Today I wrote a letter to President Biden. (It’s easy online with this link.)
My letter to President Biden:
I hope Israel’s attack in Gaza today was included in your daily briefing.
I’m sure you’ve been informed about the killing in May 2022 of Shireen Abu Akleh, the acclaimed Palestinian-American journalist, by an Israeli military sharpshooter. Today’s military action came without warning and was apparently a preemptive strike to kill Tayseer al-Jabari, a top Islamic Jihad commander in Gaza. The deaths of a 5-year-old child and other civilians were “collateral damage.”
And then there was the U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan earlier this week which killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda’s leader.
Each of these killings – a journalist, and a child, and a military strategist (ie., a terrorist) – were premeditated and the result of military action. My question to you, as the commander in chief of the U.S. military, is there a difference between lawful and legitimate murder, and unlawful terrorism? If there is a difference, does it depend on who the target is? What factors distinguish between lawful and legitimate murder, and unlawful and despicable acts of terrorism?
If the answer is — “it depends on the eye of the beholder” — would a military strike in the heart of Tel Aviv or New York City be lawful if the target was deemed legitimate by the military strategist perpetrating the attack?
لماذا غزة؟ Why Gaza? 
Reblogged this on penelopap.