What did Donald Trump do today?

He threatened war crimes for the umpteenth time.

The Trump administration has been caught covering up huge numbers of injuries to American forces in recent weeks. Reports of wounded servicemembers clash with Trump's perpetual declarations that Iran's military capabilities have been utterly destroyed. Trump's war has also claimed the lives of at least two soldiers in the past week: Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, and Lt. James Tyler Feehan, 25. 

 

Trump's characteristically flippant reaction to their deaths—he used the words "very sad" before quickly adding "but"—hasn't gone over well. That may be why he tried to change his tone today on the subject of Americans dying in his war against Iran, blustering in a social media post that "Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!"

The laws of armed conflict, which the United States military still acknowledges whether Trump wants it to or not, make disproportional retribution a war crime. In other words, no law or treaty has ever accepted revenge as a satisfactory justification for using more force than is necessary to achieve a military objective. That's especially true where civilian casualties are concerned. 

At a minimum, 1,701 Iranian civilians, including 254 children, have been killed since February 28. Trump has explicitly threatened to destroy civilian infrastructure that will lead to more deaths, which is also a war crime, even as he demands that those same civilians rise up against their government.

Why does this matter?

• A president who hadn't dodged the Vietnam draft might understand why committing atrocities and lying about how badly the war is going isn't a winning strategy. 

• A president who'd waged war competently wouldn't be in a position where he had to make these kinds of desperate threats.