US blows up boat said to be carrying drugs

[Anonymous]

CNN has the video. It's an open boat, people are visible, and they just blow it up.
Obama's drone strikes were definitely problematic legally, but on the other hand they were directly related to a shooting war.

Al Qaeda and ISIS had military and political goals. I don't see that as the case with purely criminal drug gangs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did Trump have concrete, 100% proof that this boat was smuggling drugs?

It's amazing how US citizens just believe everything they hear and are OK with killings when it's done to foreigners.

This. I guess everyone is okay with summary executions and war crimes now. It starts with brown people. Eventually they will come for you too.

Isn't the population of Venezuelan predominately European or mixed European and indigenous?

Same can be said for any Latin American country. Indigenous populations are a minority. Doesn't change US perceptions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trump has taken the fight to Narcoterrorists.

How do you know these were narcoterrorists and not just a family out on a day trip? Why not have authorities intercede and see if there were actually drugs on board and then try the alleged criminals in court? Since when is it ok to order the US Navy to just take out a civilian craft with no proof of criminality?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did Trump have concrete, 100% proof that this boat was smuggling drugs?

It's amazing how US citizens just believe everything they hear and are OK with killings when it's done to foreigners.

This. I guess everyone is okay with summary executions and war crimes now. It starts with brown people. Eventually they will come for you too.

For Obama it was the other way around. Rand Paul had to filibuster a budget bill to get a statement out of them that they would not drone people in America.

[Anonymous]

Rubio said the boats probably weren't even heading to the US...most likely Trinidad.

And y'all can drone on about Obama's drones, but rank and file dems were strongly against those, too, so your sh!tty whataboutism is a total fail

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I support intimidating narco traffic, which kills millions every year worldwide, but I don't know whether this operation was legal, and whether this administration did their due diligence in making sure all aboard were guilty of heinous crimes. We do not kill people just because we suspect they're criminals, and we do not kill criminals caught in the act unless they are an immediate threat to life.

So in fact, I'm quite sure this was illegal, and government-sanctioned murder.

I agree. Use some logic. If there were 11 people aboard that 24’ open dory with four big engines, the cargo was some of those humans. Trump blew up traffickers and their victims. They should have followed protocol which is to wait until they are in U.S. waters and board the boat. Interview those aboard. Gather intel. Engage in a fire fight if fired on first.
I think Trump intended to proudly announce this war crime yesterday at his bizarre news conference, but a victim boat had not been annihilated yet. That’s why he was 45 minutes late to the podium.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trump has taken the fight to Narcoterrorists.

Trump has murdered a dozen refugees or fishermen trying to feed their families or escape poverty.

[Anonymous]

If we blew up their boat, we are the aggressor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rubio said the boats probably weren't even heading to the US...most likely Trinidad.

And y'all can drone on about Obama's drones, but rank and file dems were strongly against those, too, so your sh!tty whataboutism is a total fail

Yep. Red and Blue are hard to distinguish in many cases.

[Anonymous]

Thing is, there isn't a ship in our navy that can go as fast as a dory with four outboards. Not sure what the proper protocol is for that situation, other than to track it until it stops.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trump has taken the fight to Narcoterrorists.

How do you know these were narcoterrorists and not just a family out on a day trip? Why not have authorities intercede and see if there were actually drugs on board and then try the alleged criminals in court? Since when is it ok to order the US Navy to just take out a civilian craft with no proof of criminality?

+ 1000

The military is complicit in this murder. They should’ve refused the illegal orders to fire on civilians in international waters.

But I’m not surprised. The military is mostly maga trash and this proves it.

Hopefully whoever wins in 28 will dismantle the military.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thing is, there isn't a ship in our navy that can go as fast as a dory with four outboards. Not sure what the proper protocol is for that situation, other than to track it until it stops.

Trump broke US and international law with this. Using the US Navy to just blow up a small civilian craft is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CNN has the video. It's an open boat, people are visible, and they just blow it up.
Obama's drone strikes were definitely problematic legally, but on the other hand they were directly related to a shooting war.

Al Qaeda and ISIS had military and political goals. I don't see that as the case with purely criminal drug gangs.

I'm not sure I see much of a difference between Islamic terrorists and Narco terrorists. They both bring death.

And the cartels are as vile and evil as ISIS. The way the cartels torture people is probably even worse than the Islamic extremists. These cartels are serious organizations. And they should be taken seriously.

If the intelligence was good, I think the US Navy did the world a favor taking out these Venezuelan drug traffickers. And I suspect at least 80 percent of Americans would support using our military to hit cartels. I don't think people in Bethesda or Alexandria realize how devastating drugs have been to other communities - both urban and small town America. We are losing more than 100,000 people a year because of people like these Venezuelans. Killing eleven of them probably saved the lives of hundreds of Americans who didn't OD on their crap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thing is, there isn't a ship in our navy that can go as fast as a dory with four outboards. Not sure what the proper protocol is for that situation, other than to track it until it stops.

Well, we know the protocol certain is NOT to blow it up and kill everyone on board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thing is, there isn't a ship in our navy that can go as fast as a dory with four outboards. Not sure what the proper protocol is for that situation, other than to track it until it stops.

You don’t think our own military has its own boats or aircraft that can match a shitty third world hot rodded speedboat?

If we don’t, then the military should be defunded altogether. Because I’m pretty sure anyone on this discussion forum could buy a boat that was essentially the same thing the smugglers were using for a couple hundred thousand dollars or so.

If we can afford 1.5 billion dollar stealth bombers and 10 billion dollar aircraft carriers, why wouldn’t we have $200,000 speed boats?