British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has decided that a potential U.S. bombing of Iran could violate international law and will not allow American warplanes to take off from British military bases.

• Starmer was a human rights lawyer before becoming prime minister. His painstaking approach to international laws is one of the most dangerous weaknesses of his government.
• In the absence of a single world government, international law is fragile and malleable. It doesn’t stop aggressors. And there is no real court system to give authoritative rulings. Some courts can rule on some aspects of it, but they’re not linked into a unified system, have limited jurisdiction, and can be easily ignored by any country that wants to.

Almost anything can be construed as a breach of international law.

• The UK, for example, signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact in 1928, which outlawed war under all circumstances. Does that make Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill war criminals for waging war against Nazi Germany? People have argued both ways, and there’s no court empowered to give an authoritative decision.

Bottom line: In trying to ensure everything Britain does adheres strictly to international law, Starmer is paralyzing the nation, dividing it from its most important allies, and shielding dictatorial and deadly regimes.

God calls modern Britain a “silly dove” (Hosea 7:11). Its naive foreign policy prevents Britain from confronting threats, while enemies with no regard for international law are rising all around us.