Comments by "bart thomassen thomassen" (@thomassenbart) on "The Based Conservative"
channel.
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@anarex0929 War has always been about will, belief, deception, and control, not just steel and fire.
Fifth Generation Warfare (5GW) Warfare defined as conducting through non-kinetic means the manipulation of information, perception, and belief to destabilize societies, delegitimize governments, or achieve objectives without direct violence, is actually normal statecraft, foreign affairs, espionage, propaganda etc...i.e., international politics. Psychological warfare, deception, propaganda, irregular combat, and subversion of will have existed for millennia.
Under international law (e.g., Geneva Conventions, UN Charter), war or armed conflict has criteria and
Involves states (or organized armed groups). Sustained, intentional, organized violence. Engagement in hostilities, governed by jus in bello (laws of war) and must distinguish combatants from noncombatants.
Anything that involves systematic, state-sanctioned killing on a mass scale is war.
Subversion, sanctions, and deception are serious, but not war in this legal or moral sense.
Non-state actors who deliberately ignore the laws of war, target civilians, or embed within civilian populations are engaging in war, but without honor or accountability.
Terrorism, insurgency, and hybrid tactics often violate jus in bello. These actors reject reciprocity, using the laws of war as a shield rather than a restraint.This is why groups like Hamas, ISIS, or al-Qaeda do not qualify for POW status under Geneva protections — they violate the very conventions they exploit.
Naming some kind of non-kinetic competition as warfare... obscures the reality of true war. Therefore, wrongly labeling meme campaigns, disinformation,
trade policy disputes, election meddling,
spy operations, as "warfare" is disingenuous and wrong.
All of the above are normal behaviors of the nation state since ancient times to include:
Espionage
Propaganda
Economic coercion
Statecraft
None of these are actual war and calling them "5th Generation Warfare" or “info-war” dilutes the gravity of war, and risks justifying wartime responses to peacetime maneuvers. If everything is war, then nothing is peace, and that’s a dangerous slide.
When we follow the ramifications of Poole's line of thought we risk militarizing diplomacy and may criminalize speech as “cognitive attacks.” We degrade the rules of war, which protect civilians and combatants alike.
True war involves mass violence, state sanction, and legal consequences, and should not be redefined every time a hostile tweet or trade tariff is deployed.
All of the above are real threats, but they are not war in the classical or legal sense. Calling them so blurs boundaries that should remain sharp for the sake of restraint, legality, and clarity.
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