Thread by @TimInHonolulu

1. I reported this yesterday as my best analysis and I'm sticking to it. IMO @realDonaldTrump stopped Iran mission because somebody told him he might be committing a war crime that carries on beyond office. I based it on fact he used a term from the Law of Armed Conflict. I'm

2. campaigning for war crimes for Afrin so I'm familiar with the legal issues. It rang out to me like he had struck a bell. He had asked his lawyers if he had any exposure. They told him actions would be viewed for concepts from the Law of Armed Conflict. "Proportionality" is a

3. key concept. Foreigners can't charge a US President for War Crimes. But we can. He's thinking of his future. That's a good thing for someone who can kill us all. It also means he knows he's playing for keeps. I knew he would not want to be in the room. Not after Yemen.

4. It was just days after inauguration: "There’s no evidence the botched Yemen raid was Trump’s fault" vox.com/world/2017/2/2… via @voxdotcom

It's all his fault. That's what command means. It's not for everyone.

5. After that Mattis did everything. McMaster kept the information flowing but the ops were done at the Pentagon. Putting a Ranger as Sec Def may get them to arm the Kurds. We could bite off a chunk of Iran. Let them know that's what's next. Then just do it. That'll wake'em up.

6. @nytimes confirmed my analysis. "That estimate was passed to the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, without being cleared with Mr. Shanahan or General Dunford. It was then conveyed to the president by the White House lawyers, at which point Mr. Trump changed his mind

7. and called off the strike." See "Urged to Launch an Attack, Trump Listened to the Skeptics Who Said It Would Be a Costly Mistake" nyti.ms/2FqEIqZ

But they left out the part that anyone who is analyzing @realDonaldTrump needs to consider. His untreated malignant

8. narcissism is what drives him. The fear was for his own criminal liability. In his nightmares he sees someone like me, sitting in the corner office on fourth floor of @TheJusticeDept, signing the letter that puts him in custody pending trial.