In late 2020, Gen Mark Milley – then chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff – urged Donald Trump not to attack Iran and to ignore pressure from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who was pushing hard for military action. Mr Trump backed down after the general warned that attacking Iran would start a war, with the risk of US officials being “tried as war criminals in The Hague”.
Five years on, Israel’s prime minister has the fight with Tehran that he has spent decades preparing for, bolstered by Mr Trump’s claims that international law no longer applies. After all, why worry about red lines when The Hague’s already got a warrant out for you and your allies pretend not to notice? It helps when the US treats the international criminal court like a rogue actor. Mr Trump has even gone after the court’s judges and prosecutor for daring to scrutinise “our close ally” Israel over Gaza. Legal norms? Apparently, those are for enemies, not friends.
