so street rules now say it's legal for, say, the EU or Vietnam to kidnap the US president?

[mwl@io.mwl.io]

so street rules now say it's legal for, say, the EU or Vietnam to kidnap the US president? Have I got this right?

[cstross@wandering.shop]

@mwl TBF, this has clearly been the case since Putin tried to have Zelenskyy murdered repeatedly in February 2022, and before then, think Manuel Noriega, or Israel vs. Yasser Arafat. The traditional rules of the post-Westphalian settlement have been breaking down for decades now.

[phosphenes@mastodon.social]

@cstross @mwl

I wonder if an all-out assassination war would be better than actual wars. It'd be mostly oligarchs killing other oligarchs. When 90% of them are gone maybe we can all go out for a picnic.

Leaders have had a longstanding taboo against assassination, but of course they have.

[cstross@wandering.shop]

@Phosphenes @mwl They won't give two hoots about collateral damage (meaning, the rest of us). Once enough is on the line you could expect assassination by cruise missile to become a thing.

The taboo against assassination exists because it levels the playing field—even small-scale state level actors can engage in it on an even platform with the big guys.