members who saw the attack as a trigger or instigation to launch a joined self-defensive attack, which was in line with NATO's conditions of attacks. The international community generally agreed that the line of self-defensive attacks launched by the United States and United Kingdom against Afghanistan were merely in anticipation and prevention of future attacks from the country and its terrorists groups.
The main backup of the launch of the Operation Enduring Freedom was the history of attacks made on American soil that had been linked to Bin Laden. These attacks included the 1993 attacks on the World Trade Centre, the embassy bombings in Nairobi and Kenya launched in 1998, the assault made in 2000 on the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen, as well as the 9/11 attacks made on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon. Alongside these historical evidences, the U.S. And the European authorities captured a number of group members that confessed to more deliberate attacks and bombings; the U.S. troops already in Afghanistan also found recorded video tapes from the region that confirmed the possibility of future attacks. All this was submitted to NATO and it was decided almost in unison that the facts were more than convincing that the anticipatory self- defence was in order.
Although the reactions of the U.S. government have been generally supported, the ongoing operation has received a large amount of criticism when it comes to the percentage of civilian casualties that have resulted from the numerous attacks. The support given by the Security Council has, however, allowed the U.S. government to face this criticism and still defend their right to anticipatory line of defensive attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq. In contradiction to that, however, some experts see that the International Law and Jurisdictions are avidly opposed to the concept of anticipatory self-defence and armed self-defensive attacks. The international law strongly disallows states to launch an attack and call it self-defence if they haven't been attacked first; according to the international law, no theoretical attack can be defended against with an armed attack, even if the theoretical attack includes the use of weapons of mass destruction.
These scholars believe that the application of anticipatory self-defence had generally existed even before its certification in the U.N. Charter. Brownlie, in his study, highlighted that the "customary law permitted anticipatory action in face of imminent danger." He goes on to say that "there can be little doubt that the right of self-preservation and the doctrine of necessity comprehended anticipatory action." This approach or outlook has been verified by numerous prior cases like the Caroline case already mentioned before. Numerous publicists and the normal inclinations and applications of the nations-states also show that the viewpoint mentioned above is rational. The important thing to note here, however, is the outlook towards the concept of anticipatory self-defence before the 2nd world war and how the events of the first half of the 20th century had shaped the openness and outlook towards the ASD principle.
The concept of ASD still faces serious discussions on whether its existence is necessary and whether...
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The greater the threat, the greater is the risk of inaction -- and the more compelling the case for taking anticipatory action to defend ourselves, even if uncertainty remains as to the time and place of the enemy's attack. To forestall or prevent such hostile acts by our adversaries, the United States will, if necessary, act preemptively." (cited in Ryan, 2009) Ryan relates that the rule of anticipatory self-defense was
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