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PaperclipPerfector  6d ago (text post)   903 thread views

Transnational Thursday for December 12, 2024

Transnational Thursday is a thread for people to discuss international news, foreign policy or international relations history. Feel free as well to drop in with coverage of countries you’re interested in, talk about ongoing dynamics like the wars in Israel or Ukraine, or even just whatever you’re reading.

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I was checking on the status of Israel's various wars today and found this article.

UNITED NATIONS — When Israeli troops captured a demilitarized buffer zone along the border with Syria, they violated a 50-year-old ceasefire between the two countries, the United Nations warned Tuesday.

“The presence of the Israeli Defense Forces in the buffer zone is a violation of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The agreement “needs to be respected, and occupation is occupation — whether it lasts a week, a month or a year, it remains occupation.”

Israeli leaders announced plans earlier Tuesday to keep troops in the buffer zone for the foreseeable future.

"I can't believe that America would violate a treaty that they made with Tsarist Russia in 1905," quips the USSR.

I fail to see how this is not the best play for all parties possible:

  • Israel is guaranteed this slice of the pie if Syria devolves into chaos
  • Syria doesn't have to worry about quelling chaos in that area for now
  • Israel can give it back free of charge if things stabilize in the rest of the country
  • Israel can keep it if the government is clearly permanently collapsed

Or maybe it's bad in some way I'm not seeing? What do you guys think of this?

To a first-order level, it's good to respect treaties insofar as they function as a Schelling point, ethical value aside(?).

That being said, the Assads have ruled Syria for about as long as said treaty has existed, though, no?

I suppose it depends upon whether treaties are generally made between governments, or between countries. Does the presence of the country override continuity of government, or can they functionally be tied to specific regimes or governments?

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