| | | Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was harshly criticized for allowing President Donald Trump to threaten to commit war crimes in Iran.
Longtime political analyst Charles Johnson, the founder of the blog Little Green Footballs, blasted Dorsey after Trump threatened to attack 52 Iranian sites — including cultural targets.
“What better place to make hyper-aggressive war threats than Twitter?” Johnson wrote.
“These are the kinds of tweets that Twitter really SHOULD DELETE. He’s using your network to start a war, @jack,” he said, tagging the CEO’s account.
“It isn’t the first time Trump has threatened Iran with war, but this is the MOST deranged and hysterical — and specific! — threat yet,” he explained. “To be fair, I don’t see anything in the Twitter Rules about starting an international conflagration in the Middle East, so maybe they’re off the hook.”
“This also is far from the first time Trump has threatened to commit war crimes — which is what targeting Iranian cultural sites would be,” Johnson noted. “Trump is clearly excited by war crimes and war criminals — his often-stated goal of ‘keeping the oil’ in Iraq and other places would also be a war crime. And he pardons soldiers who commit war crimes. War crimes are his thing. He’s the war crime president.”
Johnson’s thread was noticed by prominent GOP attorney George Conway, the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.
He wrote Trump “is too dumb to know it’s a war crime, but also too demented to care.”
Here’s what others were saying:
twitter.com
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Ryan Goodman
WAR CRIME
"Making the clearly-recognized historic monuments, works of art or places of worship which constitute the cultural or spiritual heritage of peoples ... the object of attack"
Geneva Convention Protocol I
(also: U.S. Department of Defense, Law of War Manual, 5.18)
Ryan Goodman
Let me put even a stronger point on this.
Any U.S. officials or personnel who followed through on this statement by President Trump would be liable under the U.S. War Crimes Act, 18 U.S. Code §?2441.
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Colin Kahl
?@ColinKahl
For what it's worth, I find it hard to believe the Pentagon would provide Trump targeting options that include Iranian cultural sites. Trump may not care about the laws of war, but DoD planners and lawyers do...and targeting cultural sites is war crime. t.co
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Jo nathan M. Katz
?@KatzOnEarth
He promised to commit war crimes as a candidate. He pardoned war criminals and is making them part of his road show. He likes war crimes. t.co
Tom Nichols
?@RadioFreeTom
Someone better let the President know he's threatening war crimes.
- 52 sites for purely symbolic reasons would be a war crime.
- Striking cultural sites without military necessity would be a war crime
- Striking in revenge is a war crime
- Targeting civilians is a war crime
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Susan Hennessey
?@Susan_Hennessey
Well, technically, the President of the United States is *again* on record as saying "I will commit multiple war crimes." t.co
Tom Nichols
?@RadioFreeTom
Doesn't matter. The President of the United States is now on record as saying: "I will commit multiple war crimes." https://twitter.com/kevinp1970/status/1213610362739650561 …
Susan Hennessey
?@Susan_Hennessey
He campaigned on promising war crimes:
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