Why Nations Don’t Assassinate Each Other’s Leaders
Can Israel re-write this rule?
Most assassinations are perpetrated by domestic malcontents. Gavrilo Princip was not thinking about European politics when he killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand. He simply didn’t like Austro-Hungarian rule.
Assassinations are often bizarre, to say the least. John Hinckley Jr. in 1981 attempting to kill Reagan because of Jodi Foster!
Anyway, Israel wasn’t thinking about geopolitics when it assassinated political leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah. Like Princip, Israel believes Hezbollah is standing between it and the realization of its fantasy.
But let me stress the difference. Gavrilo Princip did NOT officially represent Serbians. Those who killed Nasrallah DO represent Israel.
Last month, Israel marshalled all the resources to kill people associated with Hezbollah. But that changes nothing about the weapons Hezbollah can use on Israel.
What kind of assassins believe that their heroic act is going to change such facts on the ground? Insane ones of course. I’m not arguing that Israel is insane. I’m only pointing out its rational is no different than those we do call insane.
Every nation that trades with Israel, who does business with Israelis, can’t help but wonder.
