Madam, – Media and political comment on the murder in Dubai of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh has been focused almost exclusively on the use of false passports in the execution of what is assumed to have been an Israeli covert operation. Given the absence of any criticism of the actual murder of Mr al-Mabhouh, are we entitled to conclude that, had it been carried out without resort to the use of false Irish passports, the operation would have been above criticism?
May we also assume that there would have been equally scant criticism, or accusation of terrorism, had Hamas carried out a similar operation against a member of the Israeli defence forces in Paris or Dublin? – Yours, etc,