In one sense it is a big deal - we don't want precedent that it's okay to kill your citizens in other countries (cf Skripal), but you're right that in another s

In one sense it is a big deal - we don't want precedent that it's okay to kill your citizens in other countries (cf Skripal), but you're right that in another sense this seems to be how the world has always worked. I remember when Obama killed a US citizen overseas in a targeted airstrike (al-Awlaki) I was pretty upset about that and worried about the precedent it would set but it didn't catch on in the same way. Obviously "journalist" is more sympathetic than "accused terrorist" but the principle is the same, to me.