Letters of Marque and Reprisal

One option to U.S. military action against terrorists who have attacked the U.S. and other countries, and are threatening additional attacks, is to enact Letters of Marque and Reprisal.  Article I, Section 8, paragraph 11 of the U.S. Constitution authorizes Congress to ‘grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water.’  A ‘reprisal’ means an action taken in return for some grievance/injury/wrong.  A reprisal could be a confiscation of property or assassination of culpable persons in retribution for an attack and/or injury.  It could include forced used against the perpetrators for the rectifying of injustices.  A reprisal could even involve assassination of a terrorist who is threatening additional mischief and cannot be imprisoned.

‘Marque’ is associated to ‘marching’ and means crossing or marching across a border in order to carry out a reprisal.  So a Letter of Marque and Reprisal would authorize a private person, not in the U.S. armed forces, to conduct reprisal acts outside the borders of the US.

Such Letters are permissible not just by the U.S. Constitution, but also by international law, which is why it was able to be included in the Constitution.  The Letters are permissible whenever the citizens or subjects of one country are injured by those in another country and justice is denied by the government of that country, as happened with the attack by persons who were in Afghanistan.  This sort of action would also work well with the Somalia pirates that some seem to want to do nothing about.

In the past those who sallied forth armed with Letters of Marque weren’t compensated by the US government.  Their recompense came in plundering/looting the enemies of the US.  Thus it would cost the US nothing to issue Letters of Marque.

I’m sure there is a host of merc’s out there who would be happy to enrich themselves at the expense of terrorist malcontents. 

Of course the issuing of Letters of Marque would take political balls because you know sure as hell the ‘terrorist appeasers’ would be raising hell about the US doing so.  And balls sad to say are in short supply in the US at the present time in places of authority.