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In his April 1 speech to the nation, President Trump declared, “If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of [Iran’s] electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously.”
Four days later, on Easter Sunday, Trump posted the following on Truth Social: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the (expletive) Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”
On April 7, Trump went further, proclaiming in a post that if Iran did not capitulate by that evening, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
As I write this, a two-week ceasefire is being negotiated, with Trump backing off from his threat to destroy Iranian civilization in exchange for the Iranian regime reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which it had predictably blockaded in response to U.S. attacks and now effectively controls.
But even if his threats are never carried out, Trump crossed a line by advocating war crimes.
The Law of Armed Conflict contains four core principles, which have been incorporated into the Pentagon’s Law of War Manual and have delineated the legal and moral boundaries of American war fighting for decades:
• “Distinction” between civilians and combatants so that non-combatants and critical civilian infrastructure are not deliberately targeted.
• “Proportionality,” so that damage done to civilians and their property is not excessive compared with military advantage gained.
• “Military necessity,” to guide and limit use of force and target selection.
• “Humanity,” so unnecessary suffering is not imposed on the enemy.
Every member of the U.S. military, from enlistee to flag officer, understands that orders that violate the Law of War are illegal.
My 1987 U.S. Army Soldier’s Handbook, issued in basic training, states that soldiers are to “attack only combat targets” and must “use the firepower necessary to accomplish your mission but avoid needless destruction.”
Soldiers are instructed that “undefended civilian buildings” are “not combat targets,” and that all civilians must be treated humanely. “Treat them as you would want to be treated if you were them.”
As for illegal orders, the Soldier’s Handbook is clear: “If you believe the Law of War is being violated, do your best to stop it. … Refuse to obey an order to commit a criminal act. Report the act or order immediately through your chain of command. If the chain of command is not appropriate, report it to the Inspector General (IG), provost martial, chaplain, or judge advocate (JAG). You must report all war crimes no matter who commits them.”
In an April 6 article in Just Security, Margaret Donovan and Rachel VanLandingham wrote that Trump’s Easter Sunday statements, if followed through, “would amount to the most serious war crimes. … As former uniformed military lawyers who advised targeting operations, we know the president’s words run counter to decades of legal training of military personnel and risk placing our warfighters on a path of no return.”
Trump’s comments, said the former JAG lawyers, “are blatant expressions that he is willing to turn the United States into a rogue State like Iran and Russia, one that rejects the fundamental legal restraints that protect innocent non-combatants like children, and the Iranian civilian population itself.”
The president’s continual stream of threats suggests he remains willing to commit war crimes. Should his directives violate the Law of War, it will be the military’s duty to refuse to obey those illegal orders.•
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Atlas, a political scientist, is a senior lecturer at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University-Indianapolis. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Indiana University. Send comments to [email protected].
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