French President Emmanuel Macron has called for reform of the current “unjust” world order so humans can coexist more peacefully in the “New World Order.” He announced this at an “Imagining Peace” gathering with leading religious and political figures in Paris. If you want to imagine peace, you shouldn’t listen to Macron. He is no […] The post Macron Calls for a New World Order to Replace the “Unjust” One appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Last week the world watched as the terrorist army Hezbollah was hit by an attack that was equal parts debilitating and humiliating. On Tuesday, September 17, the special pagers carried by Hezbollah operatives suddenly exploded. Then, on Wednesday, their walkie talkies literally blew up. Although Israel has not claimed responsibility for the operation, in the event they did carry out this historically unprecedented strike, it was entirely justified and in full accordance with international law. It is not surprising that it did not take long for the usual chorus of anti-Israel politicians and pundits — those who only remember International Humanitarian Law (IHL) whenever they think it might hurt the Jewish State — to find some obscure provision, divorced from context, that they might deceptively latch onto and accuse Israel of violating, knowing full well that the uneducated armchair ‘experts’ who blindly follow them would thoughtlessly amplify their claims, muddy the waters of good vs. evil, and somehow make Israel the bad guy again.  This time, the frenzied cries centered around Article 7 of the Amended Protocol II to the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, which prohibits the use of booby-traps in certain circumstances. Pseudo-academics like Kenneth Roth could not wait to tell their breathless adherents that IHL unequivocally “prohibits the use of booby traps” — even though it is obvious that if booby traps are prohibited in certain circumstances, they must be permitted in others. For the record, this is one of those permitted times, and here, with citations, is why. First, it is important to establish that communication devices ordered by terrorists, issued to terrorists, for terrorist purposes, do not count as harmless civilian objects. Under Article 52 of the Additional Protocols to Geneva Convention I, the communication devices that a designated foreign terrorist organization issues to its operatives are legitimate military targets, and this should not be controversial. The fact that civilians may also use cell phones does not mean that you cannot target a terrorist call center. Article 7 of the Amended Protocol II provides certain restrictions as to the use of booby traps and other similar devices. Paragraph 1 lists certain categories of objects — religious objects, children’s toys, etc. — for which it is prohibited to use booby traps in all circumstances. The devices in question do not fall under any of those categories. Paragraph 2 of Article 7 prohibits using booby traps or other devices in the form of apparently harmless portable objects which are specifically designed and constructed to contain explosive material. As the U.S. Department of Defense Law of War Manual explains:  The prohibition is intended to prevent the production of large quantities of dangerous objects that can be scattered around and are likely to be attractive to civilians, especially children. It has nothing to do with communications devices procured by terrorists for terrorists, devices that were not specifically designed and constructed to contain explosive material, and were instead modified to detonate once they clearly became military objects. Paragraph 3 of Article 7 reminds us that even when permissible any such weapon must be placed “in the close vicinity of a military objective.” It is hard to imagine a more surgically precise procedure than the destruction of personal devices that were (literally) held by terrorists.  Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here! Analyzing the legality of a military operation also requires factoring in the principles of necessity, distinction, and proportionality. The principle of necessity permits actions necessary to accomplish a legitimate military purpose. In this instance, in a single operation, an entire enemy army was significantly impacted, and not only physically – the attack also exposed the Hezbollah network, in Lebanon but also throughout the Middle East where Hezbollah agents or affiliates were carrying these specific Hezbollah issued pagers. The devastating psychological impact also cannot be discounted; Hezbollah can no longer trust their own equipment, cannot communicate (ironically, they are rumored to have switched to pagers out of concerns Israel was monitoring their comms!), and will have to change many elements of their operations with the potential to make further mistakes that can then be exploited. The principle of distinction requires combatants to distinguish between civilians and military objectives during armed conflict. Here, the attack specifically targeted combatants, members of the Hezbollah army who had received specific Hezbollah equipment that is usually kept on their person. The law does not require perfect accuracy, which is impossible, and that leads to the principle of proportionality: Would such an attack be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects or a combination thereof which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage that is anticipated In this case, not a chance. Recall that Hezbollah has been bombing Israel incessantly for almost a year. In a swift and defensive maneuver — fully legal under Article 51 of the UN Charter — Israel (allegedly) immobilized a large segment of a terrorist organization actively hellbent on the genocidal elimination of the country. Reports say that a few civilians, including two children, were tragically hurt as well. Innocent civilians getting hurt is absolutely tragic, but not in any way unlawful or Israel’s fault. The truth is that the entire booby trap framework of analysis is wrong. IF Israel did commit these actions, then it was perhaps the finest and cleanest act of lawful sabotage in military history. As the ICRC explains: Sabotage is generally the work of individuals or small formations operating in enemy-controlled territory and taking advantage of clandestinity, surprise, and ruses of war. It is generally carried out with great precision and therefore does not usually harm the civilian population. The targets of sabotage must form part of the enemy’s material infrastructure, that is, they must be military objectives. To sum up, sabotage against the enemy is a lawful operation provided the legal rules for the choice of targets and the methods and means employed are respected. To quote one actual international humanitarian law expert, Eugene Kontorovitch: Those protesting the attack on Hezbollah cell phones would have been crying over bombs placed on Nazi Germany’s train tracks. The sad conclusion is this: if you are among those who were silent while Hezbollah committed thousands of undeniable, uncontested, and unprovoked war crimes against innocent Israeli civilians — killing men, women, and children in the process — and yet now find yourself horrified that Israel finally responded in a lawful, targeted manner by neutering (in some cases literally) hundreds of the terrorists who had been indiscriminately attacking them for months — your problem is not with Israel’s actions under international law; it is with Israel’s very existence. * * * John Spencer is chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute (MWI) at West Point and host of the ”Urban Warfare Project Podcast.” He is the co-author of  “Understanding Urban Warfare.”  Mark Goldfeder is a law professor and Director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center. Arsen Ostrovsky is a human rights attorney who serves as CEO of The International Legal Forum and senior fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security. The views expressed in this piece are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire. 

St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Officer David Lee, 44, was assisting with a car crash on Sunday morning when he was struck by another vehicle and killed. The driver of the other vehicle, 24-year-old Ramon A. Chavez-Rodriguez, had entered the U.S. illegally and was drunk when he allegedly struck and killed Lee, KMOV reported. On Monday, Chavez-Rodriguez was charged with DWI, death of law enforcement or emergency personnel, exceeding the posted speed limit, and operating a vehicle on a highway without a valid license. Chavez-Rodriguez, from Honduras, was allegedly driving at least 71 miles per hour just seconds before the crash – on a road with a posted speed limit of 55 mph, according to charging documents obtained by KMOV. Chavez-Rodriguez allegedly lost control of the vehicle due to the rainy conditions, struck Officer Lee, and pinned him between two vehicles before throwing him several feet, KSDK reported. Chavez-Rodriguez was taken to the hospital, and his blood was drawn two hours after the crash, showing his blood alcohol level at that time was still 0.10, meaning it was likely even higher when he allegedly struck Lee. “My heart breaks for the family, friends, and colleagues of St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Officer David Lee, who was tragically killed by an individual who was in this country illegally,” Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said. “This devastating loss serves as a harsh reminder of the real consequences of a broken system that fails to protect our communities. I am praying for Officer Lee’s family, friends, and the entire police department during this unimaginable time. We must honor his service by ensuring justice and security for all.” At the time of the crash, Chavez-Rodriguez was already on probation for domestic assault and DWI in St. Charles County. Lee’s family told KSDK he was a devoted father, husband, and police officer. Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here! “I’m gonna miss him dearly, because he was the yin to my yang, my best friend,” his wife, Tonya, told the outlet. “He was my partner, my other half. One half of my heart, and I’m the other half of his heart.” Lee’s son, Khalil, told the outlet that his father loved his family, his job, and basketball. “He was somebody who I could talk to about anything,” Khalil said. “He’s the reason why I chose to go to school for criminal justice and do what I’m doing now.” Tonya said the night before Lee was killed, they had prayed together as usual, and when they were lying in bed together, he said something she’d never forget. “It was weird,” she told KSDK. “He laid beside me in the bed, and he put his hand on my thigh, and he said, ‘Thank you for everything.’ And I said, Oh, Bae, thank you for everything. He said, ‘No, seriously, thank you for everything.’ And I didn’t know this was my husband saying bye to me.”

With Hamas severely crippled and fighting in Gaza winding down, Israel has turned its attention to its enemy in the north. This week, Israel began launching rocket strikes against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terrorist group operating in Lebanon. Hezbollah has fired rockets at the Jewish state almost daily since Hamas’ October 7 attack, but Israel has waited to retaliate until now. That was strategic, political analysts and national security experts tell The Daily Wire. Observers point to a handful of factors that motivated Israel to strike Hezbollah now, including the failure of diplomatic talks, the freeing up of resources from the Gaza war, and a desire to neutralize Hezbollah and return displaced Israelis to their homes in the north before the onset of the brutal Lebanese winter. For months, those pushing for a diplomatic solution to the Gaza war hoped that such a resolution would also cool tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. In February, Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah said, “when the shooting stops in Gaza, we will stop the shooting.” But Hamas has repeatedly rejected ceasefire deals, as recently as this week. As such, a diplomatic solution is improbable, according to Asher Feldman, executive director of the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy. “It is becoming clear that a diplomatic solution would not work with Nasrallah,” Feldman told The Daily Wire. “The only way to force Hezbollah back to allow the people of the north to go back home was by launching a military campaign.” According to Feldman, the chief goal of the northern campaign — officially dubbed “Operation Northern Arrows” — is to make the area safe enough for the 60,000 Israelis who have been displaced for eleven months to return to their homes. Israel conducted four rounds of air strikes against 1,600 Hezbollah targets on Monday, including long-range cruise missiles, rockets, and explosive drones, according to the Israeli Defense Forces. The Lebanese Health Ministry reports that 564 people were killed and 1,835 people were injured in what has been the largest attack on the terror group since the Second Lebanon War in 2006. The IDF says many of the targets were homes where Hezbollah stored munitions, and shared a photo of a long-range rocket inside a home in Lebanon. IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari added that many terrorists who were killed were near the munition sites. Photos released by the IDF today showing a long-range rocket stored inside a Lebanese home. pic.twitter.com/ReCAIBZzTy — Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) September 23, 2024 Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that some Shiite Muslims in southern Lebanon are “paid monthly rent by Hezbollah” to keep rocket launchers in their homes, which are used to “shoot rockets at Israeli communities on demand.” Videos circulated on social media Monday showing secondary explosions of Hezbollah munitions set off after an initial Israeli air strike. Israel gave several evacuation warnings to Lebanese civilians in southern Lebanon near military targets. “This is Hezbollah’s plan — to turn southern Lebanon into a battlefield for its attacks on Israel,” Hagari said in a statement. “We cannot accept a terrorist group storing weapons inside people’s homes, and using them to fire at other civilian communities.” According to Brigadier General Amir Avivi (res.), Israel is well positioned to attack Hezbollah now that Hamas combat brigades have been largely destroyed. “Israel couldn’t attack on both fronts at the same time,” Avivi, who is also the founder of Israel Defense and Security Forum, said. “At this stage, Israel decided to shift the center of gravity from Gaza to the north to create the deterrence needed to bring back all of the citizens of the north safely home.” Avivi said Israel plans to be as swift as possible with its attack, using “everything that Israel has” to hit “everything that Hezbollah has built in the last 20 years: all of the technologies, all of the capabilities.” Avivi added that Israel is “more than willing to go to a full-scale war if needed” including a ground incursion to degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities “to such an extent that Hezbollah is not going to pose a threat to Israel for a very very long time.” Hagari did not rule out the possibility of a ground invasion on Monday, noting that the army is in “full readiness” and will do “whatever is necessary” to bring back the displaced residents to their homes in the north, the Jewish News Syndicate reported. Some experts who once supported a ground invasion, like Feldman, have been pleasantly surprised by the effectiveness of the recent airstrikes, and now think an invasion may not be necessary. “I think if you’d asked me that 72 hours ago, I would have said that the ground invasion is going to be necessary, but the success of the airstrikes has been unbelievable,” he said. According to Jonathan Schanzer, Senior Vice President for Research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, with the Gaza war largely under control, Israel is less burdened by criticism from the Biden-Harris administration. “The Israelis are getting an earful right now from the Biden White House, which has tried to restrain the Israelis from the moment Hezbollah opened fire on October 8,” he said. “That may have worked while the Gaza fighting was heavy but now that things are largely under control there, Israel has the flexibility to pivot north to tackle the next front.” Schanzer added that any threats from the Biden-Harris Administration to withhold weapons — as it has done to influence IDF strategy in Gaza — may “prove futile if Hezbollah cannot find an off-ramp for the war that it started.” “Israel is seizing the offensive for the first time in this war, and at least for now, it appears to be working,” Schanzer said. Eugene Kontrovich, a professor at George Mason University Scalia Law School and scholar at the Kohelet Policy Forum, thinks the war has only dragged on because of the Biden-Harris administration. “It took the IDF longer than expected to destroy Hamas because Biden was holding them back,” Kontrovich told The Daily Wire. “The Biden-Harris Administration inadvertently extended the war and extended it into the election season. If they had let Israel fight normally, both fronts would have been over in the summer.” Kontrovich added that the latest offensive is important for boosting national morale ahead of the first anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attack and massacre of Israeli civilians. The coming winter may also be motivating Israel to get the Hezbollah situation under control soon, experts say. The winters in southern Lebanon are known to be snowy and windy, with temperatures sometimes below freezing. Such conditions would make a ground war difficult, according to Feldman. Drawing upon the lessons from the Second Lebanon War, Feldman argues Hezbollah cannot be trusted to abide by agreements of a treaty, citing UN Security Resolution 1701, which stated no armed forces other than the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) should be south of the Litani River. After October 7, he says many more Israeli decision-makers are coming to the same conclusion. “The resolution wasn’t worth the paper it was written on,” Feldman said. “Under the watchful eyes of the Lebanese Armed Forces and the UNIFIL, Hezbollah went from about 10,000 rockets and missiles to 150,000 rockets and missiles. They didn’t even pretend to follow the resolution.” The United States is sending additional troops to the Middle East to help Americans fleeing the conflict zone in Lebanon, NBC News reported. The United States currently has 40,000 troops in the region.

Jamie Dimon, Chairman & CEO of JPMorgan Chase, endorsed Elon Musk’s proposed “government efficiency commission” during an interview where he also weighed in on the state of the U.S. presidential race. Dimon, who made the remarks during a Tuesday interview on CNBC-TV18, said that he was not planning to endorse either candidate and was more focused on policy. He said he wanted to do things “to make America healthier and to lift up all of our citizens.” Dimon said that the bottom 20 percent of Americans have been “left behind” and that populism is on the rise because they are “dying younger,” “their schools are worse,” and “they have more crime in the neighborhoods.” Regarding the prospect of Musk joining a potential future Trump administration, Dimon said: “So, Elon – this idea about having an efficiency commission – I actually like the idea.” Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here! “I mean, I think governments have to become more efficient, more competent, and look at when they take money, what do they get for it?” he continued. “And I actually think it’s a very good idea.” “We really need to do it,” he added. “I mean in America we need to do it, I’m sure a lot of other countries need to do the same thing.” #Exclusive | Jamie Dimon, Chairman & CEO of JPMorgan Chase, says he likes Elon Musk’s idea of an Efficiency Commission. Dimon tells Prashant Nair that governments must be more competent (@_prashantnair) #JPMorganChase #JamieDimon #ElonMusk #cnbctv18digital pic.twitter.com/19TqOSDilq — CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) September 24, 2024 Dimon also said he was worried about geopolitical events because of their ability to “determine the state of the economy.” “It’s really the geopolitics, that these things, you know, they’re getting worse, they’re not getting better,” he said. “There’s a chance for accidents in energy supply. God knows other countries get involved. You have a lot of war taking place right now. You have American warships being attacked almost every day in the Red Seas. That’s my biggest caution.” “We’ve got to really think through how much debt countries can put on before it causes a real problem,” he added. “So I’m a long-term optimist. Short run, I’m a little more skeptical than other people that everything’s going to be great. Markets are pricing things like they’re going to be great. Put me on the cautious side of that one.” Geopolitics & conflicts are getting worse & remain the biggest risk for the state of the economy, that’s the word coming in from the world’s top banker, Jamie Dimon, Chairman & CEO, JPMorgan Chase, from the sidelines of JPMorgan India Investor Summit. He tells Prashant Nair that… pic.twitter.com/ump3eFq4VY — CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) September 24, 2024

'Here, it's gonna go down a little bit'

This is why we have rules, man