The President’s tweets prompted quick condemnation from lawmakers and the public, and rightly so because the threats were seen as “war crimes,” according to Haaretz.
Colin Kahl, a former Obama administration national security official, wrote on Twitter that he found 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 (Department of Defense) planners and lawyers do … and targeting cultural sites is a war crime.”
Of course, knowing how deranged Trump gets when on a rampage, he probably didn’t consult with anyone while tweeting away with his latest rants. Anyway, the Pentagon didn’t respond to questions about the “52 sites,” referring reporters to the White House.
,
@realdonaldtrump
is violating your rules by threatening to obliterate Iran. Thanks.”
Former Vice President Joe Biden and other Democrats, including U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, criticized Trump on Twitter, according to the New York Post. “This is a war crime. Threatening to target and kill innocent families, women and children – which is what you’re doing by targeting cultural sites – does not make you a ‘tough guy,’” the freshman congresswoman tweeted. “It does not make you ‘strategic.’ It makes you a monster.”
Warren tweeted. “You are threatening to commit war crimes. We are not at war with Iran. The American people do not want a war with Iran. This is a democracy. You do not get to start a war with Iran, and your threats put our troops and diplomats at greater risk. Stop.”
Pompeo defends Trump’s tweets
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded Sunday to the allegations that Trump’s threats on Twitter were war crimes. ABC’s “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos pushed Pompeo on the tweets, pointing out the Geneva conventions forbid attacks on places of worship and cultural objects, reports The Hill.
Pompeo responded, saying “We’ll act lawfully, We’ll behave inside the system. We always have, and we always will. The American people should know that every target that we strike will be a lawful target, and it will be a target designed at the singular mission of protecting and defending America.”
CNN’s State of the Union host, Jake Tapper also pushed Pompeo on the point, asking “So cultural centers are theoretically fair targets in your view?”
“We’re going to the things that are right and the things that are consistent with American law,” Pompeo responded. “We will respond with great force and great vigor if the Iranian leadership makes a bad decision,” he added. “We hope that they won’t.
So where did Trump get the number “52?” That number represents the 52 Americans who were held hostage in Iran after being seized at the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979. I wonder who told the Trumpster that because he surely didn’t know that off the top of his head.
