I am a new fan and admirer of your work. Catching up on some of your back catalogue here.

Could you clarify your comment: “If we’re picking sides, I choose that of the Palestinian civilians, who are victims of both Hamas and the IDF.” Do you mean that that the IDF are targeting Palestinian civilians, or have a choice in the tactics that they employ?

Marc

Thanks for replying. I’ll address a few points.

I’m not sure about “celebrating” Assange and Snowden, I suppose there is some of that,

‘Some’? Seems we appear to occupy different worlds:-) They’re celebrated by the left as defenders of free speech & truth, with celebrity endorsements, frequent media appearances and even movie biopics. Their public personas transcend that of mere whistle-blowers, to say the least. I’ve not checked, but I’d be willing to wager they’ve even won awards. If the word ‘celebrate’ isn’t justified here, it’s not justified anywhere. They are in fact ‘celebrities’. Again, the fact that I find this cult of personality “a very strange idea” is not the same as confirming my support for unrestricted government snooping, I just have my doubts as to whether their activities have been beneficial, or detrimental to security.

Again, as far as posing more danger, I’m with Ben Franklin, “he who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.”

Easy to sloganise, but that tends to simplify a rather complex issue. Benjamin Franklin had no understanding of the security concerns presented by a 21st century Western Climate. I very much doubt the ‘freedoms’ he had in mind concerned the contents of your emails.

On the Israel issue, I’m not sure whether you are still misunderstanding, or misrepresenting. I didn’t ‘ask a question about the difference between drone strikes and suicide bombings’ at all. I said (bold added for emphasis):

Me:“Yeah, I agree, I mean I hear a variation of the same sort of argument where people are unable to give a distinction between, sort of, Drone Strikes and suicide bombing”

Douglas Murray “Yeah, Exactly”.

With this point, my ‘agreement’ can only be referring to the distinction he made between Hamas and Israel, in terms of targeting civilians. I have, a few times rowed with people on Twitter who can see no difference in a targeted military strike (a drone, even if responsible for civilian deaths) and making a goal of targeting civilians by stepping on a busy tube train, during rush hour with a backpack full of explosives. Although both are responsible for unjustifiable horrors, I think intent and mandate really matters from an ethical standpoint on these issues. And no, to avoid any further misunderstanding, this isn’t a pro-drone argument either. I’m well aware, and critical of some of the unethical practices involving them. See ‘double tap’ in regards to Drones, for example.

I probably did leave myself open for some misunderstanding by beginning my sentence with “I agree”, even if only referring to a particular point made at the tail end of a much larger monologue (which I went on to qualify with my drone remark). I think it would be best if I take care not to do that in future. Public speaking is very much a skill-set that I’m still learning. Although, having said that, I don’t think it matters how clear you are on a topic like Israel, misunderstanding will fly!:-)

Thanks for the feedback,

Always appreciated,

GS