Veiled Impunity: Iran's Use of Non-State Armed Groups
May 20, 2007
Keith A. Petty
The author is a JAG officer and prosecutor with the Office of Military Commissions at Gitmo.
Abstract:
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Iran's use of non-state armed groups is a key component of its foreign policy, and is more sophisticated than the blunt use of force against other States. As such, this strategy is deceptively threatening to the territorial integrity and political independence of the target States of groups such as Hezbollah, Mahdi's Army, and Hamas. Under traditional interpretations of the jus ad bellum, indirect aggression can be attributed to sponsor States if it is comparable to the direct use of force by a State, or if the State is substantially involved in the armed group's attack. That Iranian support is veiled, and rarely meets the control requirement necessary over its armed groups, leaves a significant gap in efforts to deter this unlawful behavior. This article examines the nature of Iran's support to select armed groups, whether it constitutes unlawful aggression, and provides a comprehensive legal framework for deterring this aspect of the Islamic Republic's foreign policy.
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The article is a PDF, downloadable here:
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.c...act_id=1013415