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I don't know how reliable a source "DEBKAfile" is, but just in general, it makes me very uncomfortable that civilian scientists may possibly now be considered l
by Leptosiphon 16y ago
I don't know how reliable a source "DEBKAfile" is, but just in general, it makes me very uncomfortable that civilian scientists may possibly now be considered legitimate targets for assassination or kidnapping by the US, Israel or others.
- natrius 16y agoIf you're a scientist working on weapons systems (which is a debatable claim in this instance), you're not a civilian.
- something 16y agohow many of those scientists realize that?
- sliverstorm 16y agoI imagine the head of cybersecurity for Iran's nuclear systems was aware that he was the head of cybersecurity for Iran's nuclear systems.
- pmorici 16y agoSo you think that, for example, a University prof. who gets grants and funding from a countries defense department is a legitimate target?
- natrius 16y agoYes. Attacking such a professor would be an act of war, but it wouldn't be particularly reprehensible as far as acts of war go.
- metamemetics 16y agoAnyone engaged in military\defense contracting is a legitimate target of war under the Geneva convention.
- Leptosiphon 16y agoAccording to Iran, scientists aren't working on a weapons system, they are part of a civilian program to produce nuclear power plants. Following your logic, the people who competed in the DARPA grand challenge are not civilians and are legitimate targets for assassination by another world power.
- mnemonicsloth 16y ago> civilian program to produce nuclear power plants Desperately needed in a country with the world's third-largest oil reserves.
- pyre 16y agoThey should know better than anyone what the state of their reserves are. It would be a pity for them to squander the wealth that comes from selling their oil without having created any lasting infrastructure.
- chopsueyar 16y agoYeah, I wonder what that would be like.
- radicaldreamer 16y agoThey have hardly any refining capacity to actually use those reserves. There's no doubt though that they feel having nuclear weapons will be a deterrent after how close they came to having their government wiped out by Cheney et. al.
- YooLi 16y agoThey are trying to build _a_ bomb at this point. They are no where near the point they can deter the US from meddling. One bomb, however, will deter those with no bombs.
- natrius 16y agoDARPA funds the Grand Challenge so the technology can eventually be used to defend the country. I would not consider killing scientists involved in the competition to be a war crime; it would just be a garden variety act of war. I know little about the international law involved in such distinctions, but it makes logical sense to me. In my estimation, attacking DARPA-funded scientists is more likely to be "okay" than attacking the Iranian scientists, because the latter may not actually have any involvement in weapons development if Iran is telling the truth.
- cma 16y agoI don't disagree with you, but you can take it further: what if someone is growing potatoes, some of which go to feed weapons systems (troops)?
- jaekwon 16y agothat would make you a potato farmer.
- natrius 16y agoI don't know what international law says, but I'd destroy the crops and leave the farmer alone.
- cma 16y agoDidn't work so well the last time we tried it: http://viartis.net/parkinsons.disease/images/AgentOrange.jpg http://viartis.net/parkinsons.disease/images/AgentOrange.jpg
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- smokeyj 16y agoNuclear energy isn't only for weapons, that's just how the USA uses is.
- nikster 16y agoYeah. If you working on a nuke for Iran, you know you're a target for the Mossad (at the very least). Whether you call yourself a civilian or a soldier doesn't matter.