A Legal and Moral Review of the Central Intelligence Agency Operatives in the War on Terrorism

Abstract: In this essay I examine whether the CIA operatives can be considered as legitimate practitioners of violence in a conflict situation, thus looking through a lens where terrorism is treated as an act of war. This paper does not purport to evaluate and review the legality of targeted killing as a mean of warfare or a tool for criminal enforcement but rather the CIA agent’s status from an international law perspective, specifically humanitarian law. I further examine the role of CIA operatives from a moral perspective. Using the framework set up by Just War Theory I examine whether a CIA operative is regarded as a combatant or a civilian from a moral standpoint.