Is there a word that’s stronger than insane? Because that’s what we need to describe Hegseth and his actions during this war. He wants more bombs. He wants to hit more places in Iran. It seems that he flat-out wants to rain “death and destruction” down on that country. He’s being disturbingly blatant about more, more, more, without thinking of *anything* else, such as whether we have the munitions or what happens to the people. From Raw Story:
President Donald Trump’s closest allies in the Middle East are privately sounding the alarm as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushes the president to escalate the Iran war by targeting civilian infrastructure — including power plants and desalination facilities that millions of people depend on to survive, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
Hegseth has personally briefed Trump on a legal rationale for striking Iran’s bridges and roads, arguing that Iran’s military could theoretically use them to move missiles and drone materials, the Journal reported. A White House official added that destroying power plants could “foment civil unrest,” potentially complicating Tehran’s path to a nuclear device.
Theoretically. Potentially. Depend on to survive. Damn. This picture is ugly. It doesn’t matter to Hegseth. He’s not *there*. He just sees the media he gets back from the war. He has no idea what will happen if he manages to convince Trump to up the levels. He has no idea what it will do to the people, ours and Iran’s both. They are less than pawns on a chessboard.
But current and former military lawyers warn that it breaches the laws of armed conflict. “I could write a memo that says the entire energy infrastructure of Iran is a legal target — but that would be overbroad,” said Geoffrey Corn, a former Army lawyer who now directs the Center for Military Law and Policy at Texas Tech. He added, “and for those people who say if you attack civilian infrastructure you’re committing a war crime, well that’s equally overbroad.”
Gulf state partners have directly expressed alarm to Trump administration officials, fearing retaliatory strikes on their own facilities. When Israel struck an Iranian gas field, Iran responded by hitting a major Qatari gas field. Kuwait accused Iran of attacking a major desalination plant just this week.
So, according to Mr. Corn, I have no idea what a war crime is. Is hitting infrastructure not a war crime? I had thought that was off limits. Apparently not. I went and looked it up. “Yes, the deliberate bombing of civilian infrastructure is considered a war crime under international humanitarian law. According to the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, parties involved in a conflict must distinguish between civilian objects and military objectives. Attacks on the former are strictly prohibited.” Why does Mr. Corn say it’s overly broad? I guess I’m too dumb to understand.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has acknowledged Iran isn’t currently enriching uranium, raising pointed questions about what exactly Trump’s goal is for the war. “The bombing will continue to degrade not just the regime, but the nation,” one Iran analyst warned, “until Iran itself starts to come apart.”
Okay then. What is the *real* reason for this war? I doubt we’ll ever get a straight answer. If it’s anything like some of the theories we’ve seen, it’s *really* going to piss off the people of America. In the meantime, Hegseth is all about escalation. And there are still rumors flying around of a ground campaign. Iran coming apart is going to make an even bigger mess, since I doubt the Strait will be cleared. We have all sorts of things to look forward to, none of which are very good. Wonderful. I’m so not excited.
See you soon!
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Most of the Gulf states rely on desalinisation to supply their populations with potable water. In Saudi Arabia’s case, desalinisation supplies 80% of that resource so vital for life. If deluded militarists on either side begin targeting such facilities, the results could be unimaginably disastrous for all concerned. Sane heads need to prevail. Sadly, the current leadership in the USA and Israel are no saner than anybody in Teheran.
Oh, bloody hail, I did not know that. It makes the bombing threats even worse. Could it then be an actual war crime? Maybe. But who would bring them up on charges? I don’t know. We’re stuck in a wait and see.
Disastrous is an understatement. Please, not another Gulf war.