583:, have also called for dedicated task units that are non-hierarchical and can be reorganized, in order to face similar distributed or decentralized terrorist groups. Others, however, argue that decapitation strikes combined with social network analysis are more than unproductive, but can prolong a conflict due to their habit of eliminating rebel or terrorist leaders who are the most capable peace negotiators or have the potential to advance communities hardest hit by terror campaigns after the cessation of hostilities.
236:
101:
559:
has argued that decapitation is a relatively ineffective strategy. He writes that decapitation is a seductive strategy as it promises "to solve conflicts quickly and cheaply with... little collateral damage, and minimal or no friendly casualties", but decapitation strikes frequently fail or are not
567:
and Jochen Mierau argue that leadership decapitation in a terrorist or rebel group has the tendency to create disorder within the group, but find decapitation ineffective because group disorder can often lead to politically ineffective, unfocused attacks on civilians. The two conclude that "his
538:, or drones, are popularly used for decapitation strikes against terrorist and insurgent groups. Drones are most effective in areas with inadequate air defense. There are mixed scholarly opinions whether or not decapitation strikes via drones effectively degrade the capabilities of these groups.
575:. This tactic involves identifying and eliminating higher ranked members in a hierarchically arranged rebel or terrorist group by targeting lower members first, and using intel gained in initial strikes to identify an organization's leadership. Some strategists, like Generals
525:
communication devices. AR-924 model pagers distributed by GOLD APOLLO were filled with explosives and acquired by
Hezbollah. The explosions have been theorized to be a decapitation strike and prelude to the potential invasion of Southern Lebanon by Israel during the
205:
capabilities. Such countries may have mobile land-based launch, sea launch, air launch, and underground ballistic missile launch facilities so that a nuclear attack on one area of the country will not totally negate its ability to retaliate.
514:. All three targeted political leaders survived the attack as after having finished their meal, they had moved from the dining room (which was targeted and destroyed by the bombing) to Tuđman's private office to continue their talks.
209:
Other nuclear warfare doctrines explicitly exclude decapitation strikes on the basis that it is better to preserve the adversary's command and control structures so that a single authority remains that is capable of negotiating a
553:
in
Afghanistan was in support of kill or capture operations, but that they would be ineffective without a full understanding of how they would affect the local political landscape in the country.
449:
in order to cripple the Third Reich and its war effort. Several died, but Hitler escaped due to a change in schedule, leaving the rostrum 13 minutes before detonation.
51:
161:
attack that aims to destabilize an opponent's military and civil leadership structure in the hope that it will severely degrade or destroy its capacity for
169:
but whereas a counterforce strike seeks to destroy weapons directly, a decapitation strike is designed to remove an enemy's ability to use its weapons.
919:
253:
118:
78:
against Polish military officers. As Polish law required every university graduate to be a reserve officer, executing the officers among the Polish
822:
527:
1012:
360:
304:
797:
499:
1108:
Knoke, David (2013). ""It Takes a
Network": The Rise and Fall of Social Network Analysis in U.S. Army Counterinsurgency Doctrine".
622:
389:
750:
546:
1037:
988:
785:
669:
201:
by the targeted opponent. Many countries with nuclear weapons specifically plan to prevent decapitation strikes by employing
337:
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change in the internal composition of militant groups may affect the quality and hence selectivity of their violence."
17:
659:
1200:
897:
777:
275:
140:
368:
344:
874:
460:
Hitler and his inner circle of advisers by a suitcase bomb as part of a broader military coup d'Ă©tat against the
1139:"Targeted Killings in Afghanistan: Measuring Coercion and Deterrence in Counterterrorism and Counterinsurgency"
416:
257:
122:
518:
352:
1205:
491:
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461:
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mechanisms can be a way to deter decapitation strikes and respond to successful decapitation strikes.
483:
1122:
848:
627:
592:
535:
393:
1190:
632:
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487:
246:
111:
770:"Words of Intelligence: An Intelligence Professional's Lexicon for Domestic and Foreign Threats"
1138:
1117:
453:
329:
661:
Talking
Conflict: The Loaded Language of Genocide, Political Violence, Terrorism, and Warfare
580:
571:
One tactic that is sometimes used to inform the target selection for decapitation strikes is
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Directorate S : the C.I.A. and
America's secret wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan
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In what scholars commonly refer to as the decapitation strike on April 24, 1915...
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1063:"Leadership Matters: The Effects of Targeted Killings on Militant Group Tactics"
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have, and continue to pursue this strategy in its efforts to dismantle militant
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468:
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364:
314:
71:
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823:"U.S. Launches 'Decapitation' Strike Against Iraq; Saddam Personally Targeted"
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Dispersal of political leadership and military leadership in times of tension.
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launch capability to local commanders in the event of a decapitation strike.
978:
755:
637:
457:
430:
75:
685:
Blair, Christopher W.; Horowitz, Michael C.; Potter, Philip B. K. (2022).
564:
556:
442:
225:
219:
475:
318:
260: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
125: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
946:"Do Emerging Military Technologies Matter for International Politics?"
522:
446:
420:
405:
215:
734:
Re-creating
Armenia: America and the memory of the Armenian genocide
235:
100:
826:
702:
333:
297:
798:"Documents on Predelegation of Authority for Nuclear Weapons Use"
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likely to produce the intended consequences even if successful.
438:
172:
Strategies against decapitation strikes include the following:
545:, have argued that the experience gained by the American and
288:
Decapitation strikes have been employed in as a strategy in
197:
A failed decapitation strike carries the risk of immediate,
325:
187:
183:
64:
920:"Hezbollah Pager Attack Looks Like a Decapitation Strike"
852:
296:
of a government's entire leadership group or a nation's
736:. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. p. 31.
687:"Leadership Targeting and Militant Alliance Breakdown"
317:
and other Iraqi military and political leaders. These
226:
Conventional warfare, assassination and terrorist acts
684:
664:. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 92.
1182:
751:"The Truth About Poland's Role in the Holocaust"
86:to stunt Polish science, culture and leadership.
875:"Airstrikes on Iraqi leaders 'abject failure'"
841:
815:
772:, Jan Goldman. Scarecrow Press, Jun 16, 2011.
1060:
1029:Bombing to Win: Air Power and Coercion in War
640:- a kind of "decapitation" in party politics.
521:A (suspected) Israeli supply-chain attack on
340:, that threaten the United States and allies.
305:Assassination attempts on Volodymyr Zelenskyy
1061:Abrahms, Max; Mierau, Jochen (2017-09-03).
877:. New York Times News Service. 13 June 2004
429:November 9, 1939: Attempt on German FĂĽhrer
176:Distributed command and control structures.
1011:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
193:Distributed and diverse launch mechanisms.
1121:
1032:. Cornell University Press. p. 253.
961:
500:President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia
359:was part of a larger plot to disrupt the
313:began with a decapitation strike against
292:. The term has been used to describe the
276:Learn how and when to remove this message
141:Learn how and when to remove this message
943:
657:
623:List of military strategies and concepts
898:"Obama: 'Global War on Terror' Is Over"
14:
1183:
1136:
867:
731:
549:military experience from fighting the
321:failed to kill their intended targets.
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963:10.1146/annurev-polisci-050718-032725
90:
54:in 1915, considered the start of the
52:deportation of Armenian intellectuals
1025:
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388:along with his son the Crown Prince
363:by also killing then-Vice President
258:adding citations to reliable sources
229:
123:adding citations to reliable sources
94:
37:aimed at removing the leadership or
1143:Studies in Conflict & Terrorism
157:theory, a decapitation strike is a
24:
950:Annual Review of Political Science
423:firing squad under the command of
165:. It is essentially a subset of a
41:of a hostile government or group.
25:
1217:
1067:Terrorism and Political Violence
541:Some military strategists, like
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99:
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1101:
1054:
1019:
970:
937:
912:
889:
849:"Cruise missiles target Saddam"
404:(the Portuguese section of the
361:presidential line of succession
245:needs additional citations for
110:needs additional citations for
1137:Wilner, Alex S. (2010-03-15).
983:. New York. pp. 437–440.
900:. U.S. News & World Report
790:
763:
743:
725:
678:
651:
13:
1:
1079:10.1080/09546553.2015.1069671
944:Horowitz, Michael C. (2020).
644:
519:2024 Lebanon pager explosions
415:and the Imperial Family were
492:Prime Minister of Yugoslavia
7:
586:
563:Counterterrorism theorists
44:
10:
1222:
658:Wittmann, Anna M. (2017).
464:, which ultimately failed.
311:2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq
61:German AB-Aktion in Poland
1155:10.1080/10576100903582543
732:Blinka, David S. (2008).
528:Israel–Hezbollah conflict
486:, ordered the bombing of
1201:Continuity of government
1026:Pape, Robert A. (1996).
628:List of military tactics
593:Continuity of government
536:unmanned aerial vehicles
400:, both connected to the
159:pre-emptive first strike
691:The Journal of Politics
633:Operation Looking Glass
573:social network analysis
380:February 1, 1908: King
484:Yugoslav People's Army
454:Claus von Stauffenberg
374:, at the close of the
330:Islamic fundamentalist
543:General Michael Flynn
441:by Swabian carpenter
413:Nicholas II of Russia
394:Alfredo LuĂs da Costa
1048:10.7591/j.ctt1287f6v
977:Coll, Steve (2018).
517:September 17, 2024:
508:President of Croatia
411:July 17, 1918: Tsar
382:Carlos I of Portugal
343:April 14, 1865: The
290:conventional warfare
254:improve this article
119:improve this article
1206:Military leadership
598:Designated survivor
534:In recent warfare,
498:, was meeting with
482:, in charge of the
199:massive retaliation
167:counterforce strike
163:nuclear retaliation
67:during World War II
39:command and control
18:Decapitation strike
896:Shinkman, Paul D.
759:. 6 February 2018.
581:Stanley McChrystal
551:Taliban insurgency
376:American Civil War
369:Secretary of State
347:of U.S. President
332:networks, such as
324:The U.S. and its
91:In nuclear warfare
1196:Military strategy
1039:978-0-8014-3134-0
990:978-1-59420-458-6
786:978-0-8108-7814-3
671:978-1-4408-3424-0
474:October 7, 1991:
372:William H. Seward
357:John Wilkes Booth
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56:Armenian genocide
35:military strategy
27:Military strategy
16:(Redirected from
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462:Nazi government
452:July 20, 1944:
433:'s life in the
349:Abraham Lincoln
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218:. Implementing
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843:
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817:
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802:the original
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756:The Atlantic
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694:
690:
680:
660:
653:
638:Burr dilemma
570:
562:
555:
540:
533:
488:Banski dvori
431:Adolf Hitler
398:Manuel Buiça
386:assassinated
355:sympathizer
298:royal family
287:
272:
263:
252:Please help
247:verification
244:
208:
196:
171:
152:
137:
128:
117:Please help
112:verification
109:
76:Soviet Union
31:Decapitation
30:
29:
1110:Connections
956:: 385–400.
859:9 September
833:9 September
565:Max Abrahms
557:Robert Pape
467:Yemen 1948
458:assassinate
443:Georg Elser
390:LuĂs Filipe
353:Confederate
326:NATO allies
319:air strikes
220:fail-deadly
1185:Categories
999:1049576269
930:2024-09-18
808:2015-05-17
645:References
445:, using a
402:Carbonária
1171:109972592
1163:1057-610X
1118:CiteSeerX
1095:146507596
1087:0954-6553
1007:cite book
881:27 August
719:236227864
711:0022-3816
547:Coalition
523:Hezbollah
447:time bomb
421:Bolshevik
406:Carbonari
216:ceasefire
212:surrender
1116:: 2–10.
904:April 4,
587:See also
478:general
476:Yugoslav
417:executed
334:Al-Qaeda
82:allowed
45:Genocide
74:by the
63:by the
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490:where
439:Munich
367:, and
1167:S2CID
1091:S2CID
1044:JSTOR
715:S2CID
419:by a
65:Nazis
33:is a
1159:ISSN
1083:ISSN
1034:ISBN
1013:link
995:OCLC
985:ISBN
906:2017
883:2017
861:2013
835:2013
782:ISBN
774:ISBN
707:ISSN
666:ISBN
579:and
396:and
384:was
338:ISIL
336:and
309:The
188:SLBM
184:ICBM
80:POWs
70:The
50:The
1151:doi
1075:doi
958:doi
853:CNN
699:doi
502:,
437:in
392:by
351:by
256:by
214:or
153:In
121:by
1187::
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