When was the last time covert assassinations or military strikes actually solved a problem? Mostly they inflict further suffering. Mostly they affect people oth

When was the last time covert assassinations or military strikes actually solved a problem? Mostly they inflict further suffering. Mostly they affect people other than the perpetrators. These are unlikely to be acts of war. War requires state-level actors, who are interested in geopolitical changes, not piddling little ransoms. What you’re talking about is revenge, not justice. Each of those done well breeds more of itself. Successful revenge breeds more violence and hatred, leading to more revenge; look up the history of vendettas. Successful justice breeds more justice. Societies should choose the virtuous cycle, not the vicious one.