The Assassination of Bin Laden

(Institute for National Security Studies-Tel Aviv University) Yoram Schweitzer - Without a doubt too much time passed until bin Laden met his due punishment. Still, in the war against terrorism extended time is usually needed to capture and punish wanted high-profile arch-terrorists, such as Hizbullah's Imad Mughniyeh (25 years), Wadiya Hadad of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (10 years), and Carlos "the Jackal" (some 20 years). As for the legitimacy of assassinating bin Laden, it seems that the vast majority of world leaders and global public opinion share the consensus that it was justified, though in the past targeted assassination as a necessary tool in the war against terrorism lacked such sweeping support. Apparently the resentment of the indiscriminate murderousness of bin Laden and his henchmen pushed aside, if only temporarily, the rigid moral considerations whereby nations that engage in targeted killings, like Israel, are judged.


2011-05-06 00:00:00

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