Introduction: Creating a Reign of Terror

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the main themes of the book. First, the book examines specific methods of combat (e.g., drone strikes, kill-or-capture operations, assassinations) in order to show which factors led to civilians getting killed or injured in such operations. Second, the book explores detention practices used by the belligerent parties (e.g., arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances) in order to provide an analysis of the factors that led to civilians being unlawfully detained. And third, the book examines some other unlawful practices used by the belligerent parties (e.g., torture in detention centers, forced repatriation of refugees) in order to show how they affected the civilian population in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.