Look Around, Look Around, at How Lucky We Are to Be Alive Right Now…
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Even more Thanksgiving Day links, for your reading pleasure:
- Chuck Dunlap, retired USAF general and JAG, on why the Turkish shootdown may have violated international law:
The problem here is that the Turks are not asserting that any armed attack took place or, for that matter, that any armed attack was even being contemplated by the Russians. Instead, in a letter to the U.N., the Turks only claimed that the Russians had “violated their national airspace to a depth of 1.36 to 1.15 miles in length for 17 seconds.” They also say that the Russians were warned “10 times” (something the Russians dispute) and that the Turkish jets fired upon them in accordance with the Turks’ “rules of engagement.” Of course, national rules of engagement cannot trump the requirements of international law. Moreover, international law also requires any force in self-defense be proportional to the threat addressed.
Thus, the legal question is this: Is a mere 17-second border incursion of such significance and scale as to justify as “proportional” the use of deadly force as the only recourse — particularly where there is no indication that the Russians were going to actually attack anything on Turkish soil?
- This almost killed me.
- The Bundeswehr unit that (never) fought in the Vietnam War…
- Two American F-80s flew off course during a combat patrol in the Korean War. What happened next will amaze you!
- Five interpretations of North Korea.