Latest in Unwilling or Unable
On Feb. 14, a suicide bombing in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir killed more than 40 members of Indian paramilitary forces—the deadliest terrorist attack in Kashmir’s history.
As readers of Lawfare know, a growing number of States believe that use of force in self-defense against a non-state actor on the territory of a third State, without the consent of that third State, may be lawful under international law if the non-state actor has undertaken an armed attack against the State and the third State is itself unwilling or unable to address the threat posed by the non-state actor.
Until now, Belgium's contribution to the air campaign against ISIS has been limited to strikes on targets in Iraq. This constraint reflected, at least in part, a sense that the legal case for strikes in Iraq (from a UN Charter perspective) was clear (in light of the consent of the Iraqi government), whereas the legality of strikes in Syria (where the Assad regime did not consent) was murkier.
Recent reports that Russia is using its military might to assist Syrian forces in defeating rebel groups trained by the United States have prompted concerns about the effectiveness of the United States’ strategy in Syria. Attacks by Russian forces also create risk of direct conflict with United States and other nations who are assisting Iraq and Turkey in defeating ISIS. But there is an additional risk to the international strategy to defend Syria’s neighbors from ISIS attacks.