What exactly are the options here?
Terrorist.
Enemy Combatant.
Mass Murderer.
TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 113B > § 2331Prev | Next § 2331. Definitions
How Current is This? As used in this chapter—
(1) the term “international terrorism” means activities that—
(A) involve violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or of any State;
(B) appear to be intended—
(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or
(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and
(C) occur primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or transcend national boundaries in terms of the means by which they are accomplished, the persons they appear intended to intimidate or coerce, or the locale in which their perpetrators operate or seek asylum;
(2) the term “national of the United States” has the meaning given such term in section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act;
(3) the term “person” means any individual or entity capable of holding a legal or beneficial interest in property;
(4) the term “act of war” means any act occurring in the course of—
(A) declared war;
(B) armed conflict, whether or not war has been declared, between two or more nations; or
(C) armed conflict between military forces of any origin; and
(5) the term “domestic terrorism” means activities that—
(A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;
(B) appear to be intended—
(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or
(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and
(C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
US CODE: Title 18,2331. Definitions
TERRORISTS AS ENEMY COMBATANTS
An Analysis of How the United States Applies the Law of Armed Conflict
in the Global War on Terrorism
Commanders need to understand how the law of armed conflict applies to the various
enemy forces they are likely to encounter while combating terrorism. Historically, terrorists
have been regarded as bandits and held criminally responsible for their unlawful acts under
domestic law. However, after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon in
September 2001, the U.S. decided to engage transnational terrorists in armed conflict. As
enemy combatants, terrorists may be lawfully killed by virtue of their membership in the
enemy group rather than their individual conduct.
If a nation’s armed forces harbor or support terrorists, the facts will determine whether
they are lawful or unlawful combatants. Lawful combatants are protected under the Geneva
Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War and entitled to specific privileges
while captured. Unlawful combatants have no such rights. The President has considerable
latitude in identifying, detaining, and punishing them.
As U.S. forces engage terrorists and the states that harbor them, we should expect to
encounter both lawful and unlawful combatants. This paper explains what the difference is
and why it matters.
http://www.fas.org/man/eprint/reid.pdf
Killing In The Name Of God:
Osama Bin Laden And Al Qaeda
By Dr. Jeremy Post M.D.
http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/post.pdf
