The War in Iran is maybe over, maybe not, but what happens next? What happens to the US after we blew through international agreements, US law, alienated our allies, and set an example for our adversaries?
@oonahathaway.bsky.social joins me on Make It Make Sense to talk about it all.
Great conversation about the Iran war and the many legal issues it raises. Take a listen:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...
Excited to see the Spanish edition of "The Internationalists" now out!
LOS INTERNACIONALISTAS: UN PLAN REVOLUCIONARIO QUE PROSCRIBIÓ LA GUERRA Y REINVENTÓ EL MUNDO: 21 (BIBLIOTECA DE LITERATURA Y DERECHOS HUMANOS BERG INSTITUTE)
www.amazon.es/-/en/LOS-INT...
Yale Law School Prof. @oonahathaway.bsky.social said in Feb. the Supreme Court has become "extremely partisan in a way that we haven't seen... in my lifetime."
"Big question is, are they going to apply the same limitations to President Trump that they applied to President Biden?"
bit.ly/4vdQmN0
On Saturday, a U.S. boat strike killed another five people, leaving one survivor, bringing the number of people who have been killed in illegal boat strikes by the U.S. military to at least 168 since the Trump administration began targeting boats in early September.
apnews.com/article/boat...
"It's absolutely critical that young people turn out to vote, express themselves, and play their role in our constitutional democracy, because it won't work if they don't," says @yalelawschool-yls.bsky.social Professor @oonahathaway.bsky.social.
Follow on Apple: bit.ly/4vdQmN0
As President Trump launches illegal war after illegal war, where is Congress?
In this conversation with Margaret Hoover on PBS's Firing Line, we discuss why Congress's control over the decision to go to war is broken--and how we might fix it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N7N...
This conversation with Margaret Hoover on PBS's Firing Line about Congress and its war powers explores what's gone wrong--and how we might fix it.
I'm with the Pope on this one. I wish more world leaders had his courage and empathy.
"Legislators see themselves first and foremost as team players for their parties," says Philip Wallach.
"They don't see their job as placing limits on the president," says @oonahathaway.bsky.social. "They see their job as enabling him."
TONIGHT 8:30 pm ET
@pbs.org listings: to.pbs.org/39hI6Tf
If Congress doesn’t do its job, “you end up with something closer to a monarchy or a dictatorship,” says @oonahathaway.bsky.social.
“The whole reason for the revolution was to reject that form of government…When the president is able to act without any checks from Congress, all of that goes away.”
"Mr. Hegseth has also boasted about his efforts to scale back what he has called 'stupid rules of engagement.'
Oona Hathaway, a professor of international law at Yale Law School, said those rules 'were developed precisely to prevent this kind of civilian harm'. . ."
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
What's wrong with Congress--and how can it be fixed?
Margaret Hoover hosts a forum on the role of Congress, war powers, and reform at @hofstrau.bsky.social with AEI Senior Fellow Philip Wallach and Yale Law School Prof. @oonahathaway.bsky.social.
FRIDAY @pbs.org
Local listings: to.pbs.org/39hI6Tf
Mr Trump had threatened to wipe out a "whole civilisation" in Iran - and target civilian infrastructure like bridges and power plants if a deal was not met.
Now a ceasefire is in place with negotiations to get underway in Pakistan this weekend.
I speak with ABC:
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
The rest of the world is trying to figure out what the heck is going on here in the United States.
Here's a conversation with Radio New Zealand shortly after the ceasefire announcement:
www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
Moreover, the threat to commit mass war crimes also raises questions as to whether the U.S. is fighting the war consistent with its legal obligations. It gives insight into intent that may be relevant to war crimes investigations.
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The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties also provides "A treaty is void if its conclusion has been procured by the threat or use of force in violation of the principles of international law embodied in the Charter of the United Nations."
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2. Threats of use of force also violate the United Nations Charter, which provides "Members shall refrain in their international relations from the THREAT or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state . . "
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I am getting a lot of questions about whether Trump's threats alone are illegal. The answer is yes.
1. First, Additional Protocol I states “Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited.” (also DOD LOW Manual §5.2.2)
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I spoke to the Christian Science Monitor about Trump's threats to carry out mass war crimes.
Though there appears to be a ceasefire (thank goodness), the threats have done irreparable damage to U.S. standing and moral authority. We will pay the cost for decades.
www.csmonitor.com/World/2026/0...
Trump has threatened to bomb power plants, bridges, and other civilian infrastructure. If he carries out those threats, those acts would constitute war crimes.
Listen to my conversation with @npr.org's @hereandnow.bsky.social:
www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...
Yes. Exactly. And if they refuse the orders (as they must), they will face court martial.
Absolutely international law has been violated. But the question is not whether there have been violations, but whether things are better with or without the law. If you think things would be better without the law, then what's your alternative? If not, then how do we make it work better?
This will be exhibit A in future war crimes trials if he carries out his threats. Tragically, it's those following the manifestly unlawful orders that are the ones most likely to be held to account.
The postwar global legal order is imperfect, to be sure, but it has brought unprecedented peace for eight decades.
President Trump is throwing that all away.
Glad to talk to Yola Verbruggen for "The UN, the international order and the ‘Board of Peace"
www.ibanet.org/The-UN-the-i...
Great conversation with @sranderson.bsky.social and Missy Ryan on @npr.org's 1A today about President Trump's threats to target electricity-generating stations and other civilian infrastructure--and why carrying out those threats would be a war crime.
the1a.org/segments/if-...
Glad to talk to Frontlines & Backrooms about the legality of the Iran war, the absence of an imminent threat, and what it means when powerful states act outside the UN Charter without meaningful response from the international community.
Listen here:
open.spotify.com/episode/2RBS...
“If these threatened attacks were to be carried out, they would constitute war crimes . . . Immiserating the civilian population for bargaining leverage is not lawful."
Glad to talk to Saeed Shah for this story @theguardian.com:
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
The Iran war--and the way it is being waged--is "so clearly unlawful and deeply misguided."
Glad to talk to Edward Wong for this piece @nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/05/u...
It is difficult to know without access to the intelligence, but the threats to destroy all of the electrical infrastructure and bomb Iran "back to the stone ages" is pretty clear evidence that they do not have lawful military objectives for the proposed infrastructure strikes.
