Mastodawn

Drawing a parallel between the defence of Ukraine & the attacks on Iran, the Tangerine Tyrant has warned members of NATO that a failure to join the war on Iran will mark a 'very bad future' for the alliance.

However, despite the US (repeated) attempts to make pre-emptive self-defence a international legal norm, its difficult to see what *legal* basis might be for extensive NATO involvement, not that Trump cares about that;

Its just the usual bullying blackmail.

#Iran #NATO #politics
h/t FT

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Confused Middle Aged Dad

@ChrisMayLA6 pre-emptive self-defence sounds like a terrible concept that could be used to justify all manner of bad ideas and vendettas.
NATOs website talks about a political framework before military. That has not been used this time, as all the structures were dismantled first some years ago, but not by Iran. And doesn't it make sense to try and assemble your coalition first?

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Emeritus Prof Christopher May Mar 16

@confusedMiddleAgedDad

Well, the US has been trying to establish the pre-emptive self-defence norm for some time, but for it to become a norm in international law, it needs to be widely supported & it hasn't been - indeed many states have been lear that the attempt is misplaced.

As regards assembling your coalition first, it all depends on whether you regard intentional legitimacy as vital to your political aims; its pretty clear the the Tangerine Tyrant doesn't.