Terrorism and the Military

by Adriaan Bos? Af fter the discussions on the ius ad bellum it is only logical now to go a bit more in depth about how to reduce to the extent possible the horrors inherent to armed c- flicts. In 1977 when the Additional Protocols were adopted – we celebrate this year the 25th anniversary of their adoption – a basic assumption was the complete sepa- tion between ius ad bellum and ius in bello. It was generally felt that putting in qu- tion this crucial distinction would endanger the whole body of international huma- tarian law. The ius in bello is based on the premise that force can be used, and seeks to control that use of force. We are now dealing with terrorism. Terrorism is not a new phenomenon. It has existed, in one form or another, in many societies for as long as history has been recorded. The diff ferences between its various manif festations have been as to me- ods, means and weapons. As the means available to inflict significant damage to - ciety improve, the impact of terrorism increases. Part of the problem is that we may have ignored too long the increasing global dimension of the present means used. The incidents of 11 September provide a clear illustration.