Meaning of signature strike | Babel Free

Definitions

A military attack which is based on detecting suspicious activity rather than confirmed intelligence of terrorism.

Examples

“This group of civilians was marked as displaying suspicious behavior and consequently became the victime of a signature strike⟳ that killed twenty-three men and wounded twelve others, including a woman and three children.”

“The United States does not disclose what behaviors justify⟳ a signature strike⟳, nor does it provide⟳ any guidance on this issue⟳.”

“For example, former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke responded to the news of the January 15, 2015, signature strike⟳ in Pakistan as follows, "President Obama said he was going to stop⟳ them [i.e., signature strikes], and clearly he didn't."”

“This uncertainty is at the heart of signature strike⟳ targeting. Attacks that cannot determine⟳ whether a target⟳ is legitimate are illegal in IHL thanks to the ban on indiscriminate attacks in Article 51 of Additional Protocol I (1977).”

CEFR level