http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/04/the_effectivene_1.html

Schneier on Security
A blog covering security and security technology.

April 20, 2010
The Effectiveness of Political Assassinations

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This is an excellent read:

I wouldn’t have believed you if you’d told me 20 years ago that America would someday be routinely firing missiles into countries it’s not at war with. For that matter, I wouldn’t have believed you if you’d told me a few months ago that America would soon be plotting the assassination of an American citizen who lives abroad.

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Interesting is the “good for the goose; good for the gander” argument. If terrorists start targeting American political leaders, then I can imagine the moral indignation.

Also, interesting is that “letters of marque and reprisal” WAS acceptable to the dead old white guys and provided for in the Constitution. (Not that they’d do it; they’d just give whoever did do it a “get out of jail free” card.) We don’t follow the Constitution about declaring war, the Constitution’s implied isolationism, or the dead old white guys’ often expressed policy of MYOB.

How’s that supposed Chinese curse go? “May you live in interesting times.”

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As a little L libertarian who is pro-life anti-death penalty, fighting an undeclared war, killing civilians, and the indiscriminate assassination of supposed enemies is unacceptable and immoral.

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