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Israel has been targeting Iranian civil infrastructure and is also believed to be behind numerous assassinations of Iranian scientists. Scientists are usually d

Israel has been targeting Iranian civil infrastructure and is also believed to be behind numerous assassinations of Iranian scientists. Scientists are usually deemed to be civilians. Since Israel has already attacked civilian targets and killed civilians, it would seem to me that by the laws of tit for that, Iran has the right to retaliate against Israeli civilians. In fact, Iran's allies such as Syria and Hezbollah should also have the same right. Israel's use of terrorism against what it considers its enemies is afaik unprecedented. As is the fact that the rest of the world lets Israel get away with it without so much as a peep.

pepperonipizza 6y ago
Are they still considered civilians when they work for a military program that threatens Israel existence? My grandfather was a scientist working for the army, he had a salary paid by the military and was part of it.
- bjourne 6y ago
  Yes, by the rules of war they are civilians. Let's assume that they were not and that the facility was a legitimate military target. Then it stands to reason that every Israeli person who helped stage this attack is also a legitimate military target. Every engineer who touched the malware code, every engineer who touched code for the tools to create the malware code, every project manager to any such engineer, every university professor who taught these engineers to create the malware code, every investor who profited from the military's procurement of the malware code the engineers wrote, etc. Add to the fact that the assassination of Iranian scientists is at least partially about deterrence - attempting to scare away nuclear scientists - and you have a strong argument in favor of treating Israel's cybersecurity industry as fair game for Iranian assassinations. It becomes very hard to draw a hard and fast line between civilian and combatant.
throw_this_one 6y ago
Did Israel say they are going to destroy the country of Iran? Or did Iran say they are going to destroy Israel? Answer that question and then you will understand why your comment is essentially idiotic.

pepperonipizza 6y ago

Are they still considered civilians when they work for a military program that threatens Israel existence? My grandfather was a scientist working for the army, he had a salary paid by the military and was part of it.

bjourne 6y ago
Yes, by the rules of war they are civilians. Let's assume that they were not and that the facility was a legitimate military target. Then it stands to reason that every Israeli person who helped stage this attack is also a legitimate military target. Every engineer who touched the malware code, every engineer who touched code for the tools to create the malware code, every project manager to any such engineer, every university professor who taught these engineers to create the malware code, every investor who profited from the military's procurement of the malware code the engineers wrote, etc. Add to the fact that the assassination of Iranian scientists is at least partially about deterrence - attempting to scare away nuclear scientists - and you have a strong argument in favor of treating Israel's cybersecurity industry as fair game for Iranian assassinations. It becomes very hard to draw a hard and fast line between civilian and combatant.

throw_this_one 6y ago

Did Israel say they are going to destroy the country of Iran? Or did Iran say they are going to destroy Israel? Answer that question and then you will understand why your comment is essentially idiotic.