Georgetown University Law Center Professor Gary Solis writes, "Having engaged in targeted killing, even once, it would be difficult to cry foul, were we subjected to the same tactic." US authorities would argue that US officials are not reasonable targets because they do not commit brutal attacks as do US enemies, but terrorist adversaries and those sympathetic to them make their own evaluations of US actions. Solis also writes, "Merely being "commander-in-chief" is insufficient to transform [the US] president into a combatant and a lawful target," but many unsympathetic to the United States would disagree. Having opened the Pandora's box and begun down the slippery slope of targeted killings, the United States cannot hope to control other parties' employment of the policy, and there is a grave danger that other states, even Western democracies that could be expected to adhere to a more stringent level of proof before attacking adversaries, will employ targeted killings for their own political ends.

A Costly Remedy

Often targeted killings are not as surgical and free from collateral damage as they are in theory. The US strike on Al Harithi was cleaner than most, and particularly in the case of Israeli employment of targeted killings, collateral damage has been quite high. A particularly egregious instance occurred in July 2002 with the targeting of Salah Shehada, a Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip. In the attack, Israeli forces dropped a one-ton bomb on his house, killing 14 others in addition to Shehada and drawing worldwide condemnation. Aside from direct civilian casualties in the course of attacks, deaths resulting from retaliatory attacks can also be quite high, as is evidenced by the frequent occurrence of cyclical violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In all cases where targeted killings are considered, there must be investigation into the ramifications of their use. University of Haifa Professor Michael Gross argues that in addition to the frequent retaliatory strikes, Israeli employment of targeted killings harms Palestinian society and weakens long-term prospects for peace by relying on a system of Palestinian collaborators. Collaborators are subject to vigilante justice within their own community, which undermines general respect for the rule of law, and the constant threat of betrayal by a member of one's own community undermines the trust and social cohesion that would been needed to build a viable Palestinian state should the peace process advance to that stage. Gross also points out that in removing some leaders through targeted killings, the Israelis risk having the leaders' replacements be even more radical.

Publicized US employment of targeted killings in the war on terror made a return to the previous era of credible moral superiority in rhetoric impossible. The preferable alternative to targeted killing of enemies should always be arrest and trial, but in cases where those alternative measures are not available, targeted killing may be the next best alternative. However, careful calculation of the risks and benefits of employing the policy must be weighed before it is implemented. The threat of reciprocity and repercussions for society are serious considerations that are often not given enough weight, and the policy should be re-examined continually to evaluate its effectiveness in decreasing the threat to the employing state's citizens. In some instances, targeted killings are both legal and effective, but for societies founded on principles of human rights, they should never be the first choice.