[analog]

Offtopic, but have you got a source for "Iran is seeking to produce a nuclear weapon with the openly stated goal of launching it against another country."

I had a quick look on the Wikipedia page but couldn't see anything there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_program_of_Iran

[bradleyland]

This is the world stage, so objectivity is hard to find, but there is a substantial amount of posturing from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that shows a pretty aggressive stance toward Israel, if not open contempt [1].

That's really besides the point though. Anyone who seeks to boil "right and wrong" down to a simple principle that applies in all cases is holding simplicity above practicality. "Simple principles" are no more sustainable than utopian ideologies. The reality is that right and wrong are subtle and contextual. Bringing Stuxnet in to the Linode discussion is just an effort to sidetrack the topic.

Any way you slice it, HTP has dragged "innocents" in to the fight. It's not right when governments do it on the world stage. It's not right when thugs and gangsters do it by terrorizing neighborhoods with gang violence. It's not right when crackers do it during their internet turf battles.

1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad_and_Israel

[analog]

I do see you point about the inferred goals of Iran, it's just the statement "openly stated goal" is untrue and I think it's important to be accurate about these things where we can be.

I certainly agree with you about the actions of HTP being unethical.

[gruseom]

That statement is untrue. Among journalists I know of, the one who has studied this the most and reported on it in the most detail is Gareth Porter.