Enemies known and unknown

"The US thinks of itself as upholding the rule of international law and spreading democracy, yet ... targeted killings have been widely decried as extra-judicial violations of human rights. This book examines these paradoxes, arguig that they are partially explained by the application of exist inglegal standards to transnational wars. Critics argue the the kind of war the US claims to be waging - transnational armed conflict - does not actuallly exist. McDonald analyzes the concepts of transnational war and the legal interpretations that underpin it ... . America's interpretations of sovereignty and international law shape and constitute war itself, with lethal consequences for the named and anonymous persons that it unilaterally defines as participants. McDonald's analysis helps us understand the social and legal construction of legitimate violence in warfare, and the relationship between legal opinions formed in US government departments and acts of violence half a world away."--Front book flap.