Preferences

Both the US and Israel currently have leaders that have to be seen as "wartime leaders" to extend their rule beyond what their respective country's laws usually permit, because otherwise they both very likely will end up in prison.

This is not true of Bibi. No law limits how much he can serve. The only legal block for him remaining in power is that he's undergoing various criminal trials, which may or may not end with him being found guilty.

There is, of course, a lot of pressure for him to resign or for various other things to happen that he is currently managing to put on hold due to the war, but that's legal, and doesn't require wartime.

Absent all that, he faces elections in 2026.

leptons OP
It is true of Bibi that he should be in prison instead of leading Israel, for many reasons. There's speculation that he knew about Oct 7th before it happened, and let it happen so that he could maintain his power. Now it's war with Iran. I'm really not sure how far he would go to stay in power.
cosmicgadget
Bibi, yes. Trump is in the clear. The immunity decision means that successfully prosecuting a president will take years.
ToucanLoucan
I genuinely think hell will freeze over before we see an American president face justice.
cosmicgadget
We would have if he hadn't been reelected or if some of the prosecutions were not so ambitious.
ToucanLoucan
I admire your faith in the system. Neither party wants to see presidents prosecuted, because basically every president remaining alive could be easily convicted of a slough of war crimes and other crimes against humanity for their actions in perpetuating the American Empire.

This isn't even to say they are individually imperialists, but every last one, as soon as they take the oath of office, immediately begins getting their hands soaked, drenched in blood. They can't not. That's what the system does and that's all it can do. And the few candidates who ran on the idea that that should be changed were roundly rejected by their associated party, and an independent has received, at most, 5% of the vote?

Nah. Trump was never going to see anything, even for his particularly egregious offenses. I knew it in 2018 and I still know it. If he ever faces the most meager iota of consequences I'll eat my favorite hat, and post video here.

cosmicgadget
Except that Trump was being actively prosecuted when he was re-elected. By the DOJ, by a special prosecutor, and by the Atlanta DA. None of these were performative, none were condemned by the party in charge, all had a fairly high probability of eventual conviction.

"War crimes" and "crimes against humanity" sound a lot like offenses to so-called international law (cough, treaties).

leptons OP
Trump has been suggesting he deserves a 3rd term. The codified limit is 2 terms.
cosmicgadget
He says he deserves a lot of things.

This item has no comments currently.