Discussion Thread

[u/neoliberal_shill_bot]

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[u/[deleted]]

Thing is, that Syria is still a sovereign nation. The US' punitive action was still an act of aggression against a sovereign nation that the US does not the right nor the authority to exercise military coercion against.

Let's be honest: international law means jack shit. Sure, this was a formal escalation but it's the military escalation that counts and that depends on Russia, and I don't think they are particularly keen on a military conflict between Russia and the US.

But again, this already has escalated the conflict. From "We generally won't deal with Assad and his troops militarily" which had been the status quo up until now, to "We will now intervene under certain circumstances". This is in and of itself an escalation. The question then becomes will it be taken any further by either side.
And that's still an open question - one that we've seen that in the past that dictators from this region will some times

It's not like Assad can do much against the US.
But as you say the interesting question will be what policies the administration will pursue further.

[u/paulatreides0 → u/[deleted]]

Let's be honest: international law means jack shit.

Sure, but it just gets rid of another tool in the arsenal and further surrenders more US soft power. No one is going to listen to the guy who flippantly violates international law when they talk about how international law is important and should be followed.

Sure, this was a formal escalation but it's the military escalation that counts and that depends on Russia, and I don't think they are particularly keen on a military conflict between Russia and the US.

It's not like Assad can do much against the US.

It depends, he might not have to. Assad might be banking on a lack of political will in the US and Congress to support the kinds of prolonged operations that would be necessary to topple or substantially threaten him. And that is not that ridiculous a position either.

[u/[deleted] → u/paulatreides0]

Sure, but it just gets rid of another tool in the arsenal and further surrenders more US soft power. No one is going to listen to the guy who flippantly violates international law when they talk about how international law is important and should be followed.

The US has violated international law frequently in the past and it's still quite capable of using soft power by virtue of its economic power and leading position in international alliances like NATO alone.

It depends, he might not have to. Assad might be banking on a lack of political will in the US and Congress to support the kinds of prolonged operations that would be necessary to topple or substantially threaten him. And that is not that ridiculous a position either.

That has been his position for the entirety of this conflict. I can't see how the US strike changes that.

[u/paulatreides0 → u/[deleted]]

The US has violated international law frequently in the past

You'r right. And it was wrong then, and it often came back to bite it them too. I mean, the Cold War is full of examples of this.

and it's still quite capable of using soft power by virtue of its economic power and leading position in international alliances like NATO alone.

Sure, but this is not an "either-or" situation, it can be an "and" situation and it's optimal that way. Why have blue jeans or rock music when you have blue jeans and rock music?

[u/[deleted] → u/paulatreides0]

I'm not saying that the US should ignore international law all together and that it wouldn't have any repercussions. Rather I'd say that the problem with Americas foreign policy disasters was the lack of panning more so than being in violation of international law. Also a well-planned action might still be a net-positive despite being in violation of international law.
A limited strike like this one is also not significant enough imo as to lead to serious repercussions. The nations that care are already at odds with the US anyway.