New Years Dead Tangos
Thursday, January 01, 2009
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israel dropped a one-ton bomb on the home of a Hamas strongman Thursday, killing him along with two wives and four children in the first attack on the top leadership of Gaza's rulers....
The bombing targeted 49-year-old Nizar Rayan, ranked among Hamas' top five decision-makers in Gaza. His four-story apartment building crashed to the ground, sending a thick plume of smoke into the air and heavily damaging neighboring buildings. It killed Rayan and 11 others, including two of his four wives and four of his 12 children, Palestinian health officials said.
I would mourn the lives of the children,and do in an abstract way, but it is hard to feel too awful when I read this.
A professor of Islamic law, Rayan was closely tied to Hamas' military wing and was respected in Gaza for donning combat fatigues and personally participating in clashes against Israeli forces. He sent one of his sons on an October 2001 suicide mission that killed two Israeli settlers in Gaza.
In previous discussions of "innocent civilians" killed in airstrikes, I have stated that the immediate families of terrorists should not be counted as innocent civilians and in this case Rayan proves why. He has already sent one son off and undoubtedly counts his death as a net gain since he took out two Juice.
I don't know that type of diplomatic solution is possible when you are dealing with a death cult like Hamas.