The U.S. military opened fire on two people clinging to the wreckage of a boat allegedly carrying drugs, congressional lawmakers learned as they seek more answers about the attack and the legal underpinnings of President Donald Trump’s military campaign in international waters near Venezuela.
The Sept. 2 strikes on an alleged drug boat were the first foray by the U.S. military into blowing up vessels allegedly carrying drugs. But this particular attack and the broader military campaign, which so far has destroyed more than 20 boats and killed more than 80 people, is now under intense scrutiny. Lawmakers who oversee national security committees heard this past week from the Navy admiral who ordered the initial strikes, including the follow-up that killed the two survivors.
While Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley stated clearly that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not issue a “kill them all” order on the survivors, Democratic lawmakers say the scope of the mission was clear — to destroy the drugs and kill the 11 people on board. It’s a deadly new tactic the Trump administration says is intended to deter the flow of drugs to the U.S. The lawmakers and military experts say the sequence of events is alarming, potentially violating the laws of armed conflict that safeguard human rights and protect American troops.
The uproar from the narrative of these destructive actions in the Caribbean has the U.S. people taking sides. The obvious responses from Democrats, and even some Republicans, are that there is NO legal justification for the horrific actions taken by the Trump Administration inhumanely snuffing out lives. And their doing so kills people who have NOT been charged with a crime and, obviously, no due process or appearance before a judge.
How dare a sitting U.S. President take arbitrary actions to kill people who haven’t been charged with a crime! No other U.S. President would dare to take such unilateral actions!
Surprise, Surprise!
Since World War II, There Have Been Nine Incidents Where U.S. Presidents Have Issued Orders For Military Actions Without A Congressional Declaration Of War (Democrat and Republican)
In 1863, the Supreme Court ruled that President Lincoln’s naval blockade of Confederate ports—without a Congressional declaration—was constitutional.
That’s just one example of actions that are now taking place, initiated by previous presidents without Congressional authorization. There are additional examples of similar actions taken by previous Presidents, with people dying, and none with Congressional permission.
Let’s take a close look at what happened, why it happened, and whether it’s legal.
Are there more such actions we need to consider? Did Obama launch attacks against military foes without Congressional approval? See for yourself:
Did President Obama launch attacks against foreign foes in which people were killed?
The Obama administration finally announced the number of people that have been killed in drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, and Africa since 2009 — shedding light on a program that has, for the most part, remained mainly in the dark to the public.
The White House estimated that during Obama’s administration, between 64 and 116 civilians had died in drone strikes, and between 2,372 to 2,581 combatants. The deaths occurred in 473 strikes from January 20, 2009, to December 31, 2015. The number only accounts for deaths from “outside areas of active hostilities,” and thus does not include deaths from drones in Afghanistan, Iraq, or Syria, where airstrikes occur regularly. No figures were provided for those countries.
The announcement about the deaths — which occurred on a holiday weekend, likely to draw less attention to one of the most widely criticized aspects of Obama’s counterterrorism strategy — included no information on why, when, or where the deaths occurred, and according to many activists, was a serious underestimate of the number of deaths.
The Obama Administration finally announced the number of civilians Obama’s drone strikes killed: 1100 plus!
Summary
What sickens me is that in discussions about the current executive actions taken by President Trump, legacy media and Democrats purposely hide the fact that numerous U.S. presidents took the same actions dozens of times in the past. None of today’s lawmakers and/or media experts has ever mentioned the details and facts of each to the World! They only care to blame Donald Trump. And Barack Obama destroyed the lives of far more lives with drones — hundreds more — than has Trump!
Why is that?
I’m just guessing, but it might be because the Democrats lost 2 million registered voters this past election cycle, and they’re desperate for Democrat registered voters. Their only policy to justify to American citizens voting for them is “Donald Trump is evil!
Oh, I forgot one thing: how many Democrats did you ever hear blasting Obama for killing hundreds of innocent civilians during his eight years without Congressional approval?
Answer: NONE!
P.S. Of those hundreds of civilians killed by Obama’s unilateral drone attacks, Obama promised he would reach out to each with his apologies for their loved ones’ deaths at his hands. He never contacted a single one.
