1. #2421
    Banned Kellhound's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by caervek View Post
    There isn't technically that much difference really, you guys used an illegal drone strike to assassinate somebody at an international airport where there could have been countless civilian casualties. The country the airport happened to be in isn't really relevant to the action being wrong.
    The use of kinetic warheads pretty much assured there would be little to no collateral damage, as did the location the cars were hit.

  2. #2422
    Quote Originally Posted by Thekri View Post
    This is not a good thing, this is the result of Congress giving George Bush a blank check, and forgetting to write an expiration date on it. Nobody in this thread is defending the absurd legal framework that exists around counter-terrorism operations.
    I mean I don't disagree with that, the AUMFs are considerably broad. But actions justified under the AUMF can presumably still be illegal for other reasons (eg violating international treaties the US is partner to etc).

    But even ignoring that, there are reasonable arguments that they wouldn't cover the Soleimani assassination. The White House may have had legal advice that they did, but the White House lawyers have certainly been losing a lot of court cases and none of this has really been tested. But it's also unlikely to actually be tested either, so we have the status quo of everything being of dubious legality with disagreements as to whether it really is or not depending on who you ask.

    Edit:
    After reading your previous post I mostly agree with that. It's just quibbling about where exactly it falls on the scale of theoretical legality.
    Last edited by Trifle; 2020-02-18 at 04:46 AM.

  3. #2423
    Quote Originally Posted by caervek View Post
    There isn't technically that much difference really, you guys used an illegal drone strike to assassinate somebody at an international airport where there could have been countless civilian casualties. The country the airport happened to be in isn't really relevant to the action being wrong.
    To add to what @Kellhound said, this was the likely missile used. The R9X "flying Ginsu", a modified hellfire missile. It has no explosives. Instead a fraction of a second before impact, six 3 foot long blades extend from the body.



    This is how precise it is: it can destroy the inside of a car without destoying the care far away from the impact point:



    I want to put this into perspective: the front hood, lights and side panels of the car that was struck by a missiles in this picture, are in good enough shape to be sold as replacement parts.

    Here is another one:



    This has been the drone-based weapon of choice in settled areas since 2017.

  4. #2424
    That's a bit mis-leading:

    Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_B...strike#Attack:
    At 12:47 a.m., the Reaper drone launched several missiles, striking the convoy on an access road as it departed the airport, engulfing the two cars in flames and killing 10 people.
    Additionally, wiki sources this Forbes article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/sebasti.../#3234944b4bb6
    The photo shows print on the fragment that notes the missile weighs 52 kilograms (114.6 pounds) and requires two persons to lift.

    ...

    But there’s a problem: Hellfire variants have listed weights between 45 to 50 kilograms. And given that the targeted car was reduced to a blazing wreck, we can rule out the use of the blade-armed Hellfire.

    In fact, a weapon intended to replace the Hellfire, called the AGM-179 Joint-Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) does weigh 52 kilos (115 pounds), and is designed to be fired from the same helicopters and drones. It essentially plugs an advanced guidance-cone into the body of a standard AGM-114R missile (the motor, flight control system and its multi-purpose warhead).

  5. #2425
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    Having spent time doing BDA on confirmed pictures of the strike, I am walking back my statement about kinetic warheads. The US only used location to curtail collateral damage.

  6. #2426
    Legendary! Ihavewaffles's Avatar
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    Isn't that some kind of fletcherer weapon? Aren't they mostly banned?

  7. #2427
    Quote Originally Posted by Ihavewaffles View Post
    Isn't that some kind of fletcherer weapon? Aren't they mostly banned?
    Maybe if it were a giant firing the missile and other giants.

    What you're thinking of are needle/dart guns.

  8. #2428
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ihavewaffles View Post
    Isn't that some kind of fletcherer weapon? Aren't they mostly banned?
    Flechette. And no, they are not banned.

  9. #2429
    Titan I Push Buttons's Avatar
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    Completely unrelated, but kind of tangentially related in that this happened in the same broader conflict; not really worthy of a new thread...

    https://twitter.com/ibrashino/status...18147938082818

    I had no idea US forces and Russian forces were operating in such close proximity in Syria that they are literally running each other off the road. Hopefully they don't start shooting at each other.

  10. #2430
    Quote Originally Posted by I Push Buttons View Post
    Completely unrelated, but kind of tangentially related in that this happened in the same broader conflict; not really worthy of a new thread...

    https://twitter.com/ibrashino/status...18147938082818

    I had no idea US forces and Russian forces were operating in such close proximity in Syria that they are literally running each other off the road. Hopefully they don't start shooting at each other.
    I see two morons driving, just with different flags. Like, one is trying to speed and overtake, the other is trying to block him doing that. Guys, you are in a warzone, where nerves are being tested all the time - do you REALLY have to do that?

  11. #2431
    Quote Originally Posted by Easo View Post
    I see two morons driving, just with different flags. Like, one is trying to speed and overtake, the other is trying to block him doing that. Guys, you are in a warzone, where nerves are being tested all the time - do you REALLY have to do that?
    Unfortunately the answer to that is yes, they do because whoever fires first looses.

  12. #2432
    Quote Originally Posted by Skroe View Post
    Correct. We are allowed to do them and you are not.

    Wars have consequences. Russia lost the Cold War, and this its privileged international position. It can try and change reality as to what the US can and cannot do, but it won’t find it very successful.

    A friendly reminder, as I like to say, that this is our planet and you just live here.
    [Infraction]
    This is this kind of shit that will lead your country to fall, in the end. Keep thinking that way, but dont ask why you are so hated. Dictators, ruling by force, flexing muscle and act like bullies never end well. This is already making you look like the bad ones.... those who will end you Will be considered the good ones.

  13. #2433
    Immortal Stormspark's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Beuargh View Post
    This is this kind of shit that will lead your country to fall, in the end. Keep thinking that way, but dont ask why you are so hated. Dictators, ruling by force, flexing muscle and act like bullies never end well. This is already making you look like the bad ones.... those who will end you Will be considered the good ones.
    I agree with you. I live in the US and I can't stand it when people say stuff like that. The US is not special in any way. It's basically a failed state at this point.

  14. #2434
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stormspark View Post
    I agree with you. I live in the US and I can't stand it when people say stuff like that. The US is not special in any way. It's basically a failed state at this point.
    The US isnt special, it just has the most powerful economy and most powerful military in the world....

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