That was the limitation. The MOST their justice system could justly impose for a knocked out tooth is a tooth.
They really knocked out a tooth, for instance?
Yes, in foreign policy this is sometimes referred to as a “proportional response”.
Whether Trump intended the phrase “an eye for an eye” to be taken in the Biblically correct “proportional” sense or the incorrect “payback” sense,either way I think it was far more appropriate than “Turn the other cheek”.
The Christian ethic of “turning the other cheek” may be central to an individual Christian’s salvation, but it has no place in the lexicon of a commander in chief.
Forgiveness is a personal thing. A President does not forgive on behalf of the citizenry. In fact, it kind of reminds me of Obama’s apology tours. Apologies are also personal. I don’t want my President apologizing or forgiving on my behalf - that’s for me to do. A commander in chief should be acting according to policies and protocols solely in the interest of the nation, not according to some higher spiritual calling that transcends nationality. We very much need that in the world, but that is not the job of the President.