Source: RIRRakesh Krishnan Simha
Target Iran: The morality of killing nuclear scientists
The serial murder of Iranian nuclear scientists is a pointer to the
West’s moral compass. It is also a sign of desperation and double
standards.
“Physics is an unhealthy line of work in today’s Iran,” begins an
editorial in the Australian newspaper “The Age”. The jibe follows the
murder of an Iranian nuclear scientist by a motorcycle riding assassin.
“I shall not shed any tears whenever one of these scientists encounters
the unforgiving men on motorbikes, men who live in the real world rather
than a laboratory or philosophy seminar,” the morally challenged writer
continues.
What kind of dystopian world is the writer living in? When did
scientists become legitimate targets and hired killers turn heroic? For
several decades now Australia, in lockstep with its Western allies, has
parroted the drivel that terrorism in all forms must be condemned. But
because the dead scientists all worked for Iran, it’s okay to gloat.
Five strikes
Five Iranian nuclear scientists have been attacked in the past two
years. In the latest job on January 11, a magnetic bomb was attached to
the door of 32-year-old Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan’s car during morning
rush-hour in the capital, Tehran. His driver was also killed and two
others seriously injured.
Last year among the four scientists attacked, the most spectacular –
and tragic – incident was on July 23 when Darioush Rezaeinejad was shot
through the throat outside his daughter’s kindergarten.
The official, and expected, response to these murders is the “we
condemn” line from Western governments. However, the unofficial
statements are a stark pointer to the West’s moral compass.
“On occasion,” gloated Republican presidential hopeful and
gay-bashing, Christian fundamentalist Rick Santorum, “scientists working
on the nuclear programme in Iran turn up dead. I think that’s a
wonderful thing, candidly.”
And smiling for the cameras in a televised press conference Israel
Defence Forces (IDF) chief Benny Gantz spoke about “unnatural events”
that were delaying Iran’s nuclear push.
The gloating didn’t end there. “I don’t know who settled the score
with the Iranian scientist, but I certainly am not shedding a tear,” the
IDF’s Brigadier General Yoav Mordechai said on Facebook.
