During a United Nations Security Council meeting this week, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield launched a full-throated condemnation of Russiaās bombing of Ukraineās largest childrenās hospital on Monday. The attack was a part of a Russian bombing campaign that killed more than 30 Ukrainian civilians.
āWeāre here today because Russia ā¦ attacked a childrenās hospital,ā Thomas-Greenfield said. āEven uttering that phrase sends a chill down my spine.ā
Thomas-Greenfield went on to list a string of Russian attacks on other Ukrainian hospitals throughout the war. She described Russiaās aggression as a ācampaign of terrorā and labeled its attacks on civilian infrastructure as violations of international law. Representatives of other countries, such as the United Kingdom and France, echoed Thomas-Greenfieldās denunciations. (Russiaās ambassador denied responsibility for the Monday bombing.)
āIām very glad the U.S. is coming out and so vocally condemning all of those actions,ā said Jessica Peake, an international law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, referring to Thomas-Greenfieldās comments toward Russia. āBut at the same time, we donāt get any language anywhere near as strong as that when weāre talking about Palestinian hospitals, or Palestinian schools, or Palestinian children.ā
Oh, certainly. Well, war is hell. Itās an inherently immoral practice, one of the most evil things we engage in. When it happens though, it needs to follow a certain set of rules, for a variety of reasons of which morality is just one.
That said, āhospitalā is just a word. If the building is occupied by patients and doctors and is not part of the fighting, then I fully agree with you. If it is empty of doctors and patients, and instead a battalion of soldiers is shooting at you from it, it should be blown up. The activities happening determine what happens, not the name and type of the building.
Adressing only both of these extremes ensure that nothing you said addresses any aspect of reality.
Theyāre hypotheticals meant to communicate how the Geneva Conventions actually work in real life. Sorry if you donāt like it.
The Geneva convention isnāt relevant to Israelās current war in Gaza. Blowing up hospitals remains immoral. Sorry if you donāt like it.
War is immoral, everything about it. No exceptions. Humanity does not function based on universal morality though, it functions on law.
There are no laws governing Israelās conduct in Gaza at this moment , and unconditional US support ensures that this will remain the case. Youāre purposely talking about irrelevant nonsense to deflect from their obviously immoral acts.
No, Iām not talking about irrelevant nonsense, Iām talking about war as it pertains to a war. Note, I have said several times that what is happening is very immoral. This is not deflection.
Additionally, international law certainly applies, the ICJ has jurisdiction to try war criminals regardless of where they are.
That jurisdiction doesnāt matter for Israel so long as they enjoy unconditional support from the US. Why do you insist on talking about shit that doesnāt matter?
Couple reasons. First, thatās just false. The US cannot prevent an ICJ ruling, and it would definitely impact Netanyahuās govt on multiple levels with a great many countries including his own. Second, US support is not actually unconditional, as we saw when the bomb shipments got paused. US support is still partial, and could become either stronger or weaker.