Attorney General Eric Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee today that killing Bin Laden was “justified as an act of national self-defense.”   One more specific authorization cited by commentators is the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force  (Pub. L. No. 107-40, 115 Stat. 224). This joint resolution (S.J. Res. 23), issued one week after the September 11 terrorist attacks, authorizes the President to “use all necessary and appropriate force against those . . . he determines planned, authorized, committed or aided” these attacks.  

To explore this issue, please consult the library’s research guides on Homeland Security and International Law.