The decision-making process in the field of targeted killings in US foreign policy. On the example of the elimination of Qasem Suleimani
https://doi.org/10.28995/2073-6339-2023-4-97-111
Abstract
The resonant murder of the commander of the Al-Quds service of Iran, Qasem Suleimani, at the Baghdad airport on January 3, 2020, was an event that put the entire global security system to the test. For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the United States made a decision and carried out the liquidation of a person holding an official position in the power hierarchy of another state. A number of articles in both domestic and foreign scientific doctrine were devoted to that event. However, according to the author, the issues related to the coverage of the instrument of targeted killings in the US security system and the decision-making process concerning their implementation were bypassed. World media reports give a picture of a spontaneous decision on the murder of K. Suleimani, which was made by D. Trump on the spur of a moment. Nevertheless, the American practice of targeted killing programs indicates the presence in the US of the power tools of a complex decision-making process in that area, which is based on a system for collecting and analyzing intelligence data and assessing existing threats. Thus, the objectives of this study are to analyze the phenomenon of targeted killings in the US power tools, to consider the decision-making mechanism in that area and to study the role of UAVs in targeted killing operations.
About the Author
D. M. Zamanapulov
Institute for US and Canadian Studies
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Demokrit M. Zamanapulov, Cand. of Sci. (History)
2/3, Khlebnyi Lane, Moscow, 123995
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Review
For citations:
Zamanapulov D.M. The decision-making process in the field of targeted killings in US foreign policy. On the example of the elimination of Qasem Suleimani. RSUH/RGGU Bulletin Series "Political Science. History. International Relations". 2023;(4):97-111. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2073-6339-2023-4-97-111
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