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Pentagon admits it doesn't 'positively ID' people before boat strikes kill them: lawmaker
(www.rawstory.com)
Yeah. That's just called "murder", then.
this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2025
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It's murder either way. Even if they were drug smugglers, that is not something worth killing.
Terrorism.
So, they're terrorists...right?
That depends. Is this still the definition of the word?
Those people are civilians of other countries... Either they are as individuals terrorists or US is at war with Venezuela. Take your pick.
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Not sure which "they're" you're referring to, but of them already claimed they are.
It's murder and terrorism even if they were positively identifying drug traffickers.
The lawmaker pointed to the Pentagon's admission to explain why the Trump administration "could not actually hold or try the individuals that survived one of the attacks is because they could not satisfy the evidentiary burden."
Call me old fashioned, but I'm of the opinion that if you don't have the evidence to try someone, you definitely don't have the evidence to execute them.
This is the logical conclusion of the neoliberal principle of expediency. It was most obvious when Trump said "it would be too expensive and take too long to give these people a trial" before he deported them. Legally that doesn't mean you can deport people without a trial if it would take longer than you would like, but I might just be old fashioned too.
It's a war crime to execute suspected drug smugglers, or even to execute instead of trial someone found in possession of a large amount of drugs. There is no possible identification of anyone on board or even boat owner from high altitude.
Furthermore, many of the strikes are on speedboats that are going fast enough to plane over the water. It is impossible for any boat to go that fast with enough fuel to get to Florida, and the open cockpit boats themselves look obviously empty. This is simply, provably, pure terrorist evil.
pedantics here, wouldn't that be a crime against humanity, rather than a war crime, since we're not at war?
The rules of war do not stop just because Congress didn't authorize the action.
So where does just possibly probably bombing innocent civilian vessels fall there?
Giving random people the death penalty, for maybe or maybe not committing a crime that even if it turns out they were, doesn't even qualify for the death penalty in either the country they are from or the country that is killing them... is so far beyond crazy... it shouldn't have been able to happen once, let alone keep happening.
And if that wasn't crazy enough, people that survive the strikes, can't be legally brought in because the burden of proof isn't met to even question them... but killing them is happening?
That is called terrorism.
Other countries should just start bombing american yatchs and private jets. They're much more likely to contain drugs.
So correct me if I'm wrong but this is just them openly admitting to bombing boats they have no confirmed ID on? Isn't that a problem for THEIR (the deceased's) government? "Foreign government is performing extra judicial killings on my citizens"?
The US is begging Venezuela for a reason to invade right now. Any military retaliation by Venezuela would result in an invasion.
it's obviously a provocation, but Venezuela can't do much about it.
Yeah, no shit Sherlock. There are more illegal drugs on a billionaire's yacht than a 25 foot Boston Whaler.
This is the wrong approach imo. It doesn't matter whether there were drugs on those boats or not (there were, those were obviously drug boats and there was much more cocaine on them than on a billionaire's yacht) the problem here is the collapse of international law and the USA for the umpteenth time committing acts of aggression in foreign countries, trying to start a war. Even if the US grants itself power of World Police, there is a protocol for drug arrests and it is not blowing them out of the water. That is fascism, the logical conclusion of the neoliberal principle of expediency.
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Even if they were 100% certain of who they were, murdering people over drugs is fucking insane. If they're in your territory and you want to arrest them and put them through the justice system, okay, but just straight up killing them is evil.
Duterte is currently awaiting trial at the Hague for doing exactly this in his own country.
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How long before the cartels start kidnapping US citizens and forcing them under duress onto fast boats?
How long til the US Govt starts blowing them away anyway?
how long until cartels
Dunno. Don't think they're using these boats. The whole point of smuggling is that it's covert, you know?
how long until the us government
Exactly as long as it takes them to ejaculate at the thought. Maybe twelve seconds?
The reports say most smuggling is through containerships and air travel. Attacking the little boats is mostly bullying where violence is the point.
Killing US citizens has never been a big deal for the US govt.
Especially lately.
So, we're just indiscriminately bombing fishing trawlers, got it.
I demand we bomb boats in Venezuela to stem the tide of fentanyl trucked in from Mexico via China!!!
I demand we bomb boats in Venezuela to stem the tide of fentanyl trucked in from Mexico via China!!!
CIA: 
Mileikowsky says it's okay to do that
WHERE WAS ALL THIS OUTRAGE WHEN OBAMA WAS DRONE KILLING HALF THE PLANET?
OBAMA WAS THE FIRST PRESIDENT TO KILL A US CITIZEN ON US SOIL WITHOUT A TRIAL. NO OUTRAGE.
THE LAST TEN PRESIDENTS, AT LEAST, WERE WAR CRIMINALS. NO OUTRAGE
NOW THAT IT'S OUT IN THE OPEN YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT?
HAVE THE DAY YOU CONTINUE TO VOTE FOR AND ACCEPT WILLINGLY LIKE GOOD LITTLE PEASANTS.
The same thought keeps occurring to me: "White America is just finding out that America is fascist."
No outrage for the firehoses, the dogs... they think the Keystone pipeline protest was just a fluke.
NO OUTRAGE.
Just an outright lie but OK. Obama hasn't been president for a decade.
Obama hasn't been president for a decade.
That makes it worse? US presidents have been getting away with war crimes for decades.
It isn't the flex you think it is but OK.
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I wonder what will Trump and his cronies will do if Venezuela had attacked US boats.
Vibe based justice
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