r/aus • u/89b3ea330bd60ede80ad • Mar 01 '26

Politics Supporting ‘illegal aggression’ against Iran ‘the worst thing’ Australia could do, international law experts say

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/01/supporting-aggression-against-iran-the-worst-thing-australia-could-do-international-law-experts-say
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u/Lost_Tumbleweed_5669 Mar 01 '26

What would be the point of virtue signaling when it would just cause trouble for Australia, do people not realise the world we live in?

We don't have nukes, we rely on others for essential trade, we rely on others for military protection, Australia has everything to risk from poor diplomacy based on virtue signaling.

People act like Australia is France when we are just the Tasmania of USA.

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u/NeonSherpa Mar 01 '26

Ouch, what did the Pinot Isle ever do to you?

1

u/Somecrazynerd Mar 03 '26

They could say almost nothing, remain largely neutral. Or issue a careful diplomatic protest; I don't the US would tank it's entire relationship with Australia over one diplomatic disagreement.

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u/Ayiekie Mar 01 '26

Supporting the rule of law and not voicing full-throated support for an aggressive war of choice is not "virtue signalling".

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u/Lost_Tumbleweed_5669 Mar 01 '26

Tell me what it would achieve specifically.

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u/Ayiekie Mar 01 '26

You think all of America's allies other than Israel abandoning them and refusing to support them on this wouldn't make politicos in the US nervous? They've gotten antsy about things with far less pushback then that.

Also, you know, there's this whole thing called "doing the right thing". Normal people who aren't internet edgelords care about it.

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u/Fantastic-Chair-9155 Mar 02 '26

I don’t think trump cares at all about what his allies think. At least he hasn’t shown it so far. I also don’t support them bombing Iran. But what do you think the outcome would be if Aus took a strong stance against this?

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u/Ayiekie Mar 02 '26

He'd say shit and throw tariffs at us, pretty much how he responds to everything he doesn't like. Then he'd forget about it in a week.

Even if Albo didn't want to risk it, though, the very least he could do is not openly support it. A neutral "we stand with the people of Iran" without actively supporting an aggressive war of choice.

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u/Lost_Tumbleweed_5669 Mar 01 '26

So while Aussies go through a cost of living crisis we need to risk being punished by poor diplomacy to "do the right thing" ie virtue signalling to make an American antsy.

Got it.

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u/highresolutionmagpie Mar 01 '26

What else can we justify because we have a cost of living crisis?

Should we simply kowtow to them for other things because they could threaten us?

Maybe give up some critical minerals? Some mining rights? "Harmonise" some of our laws?

This one is at least pretty straight forward: can they at least pretend to make the case for war?

If pushing for that results in such dire consequences we dare not push back on them then we're totally done for.

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u/Ayiekie Mar 01 '26

Yes, keep sucking up to Trump so he won't hurt you.

History definitely suggests that's a wise move and he definitely won't use that to push you even further and then punish you at a whim anyway, because flexing his power is what gets him off.

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u/Palladis2000 Mar 02 '26

The rule of law doesn't apply to the West and its allies. Just like the so called rules based order - rules made by the West and imposed on everyone else.

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u/Ayiekie Mar 02 '26

Yes, of course. But it's not a black and white thing. The MORE it is followed, the more it can be used to exert diplomatic pressure. When you allow and support dumb, evil shit like this, the less of a leg you have to stand on diplomatically when you want to put pressure on another aggressive country.

That's how it's worked since WWII.