The attempted assassination of Salman Rushdie
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2022 2:36 am
The attempted assassination of Salman Rushdie is, blatantly, deplorable.
What is being ignored is that an equivalent scheme offering bounty payment for the apprehension or assassination of listed people is a routine practice of the American government, whose list at Rewards for Justice is a damn sight more extensive than that of the Iranians. The number of people on US bounty lists who are assassinated by the US military itself is an appalling statistic.
Th simple underlying question is if such bounty lists or assassinations should be lawful, whether drawn up by the sovereign government of Iran or the sovereign government of the United States.
Neither government appears to acknowledge itself subject to international law on this sort of issue. I see no moral distinction between them, merely a projection of power beyond their lawful jurisdiction.
What is being ignored is that an equivalent scheme offering bounty payment for the apprehension or assassination of listed people is a routine practice of the American government, whose list at Rewards for Justice is a damn sight more extensive than that of the Iranians. The number of people on US bounty lists who are assassinated by the US military itself is an appalling statistic.
Th simple underlying question is if such bounty lists or assassinations should be lawful, whether drawn up by the sovereign government of Iran or the sovereign government of the United States.
Neither government appears to acknowledge itself subject to international law on this sort of issue. I see no moral distinction between them, merely a projection of power beyond their lawful jurisdiction.