Terrorism hits Iran again

[kochman]

It's not a joke. It's a reference to another thread where he suggested that acts of cruelty against animals should only be punished lightly (if at all) because they aren't human, to which I replied that considering certain people sub-human in order to justify acts of cruelty against them is a rationale for genocide. And he clearly did not understand where I was coming from.

He probably understood, but just realized you were REALLY stretching it by going there...

 

[aelf]

Well, it would be nice if you could explain why that is stretching the point, why a distinction between acts of cruelty towards humans and acts of cruelty towards a sub-human species (in the sense of not being human but obviously still capable of at least experiencing pain and fear) has not been used to justify acts of cruelty towards groups of people. Do it in that thread.

 

[Silurian]

Israel has done this in the past and they will do it again.

From haaretz

Perry quotes a number of American intelligence officials and claims that the Mossad agents used American dollars and U.S. passports to pose as CIA spies to try to recruit members of Jundallah, a Pakistan-based Sunni extremist organization that has carried out a series of attacks in Iran and assassinations of government officials.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diploma...uit-terrorists-to-fight-against-iran-1.407224

 

[say1988]

2) It is very possible that some Iranians did it (if even simply because paid to do it by some other nation)... dissidents, hitmen, etc... My point wasn't that they necessarily did it, but that we can't sit here and condemn Israel (or the West) as if we know it was 100% certain it was them.

1) A western government paying an Iranian to do it is no different from a Western government having anybody else do it
2) It isn't 100% but it is far more likely than not that one or more Western governments (probably Israel) was involved.

And it isn't an isolated incident there have been at least 5 such attacks in the past 2 years, making it extremely likely that this is linked to the nuclear program, not just the individual.

 

[kochman]

Sure... but before we go starting wars, we should be sure...
Ask GW Bush...

 

[RedRalph]

Yeah the Iranians probably did this themselves... for the love of Christ

 

[Ajidica]

Yeah the Iranians probably did this themselves... for the love of Christ

The scientist was tied to opposition movements in Iran, so it is possible -if unlikely- that this was done as a political assasination by the Iranians if he was planning to defect or something. Until more information comes out, very little can be ruled out.

 

[Ayatollah So]

I vote this isn't terrorism, but a simple assassination.

US legal definition of terrorism:

(1) the term “international terrorism” means activities that—
(A) involve violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or of any State;
(B) appear to be intended—
(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or
(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and
(C) occur primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or transcend national boundaries in terms of the means by which they are accomplished, the persons they appear intended to intimidate or coerce, or the locale in which their perpetrators operate or seek asylum.

A, B, C: check, check, and check.

From Wikipedia: "Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion."

Such as ... coercing a country to halt its nuclear program? As GoodGame says:

It's likely it was also to send the Iranian government a signal too about it's vulnerability. I doubt the killing of one man will cripple Iran in any way.

Yeah, I think I agree with people parsing this as 'assassination' instead of 'terrorism'. I mean, if the two terms DO mean different things, and they should, this is more on the 'assassination' side.

It's a false dichotomy. Back in the golden age of head of state assassination, it was kind of the primary form of terrorism.

"False dichotomy" indeed. But then, pretty much all dichotomies are.

 

[Silurian]

It looks like Iran is fighting back.

How many innocent people will be caught in the crossfire?

From Haaretz

Earlier on Tuesday, a man thought to be an Iranian national was seriously wounded in Bangkok when a bomb he was carrying exploded and blew his legs off. Shortly before, there had been an explosion in a house the man was renting in the Ekamai area of central Bangkok.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diploma...or-attack-hints-at-iran-fingerprints-1.412892

BBC R4 reported that his legs were blown off after a grenade he had thrown at the Thai police bounced back and exploded.

But is it Hezbollah, or a bit of both

From Haaretz

For the past four years, Hezbollah has attempted to exact revenge over the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh. Time after time the attempts failed – most of them were thwarted by the Israeli and worldwide intelligence communities. Yesterday, the Shiite organization could list an “achievement” – ostensibly, one of its people was able to wound the wife of an Israeli diplomat at Defense Ministry office in India.

It must be said that the attempt to execute two bombings in India and Georgia should theoretically point to a high level of sophistication and ability. However, the final outcome points to the pathetic nature and the relative failure at achieving the goal.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-...less-to-do-with-israel-than-we-think-1.412852

From BBC

A man thought to be Iranian has had both legs blown off after attempting to throw a bomb at police in the Thai capital, Bangkok, officials say.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17026007