Questions tagged [armed-conflict]
Questions about a conflict or conflicts either inside a country (commonly known as civil war) or between 2 or more countries (more commonly known as war)
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If the US wishes for de-escalation, why doesn't it provide Israel with only defensive weapons?
There've been several news sources of how the US is trying to get Israel / Hamas / Hezbollah / Iran to de-escalate (example).
On the other hand, Israel has upped the ante several times, most recently ...
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What are they fighting over in Pakistan?
There is at least one insurgency in progress in Pakistan, in the Baluchistan Province, which seems to involve some sort of independence movement.
Who are the parties to the conflict and what is the ...
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Why does Russia strike electric power in Ukraine?
It's become a common refrain to hear of Russia's strikes against electric power infrastructure in Ukraine.
Each iteration always seems to be the biggest yet, and the media is always keen to report it (...
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Why did American Airlines suspend all flights to Israel until April 2025?
According to Israel Hayom, American Airlines suspended flights to Israel until April 2025. That's ~8 months as of the time of writing which is quite a long time!
I know that Israel is bracing for a ...
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Pistorius: “We must be ready for war by 2029”. Why 2029?
CNN:
In another first since the Cold War, Germany this year updated its plan should conflict erupt in Europe, and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius presented a proposal in June for a new voluntary ...
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Are soldiers at war generally permitted to vote in national elections?
This might initially sound like an absurd question due to nations like Ukraine's law automatically extending presidential and prime ministerial terms until any war has concluded, if martial law is ...
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Do countries at war always treat each other's diplomats as personae non gratae?
On December 7, 1941, Japan launched surprise attacks against the U.S. naval bases at Pearl Harbor, Wake Island, and the Philippines, and on that same day Japan's diplomats in Washington were declared ...
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What is the logic (if any) behind Nigel Farage's claim that the west provoked Putin to invade Ukraine?
In this interview Nigel Farage states "I think the West historically , up until a few year ago, provoked Putin stupidly. I felt the ever, ever eastward expansion of NATO and the EU was giving ...
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A member of NATO falls into civil war, who do the rest of the members back?
It's often been portrayed in popular culture that the US falls into a civil war, in which it's treated as a purely internal matter and no other ally may intervene. In reality this would unlikely be ...
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Has there ever been arms supply with restrictions attached prior to the current war in Ukraine?
The tactical strings attached to Western armament help to Ukraine, i.e., the Ukraine not being "allowed" to hit targets on Russian soil using Western-supplied long-range weapons, has been ...
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How much support does a ground offensive in Lebanon have among the Israeli public?
Israeli forces and Hezbollah have been trading blows across the border for months now. The Israeli government appears to be under some political pressure to gain the upper hand and ensure the return ...
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Is it common to win a war with a strictly defensive posture? [closed]
Ukraine has strong restrictions on the use of the military equipment provided by "the West", notably the fact that they must be only used as a defensive measure.
Russia's targets are varied ...
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Based on the current/planned cost of the war, is Israel able to sustain the war in Gaza without extra aid from United States?
I wonder based on the current economic situation of Israel, if it could sustain the war against Hamas by itself without external aid.
It is reported that the United States committed over $3.3 billion ...
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Did Israeli officials confirm any sort of attack directly on Iranian territory?
BBC has this:
But in Israel there was criticism over the limited scope of the attack.
The far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, posted on social media one word: "Lame."
The ...
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When was the last time a country intentionally attacked another's foreign consulate or embassy that wasn't on their soil?
In light of Israel's recent attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria (April 1, 2024), I'm wondering if this is the first case of a country engaging in hostilities by
Intentionally attacking another's ...
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What prevents Russia from mimicking the Iranian attack against Israel? [closed]
A question that has been bugging me for a while is: why hasn't Russia tested NATO unity by carrying a relatively harmless or deniable attack against a NATO member? Though until recently I imagined ...
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Could Iran have obtained any valuable intelligence from its April 13 attack? [closed]
It seems that the Iranian April 13 attack against Israel had mostly political objectives: testing what western powers would and would not do to support Israel and their interests in the Middle East, ...
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Did any country in the G20 not condemn the Iranian drone & missile attack on Israel?
CNN:
In a joint statement released after the virtual meeting, the G7 members condemned “in the strongest terms” Iran’s “direct and unprecedented attack” against Israel and expressed their “full ...
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Why did the USA provide a $1 billion Patriot battery but not a $34 million F-16 to Ukraine?
Why did the USA quickly provide a $1 billion Patriot battery to Ukraine but not a $34 million F-16?
My guess is that, since China most likely possesses “Kinzhal-like” missiles as well, it was ...
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Did Iran launch & path their [counter-]attack on Israel in such a way to ensure high visibility from the ground en route?
Social media has been inundated with videos of Iranian drones and cruise missiles passing over populated centers in Iran and Iraq, en route to Israel. I'm curious if this is plausibly a deliberate ...
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Attitudes to man-made famine in WW1
Have any western governments condemned the use of famine as a weapon of war in World War 1 (or acknowledged their culpability)? Have there been attempts to prosecute the responsible for the genocide?
...
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Why has Russia made surprisingly little use of its Air Force in the Russo-Ukrainian war?
Russia has vastly more warplanes than Ukraine does, and its warplanes have suffered only comparatively light casualties in the Russo-Ukrainian war. And, NATO forces have not been willing to put their ...
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To what extent can citizens of democracies be held responsible for the acts of their governments?
The United States has often the case used the justification of removing a dictator as a reason to go to war. This has inflicted untold suffering onto the peoples of many nations. This brings into ...
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As of 2024, how can Russia escalate the war in Ukraine?
According to this answer for the question Why do Western countries not send more powerful weapons to Ukraine?, Western countries are reluctant also out of fear of conflict escalation:
It is not in ...
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You're at war with countries X and Y. Does international law say anything about bombing X's embassy in Y (to kill a high-value target)?
Reportedly:
The Iranian ambassador, Hossein Akbari, said Israeli F-35 fighter jets "brutally targeted my place of residence and the consular section of the embassy, along with Iran's military ...
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Does Ukraine now have access to the Bosporus?
I see contradictory reports on the Internet. Opinions and news seem to have two focal points:
Russia has gotten out of the "grain deal", making it impossible for Ukrainian ships to leave ...
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Is it true that Netanyahu did not make any (negative) statements about the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
Russian FM Lavrov said in an interview that he was shocked that former Israeli PM Lapid criticized Russia about their attempts to demilitarize Ukraine (and subsequent "annexation"), when ...
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Why don't NATO troops and untrained volunteers help Ukraine prepare fortified positions?
Recently, after the fall of Avdiivka, Russia made some relatively quick advances due to the lack of prepared defense lines. At this point, with Ukraine on the backfoot, its important for them to fight ...
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Why does a religious holiday increase the risk of military conflict?
Many sources claim that the Muslim holiday of Ramadan might be a point of escalation of the war in the Middle East. For example, this WSJ article) says
The risk of the conflict spreading during ...
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Ukraine-Russia - Do relevant world organizations provide an effective negotiation-center for this one, or have a suitable focus on doing so? [closed]
Ukraine-Russia - Do relevant world organizations provide an effective negotiation-center for this one, or have a suitable focus on doing so ?
Maybe the core features of a negotiation-center, would be -...
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If a NATO country starts a war, does the other NATO countries also enter the war [duplicate]
Ok, so I know that if a NATO country is attacked then so is all of the other NATO countries. But if a NATO country decides to enter another war between two countries, aiding one side, Does the rest ...
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Why Russia is not launching another attack from the north on Ukraine? [closed]
Recently, Russia has made progress in the war in the eastern four provinces of Ukraine. However, what puzzles me is why Russia is not launching further offensives near Belgorod and Kharkiv, leaving ...
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Does an occupying power have an obligation to feed the civilian population?
Let's say one country's army occupies some disputed territory, but they'd don't particularly like the population presently living there.
And let's say that no international/foreign organization has an ...
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Two years after the breakout of Ukraine war, is/how is Russia successful in sustaining its economy (now even growing?) and the war?
Since 2022, Russia has received huge amount of Western economic sanctions. The war itself is money-burning.
I understand that war may stimulate military-related economy as explained in this VOA ...
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Have Palestinian militant groups used rape as a weapon of war before 2023?
It has been widely reported that Hamas engaged in widespread sexual violence on October 7th. Hamas however denies these claims and they have been been criticized by some independent sources (1, 2, 3). ...
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Examples of military operations that Israel could have followed after October 7?
Many of those who have little tolerance for Hamas, or even agree that it should be dismantled, still disagree with the way Israel is doing it. While the shortcomings/evils of the Israeli actions in ...
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Why does Ukraine deny responsibility for attacks on Russia?
What is the reasoning behind Ukraine denying (or refusing to accept) responsibility for attacks and incidents of sabotage in Russia?
From a recent article:
There was no immediate comment from ...
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Why doesn't Ukraine run more guerrilla attacks in Russia? [closed]
Ukraine does not appear to be doing much guerrilla warfare in Russia. Although such attacks are likely to darken the image of Ukraine in Russia, it is not particularly good anyway. Additionally, ...
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Is destroying civilian infrastructure to create a "buffer zone" a war crime?
Recently, over 20 Israeli soldiers died in Gaza while they were destroying civilian infrastructure and residential areas with the intention of creating a "buffer zone" in Gaza, ostensibly to ...
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Are there any major organizations or individuals in China who have expressed pro-Ukranian views in their current conflict?
In the current Russia-Ukraine war, China has professed neutrality but articles like this and this suggest that support for Russia is high amongst its citizens along with soft support from the Chinese ...
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Why does the US insist on a two-state solution despite both parties being uninterested?
There is ample evidence suggesting that that both Palestine and Israel are opposed to a two-state solution.
Despite this, the US is insisting on the need for a two-state solution to the conflict, ...
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Why hasn't Israel fought alongside America in any of its wars in the Middle East?
It is often claimed that Israel is America's "greatest ally" in the Middle East. In fact, the relationship between Israel and America is perhaps the closest relationship between two ...
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What is the exit strategy of the west (US, EU, Britain, else) who are invested in the current Ukranian conflict for their own politcal interests? [closed]
Ukraine has politically banned any peace negotiations with Putin (see "Zelensky signs law that rules out Ukraine peace talks with Putin as ‘impossible’").
But Musk recently blogged:
"...
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What could Russia hope to gain by continuing their war against Ukraine?
I'm struggling to understand what Russia hopes to gain by continuing the war.
In my understanding, if Russia somehow "won" (I appreciate there are different ways of thinking about what ...
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Are the strikes against Yemen ordered by President Biden unconstitutional?
The U.S. and British forces have launched a massive retaliatory strike against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen (1/12/2024). The military response by the U.S. and U.K. comes after a series of drone ...
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What makes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict exceptional? [duplicate]
I think many people agree that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is exceptional - in terms of the media and public attention it attracts, as well as in terms of the passions it arouses. However it is ...
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How much autonomy does the Israeli Army have from the War Cabinet?
The announcement followed remarks by US Secretary of State Antony
Blinken, from Amman, that Israel would soon announce the beginning of
the third phase. This suggests that Washington has begun to ...
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Where does ICRC's Customary International Humanitarian Law come from?
It is not infrequent that rules of war are not found in the Geneva Conventions, as expected, but rather in the International Committee of the Red Cross's online database:
For example, there are Geneva ...
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How did Arab media report the events of the Hamas attack on Israel?
The Wiki article in Arabic about October 7th (linked is a Google translation) is notable for portraying the attack as a purely military operation and avoids any discussions of the crimes against ...
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Independent confirmations of the Israeli project for resettlement of Gazans
The Times of Israel reports in Israel in talks with Congo and other countries on Gaza ‘voluntary migration’ plan that members of the Israeli government are arguing for resettlement of Gazans in ...
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