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"Targeted Killing" of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
h/t Volokh Conspiracy
by Alan Dershowitz

As the civilized world justly celebrates the long overdue killing of Abu M al-Zarqawi, it must recall that his death was brought about by what has come to be known as "targeted assassination" or "targeted killings." This is the same technique that has been repeatedly condemned by the international community when Israel has employed it against terrorists who have murdered innocent Jews.

When Israel targeted the two previous heads of Hamas, the British foreign secretary said: "targeted killings of this kind are unlawful and unjustified." The same views expressed at the United Nations and by several European heads of state. It was also expressed by various Human Rights organizations.

Now Great Britain is applauding the targeted killing of a terrorist who endangered its soldiers and citizens. What is the difference, except that Israel can do no right in the eyes of many in the international community. Surely there is no real difference between Zarqawi on the one hand and terrorist leaders from Hamas and Islamic Jihad on the other hand. If it is argued that Sheik Yassin was merely a spiritual leader of Hamas (a total lie since he explicitly authorized numerous terrorist acts), then it must be noted that one of the people targeted by the United States was Sheik Abd-al-Rahman, who was also described as a "spiritual advisor."

When the United States and British forces have engaged in targeted killings of terrorists, there have often been collateral deaths of non terrorists, as there apparently were in this instance as well. The military announced preliminary findings that a woman and a child were among the dead. Collateral deaths are inevitable when terrorists hide among civilians and use them as shields. Both Israel and the United States make great efforts to reduce the number of collateral deaths and injuries but they do not always succeed.

I applaud the targeted killing of Al Zarqawi. His death will save many innocent lives. But I also applaud the targeted killings of anti-Israel terrorists whose deaths save numerous lives. All decent people must insist on a single standard of judging tactics such as targeted killing. It is nothing short of bigotry to approve this tactic when used by the United States and Great Britain but to condemn it when it is used by Israel.
Whacking Zarqawi actually was a little different than that of Yassin (for example): in the former, we had troops on the ground, and we actually started providing medical care before he muttered 'rosebud' and departed on his visit to Himmler. Yassin got no such courtesy.

Nevertheless, Dershowitz is absolutely right: removal of terrorist leaders is either okay, or it isn't, and you can't choice some and not others just because you don't like the evil Jooooz. Both apply careful, targeted force at men who are clearly responsible for the violence created by their organizations.

Some might argue that there is a difference: we're at war in Iraq (like it or not), so terrorist, insurgent, and opposition-government leaders are fair game (Zarqawi=Uday). Israel is not 'at war' with the Paleos, so this reasoning goes, and because of that the Israelis are required to use only law-enforcement and juidicial means of fighting their opponents. That Hamas is not similarly required to fight with one-hand tied is glossed over. I suspect most of us at Rantburg would recognize that Israel is, and has been, at war with the Paleos since about 1948 (at least). To claim that the Palestinians can't be 'at war' because they don't have a legitimate government (until recently) is to split hairs. The Israelis see their citizens dying from an outside group of armed, dangerous people. That's war, regardless of the nicieties of international law.

One simply cannot claim that the Israelis are required to fight with one arm tied while Hamas is not similarly constrained (the latter, of course, demands the destruction of the former). Whether this is 'war' or not, the Israelis retain the right to find and kill the leaders of the people trying to kill them. Dershowitz correctly understands this.

Posted by: Steve White 2006-06-14
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=156096