Also, for clarity: I don’t think the US has a legal or moral justification for this war.
(There is a moral claim that could in theory be made but the administration isn’t making it nor is it fighting in a way that suggests there’s anything moral in its aims.)
Someone should really let Mr. Trump know that as much he wants to be Mr. Putin’s friend, Mr. Putin doesn’t want to be his.
The relevant law is Article 18 of the second Geneva Convention.
Submarines are bound by the law— and at the very least, the U.S. had an obligation to alert other ships to the need for a rescue.
ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treat...
An Iranian frigate is a legal target (even if unarmed) in war. Whether its sinking served a practical aim is debatable. If it was truly unarmed, it’s morally questionable.
However, the U.S. sub had a clear legal (& moral) duty to assist the survivors.
responsiblestatecraft.org/sinking-iran...
Why why why?
#Russia remains an aggressor. It has shown no signs of backing down.
So why reward it?
www.msn.com/en-us/money/...
This is why you don’t cheer war like it’s a game.
A Desperate Race for Drone Defense | "Ukraine is racing to develop and scale drone interceptors, while European states rush to buy systems of their own from Kyiv."@kirichenko.bsky.social https://cepa.org/article/a-desperate-race-for-drone-defenses/
I don't know anything about India-Middle East relations beyond the most cursory stuff.
The authority on this topic is
@nicoblar.bsky.social . For Iranian foreign policy in general, I follow
@nicolegrajewski.bsky.social .
If you know an expert who is here, please post in the responses.
Thanks,
Two headlines, same day.
The Trump administration is an embarrassment.
I know that the people who need to read this aren’t here, but here goes:
Rules of engagement aren’t for the enemy. They’re for you. They’re for your soldiers when they’re captured or wounded. They’re for your civilians when they’re in range of the enemy. They’re for your allies, to reassure.
Devastating. One reason I firmly believe IHL should be taught in schools in democracies is because voters must understand what their militaries are permitted to do so that they are held to account when they engage in legal violations
Such a profoundly unserious man.
In a world where insiders place corrupt bets on still-secret US military actions before they are initiated; & the FBI fires Iran counterintelligence specialists days before the domestic terrorism threat rises to its highest levels in years, the old notion of “insider threat” is well and truly dead.
If we learned nothing at all from the Iraq War, it was that chaos is no good for anybody.
Order is a seriously underrated good.
War comes with responsibility.
In its decision to attack Iran, I think the Trump administration is clearly failing on two of the four and almost certainly failing on a third.
And I'm on the fence about one of the criteria (because the administration can't/won't clearly elucidate its aims).
I'm very excited for it!
I'd put money on that too.
It really is the MadLib War.
Which is not meant to be funny, but rather highlights how profoundly absurd the administration’s shifting aims and justifications are.
We attacked Iran because ______, and had to go now because _____.
Ukraine says its Paralympic uniform was banned for being "too political."
Meanwhile, Russian athletes were allowed to wear uniforms with part of Russia’s map at the 2022 Olympics — raising questions about consistent rule enforcement.
How on earth is the representation of the internationally recognized legal borders of #Ukraine too "political"?
(But former soldiers who participated in the illegal invasion of Ukraine competing under the Russian flag isn't "political"?)
#Paralympics
www.ostro.org/news/my-ledv...
100% agree.
It makes strategic sense -- not just moral sense -- to abide by them.
Respect for the laws of war are what separates the "good guys" from the "bad guys."
It really is that simple.
clip.cafe/the-bridge-o...
(Nodding my head in agreement and sympathy.)
This.
Responsible political scientist me thinks I should listen; responsible human being me thinks it doesn't matter because the words he says will be untrue or incoherent or both.
And just in case anyone cares about ethics -- which apparently nobody does -- if you use force with no realistic plan for making anything any better, you have acted immorally, and the innocent people you've killed as "collateral" have been killed for no reason at all.
🇺🇦President Zelenskyy: Ukrainians live under thousands of Russian strikes with various types of weapons. In the last week of winter alone, Russia used more than 1,720 attack drones, nearly 1,300 guided aerial bombs, and over 100 missiles of various types against Ukraine.
It should be the end to this presidency too.
That is the highest compliment I've ever been paid. Thank you.
