They didn't "reasonably" fear anything. There is absolutely no evidence to support these allegations. Anthropic has the right to impose licensing terms. Merely disagreeing with the government is not evidence of wrongdoing.

If Anthropic wasn't allowed to say what they said, how would they be allowed to object to their government's illegal use of their products at all? It sounds to me like their only choices were "shut up" or "be punished", which is a clear-cut violation of their rights.

They absolutely did. If a product is designated a supply chain risk, no one is allowed to use it anywhere in the DoD's supply chain.

Just as a matter of what's more effective, even aside from the fact that judging people is inherently wrong.

I am not sure I buy that. Rape is intensely upsetting to humans, but that does not imply it is so upsetting to other animals. And dairy cows aren't usually impregnated through sex to my knowledge; they are artificially inseminated. I don't see evidence that cows find this upsetting.

It's unnecessary to bring in weak arguments when we have such strong arguments. Cows are distraught beyond measure when their calves are taken away.

People tend to seek the feeling of blamelessness when they should seek the condition of blamelessness. Often doing the right thing will make a person feel guiltier than doing the wrong one.