ABSTRACT
One of the key elements in the war against terrorism is offensive action, that is, action initiated by security forces against terrorist targets, carried out in areas where the terrorists deploy and operate. It is usual for a nation that pursues offensive action as part of its counter-terrorism strategy to very quickly encounter severe criticism, both internal and external. It should be demanded that sovereign nations act within the framework of accepted rules of war, that they exercise caution concerning offensive activities and refrain from deliberately injuring civilians, even when coping with an organization or faction of people, rather than with an enemy state. Individual offensive action raises two dilemmas that are interconnected: the moral-normative dilemma, and the question of the effectiveness of such action or, in other words, the justification and the wisdom in implementing an individual offensive action. Defensive action covers all the various steps taken within a nation's borders, along its traffic arteries and at sensitive targets.
