ABSTRACT
This chapter describes an analysis of the military action which followed September 11, 2001 in the light of the legal framework. It discusses that the United States and its allies consistently based their justification for military action in Afghanistan, and against Al-Qaida more generally, on the right of self-defense and not on any collective mandate from the Council. The chapter focuses on the whole issue of pre-emptive action, namely, the threat from international terrorism and the situation in Iraq. It demonstrates that international law does not require that States wait until it is too late but nor does it give a broad general license for pre-emptive military action. The Security Council can authorize States to use pre-emptive military force against a threat to the peace in circumstances where an attack is not yet imminent. The scope for pre-emptive action under the collective security regime is therefore more extensive than under the right of self-defense.
