Of course, there's also the irony of pardoning the former president of Honduras, a convicted drug trafficker, while pursuing a war against a supposed drug trafficker president of Venezuela. Tell me this isn't about oil without telling me this isn't about oil. I'm happy to see you take the issue of war crimes seriously. Those of us who have served in combat certainly do.
Oil? It’s about trying to create a diversion. A standard practice for leaders who are not doing well at home is to start a war abroad. Unfortunately for Trump, this is a dog that is not going to hunt. And it’s not going to get wagged by its tail either.
Seriously, Gabe? Were Mark Kelly and the other Dems on that video "urging service members to defy the commander-in-chief"? Every exhortation from them clearly said "illegal" before the word "order". I didn't expect to see this from you!
A question for you. If what.Senator Kelly and Other members of Congress stated regarding the military as regard by Trump as a seditious act, wasn't what Trump did on Jan 6 th. Seditious Act.and subject to what he himself.calls for in punishment. When will Congress begin the impeachment process?
You probably didnt "hear" Trumps remarks re: sedition. taking his comments out of context distorts the truth. Historically, Sedition was always met with execution. You know this from history and the revolutionary war...
and as you also know, there are many irregularities and distortions of the truth re: Jan 6th.
trump's comments were cut and spiced... for example. One needs to dig deeply for the truth...
Of course you could also argue that those who thought Trump's actions on January 6th were traitorous should also hold the Democrats accountable for the video.
But they only reiterated the code of military conduct. Not promoting the take over of Congress. And stealing the election. The 1/6 people killed other Americans, who were doing their job protecting the Capital, and our government.
They didn't just reiterate the code of military conduct, which there would be no need to do since every soldier already knows it. They went further and said “This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens.” For a retired Navy captain that's especially outrageous. And not to defend the Jan 6 rioters, but they didn't kill anyone. The only one who was killed was one of the rioters. Officer Brian Sicknick died of natural causes according to the DC medical examiner.
I do not need much (any?) convincing of Hegseth's role in murder on the high seas. Has this, um, regime seen too many Pirates of the Caribbean movies? Does Hegseth have his own parrot, or is he the parrot, trumpeting (sorry) the objectives of this murderous regime?
It is so frustrating, when our only form of protest is to attend a No Kings march. And l feel it's a waste of time sending emails to my congressman or senator. Who are both Republicans. One of which severed in the Navy for many years.
The “rules of war” do not easily translate to rules of engagement for asymmetric warfare and/or combat when one belligerent is not an entity which is controlled by a government or entity which can be pressured to desist by no violent means. Drug traffickers are not civilians, nor are they combatants as we commonly define the term. They have chosen to engage in a dangerous, very lucrative occupation which is a pipeline to death. The Trump administration has upped the danger. A “second strike” order seems evil on its face but there are only two alternatives: leaving those who survive to their fate or risking American life to effect a rescue.
The drug trade kills whether the drugs are laced with fentanyl or not. It is a supply and demand issue. Campaigns to limit demand have failed. The efforts to curb supply from legitimate governments have also failed. Blowing up boats is inefficient and jeopardizes the our armed forces and our standing as a moral beacon. But, aside from the usual anti-Trump invective, I don’t see any new solutions forthcoming from our leaders.
I believe it is like traffic. You cannot eliminate crowded roads, but you must strive for walkable communities, bus systems, etc. to improve the conditions. With drug use you can't fix the problem permanently, but you must address all the DEI things (health care, mental health, abortion, food insecurity, education, red-lining, etc.) I don't agree with killing them all. And I think you are correct, "I don’t see any new solutions forthcoming from our leaders."
According to a study from Britain, use of drugs does not correlate to socioeconomic issues which you characterize as DEI related. Drug use has become socially acceptable, available and within the means of most of our population. It is unfortunate that as a nation we don’t see able to acknowledge the societal effects and costs of addiction and daily use of marijuana. Maybe we need to teach high schoolers about The Opium Wars.
I'm not in any way defending Trump. But regardless of who the President is, it's highly inappropriate for a retired officer (like Kelly) to tell active duty soldiers that they should prepare for unlawful orders that he blatantly inferred were on the way. Again, since every soldier already knows he or she can refuse unlawful orders, there was no other purpose other than creating doubt and undermining the President (again, it doesn't matter who the President is.) It Republicans did this to Obama or Biden, I would be just as outraged. You can be guaranteed that some soldiers will get into some sort of trouble and then use this video to justify their actions. If Trump issues an unlawful order, then Congress should do its job and fix the problem. But doing it through a video is entering into very dangerous territory.
I usually find your analysis to be well researched and thoughtful, but I really think you missed the boat on this one. For the most part, you only relied on one Washington Post article and this column is filled with inferences and assumptions, always skewed to the nefarious. Obviously Trump gives you tons of material and a lot of criticism is definitely justified. However, in this case, you could have devoted an entire column to the Democrats video, which I, along with many other active duty and retired military, found to be absolutely appalling. Again, Trump's response was typical Trumpian and unfortunate to say the least. But giving a pass to the Democrats undermines criticism of Trump. If you never call out the other side, you lose credibility. I think it would also be wise to wait and see what the inevitable investigations reveal regarding the Venezuelan boat strike. Until then, making assumptions and inferences is not helpful, and will also weaken your credibility if they determine that nothing unlawful or inappropriate occurred.
I am not familiar with the ways of the military and I would like to know in what way you saw the video as appalling. Was it because no military personnel should need such a reminder? Seems to me that apparently they did. Was it because of disrespect to the Commander in Chief? I see no disrespect at all, just concern. And I would add that this particular Commander in Chief has himself, by his very own words and actions, sent the concept of respect into permanent orbit around the moon.
what do you know of Maria Corina Machado, the person who many organizations confirm was the duly elected President of Venezuela.
Hegseth denies any wrongdoing and this incident will be investigated
remember: the activist "left" does NOT want trump to succeed and will look for anything to distract from his successes (i e solving 7 world conflicts; reducing inflation....etc.)
Obeying orders from the commander in chief is basic to military code...who can judge in the moment what is a legal or an illegal order???
What is Tulsi thinking? She ran for President on an anti war platform and actually got the attention of many who consider war and the outsized military budgets as dampening all the other things that need government attention. Perhaps Trump has grabbed her ... morals?
Of course, there's also the irony of pardoning the former president of Honduras, a convicted drug trafficker, while pursuing a war against a supposed drug trafficker president of Venezuela. Tell me this isn't about oil without telling me this isn't about oil. I'm happy to see you take the issue of war crimes seriously. Those of us who have served in combat certainly do.
Oil? It’s about trying to create a diversion. A standard practice for leaders who are not doing well at home is to start a war abroad. Unfortunately for Trump, this is a dog that is not going to hunt. And it’s not going to get wagged by its tail either.
Seriously, Gabe? Were Mark Kelly and the other Dems on that video "urging service members to defy the commander-in-chief"? Every exhortation from them clearly said "illegal" before the word "order". I didn't expect to see this from you!
A question for you. If what.Senator Kelly and Other members of Congress stated regarding the military as regard by Trump as a seditious act, wasn't what Trump did on Jan 6 th. Seditious Act.and subject to what he himself.calls for in punishment. When will Congress begin the impeachment process?
You probably didnt "hear" Trumps remarks re: sedition. taking his comments out of context distorts the truth. Historically, Sedition was always met with execution. You know this from history and the revolutionary war...
and as you also know, there are many irregularities and distortions of the truth re: Jan 6th.
trump's comments were cut and spiced... for example. One needs to dig deeply for the truth...
Of course you could also argue that those who thought Trump's actions on January 6th were traitorous should also hold the Democrats accountable for the video.
But they only reiterated the code of military conduct. Not promoting the take over of Congress. And stealing the election. The 1/6 people killed other Americans, who were doing their job protecting the Capital, and our government.
They didn't just reiterate the code of military conduct, which there would be no need to do since every soldier already knows it. They went further and said “This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens.” For a retired Navy captain that's especially outrageous. And not to defend the Jan 6 rioters, but they didn't kill anyone. The only one who was killed was one of the rioters. Officer Brian Sicknick died of natural causes according to the DC medical examiner.
Precisely. But then everyone gives Trump a pass.
I do not need much (any?) convincing of Hegseth's role in murder on the high seas. Has this, um, regime seen too many Pirates of the Caribbean movies? Does Hegseth have his own parrot, or is he the parrot, trumpeting (sorry) the objectives of this murderous regime?
It is so frustrating, when our only form of protest is to attend a No Kings march. And l feel it's a waste of time sending emails to my congressman or senator. Who are both Republicans. One of which severed in the Navy for many years.
Once again, great reporting Gabe! This has been nuts and worthy to see the investigation and outcomes.
I'm sure he did and will again.
The “rules of war” do not easily translate to rules of engagement for asymmetric warfare and/or combat when one belligerent is not an entity which is controlled by a government or entity which can be pressured to desist by no violent means. Drug traffickers are not civilians, nor are they combatants as we commonly define the term. They have chosen to engage in a dangerous, very lucrative occupation which is a pipeline to death. The Trump administration has upped the danger. A “second strike” order seems evil on its face but there are only two alternatives: leaving those who survive to their fate or risking American life to effect a rescue.
The drug trade kills whether the drugs are laced with fentanyl or not. It is a supply and demand issue. Campaigns to limit demand have failed. The efforts to curb supply from legitimate governments have also failed. Blowing up boats is inefficient and jeopardizes the our armed forces and our standing as a moral beacon. But, aside from the usual anti-Trump invective, I don’t see any new solutions forthcoming from our leaders.
I believe it is like traffic. You cannot eliminate crowded roads, but you must strive for walkable communities, bus systems, etc. to improve the conditions. With drug use you can't fix the problem permanently, but you must address all the DEI things (health care, mental health, abortion, food insecurity, education, red-lining, etc.) I don't agree with killing them all. And I think you are correct, "I don’t see any new solutions forthcoming from our leaders."
According to a study from Britain, use of drugs does not correlate to socioeconomic issues which you characterize as DEI related. Drug use has become socially acceptable, available and within the means of most of our population. It is unfortunate that as a nation we don’t see able to acknowledge the societal effects and costs of addiction and daily use of marijuana. Maybe we need to teach high schoolers about The Opium Wars.
INCOME LEVEL PERCENTAGE OF USERS
Households earning £50,000+ 3.4%
Households earning £20,000-£30,000 2.1%
Households earning less than £10,000 2.0%
Unemployed individuals 3.6%
Students 4.2%
Dare we hope that this is the beginning of the end ???
The illegal order was National Guard detaining legal immigrants or attacking peaceful protesters.
I'm not in any way defending Trump. But regardless of who the President is, it's highly inappropriate for a retired officer (like Kelly) to tell active duty soldiers that they should prepare for unlawful orders that he blatantly inferred were on the way. Again, since every soldier already knows he or she can refuse unlawful orders, there was no other purpose other than creating doubt and undermining the President (again, it doesn't matter who the President is.) It Republicans did this to Obama or Biden, I would be just as outraged. You can be guaranteed that some soldiers will get into some sort of trouble and then use this video to justify their actions. If Trump issues an unlawful order, then Congress should do its job and fix the problem. But doing it through a video is entering into very dangerous territory.
I usually find your analysis to be well researched and thoughtful, but I really think you missed the boat on this one. For the most part, you only relied on one Washington Post article and this column is filled with inferences and assumptions, always skewed to the nefarious. Obviously Trump gives you tons of material and a lot of criticism is definitely justified. However, in this case, you could have devoted an entire column to the Democrats video, which I, along with many other active duty and retired military, found to be absolutely appalling. Again, Trump's response was typical Trumpian and unfortunate to say the least. But giving a pass to the Democrats undermines criticism of Trump. If you never call out the other side, you lose credibility. I think it would also be wise to wait and see what the inevitable investigations reveal regarding the Venezuelan boat strike. Until then, making assumptions and inferences is not helpful, and will also weaken your credibility if they determine that nothing unlawful or inappropriate occurred.
I am not familiar with the ways of the military and I would like to know in what way you saw the video as appalling. Was it because no military personnel should need such a reminder? Seems to me that apparently they did. Was it because of disrespect to the Commander in Chief? I see no disrespect at all, just concern. And I would add that this particular Commander in Chief has himself, by his very own words and actions, sent the concept of respect into permanent orbit around the moon.
By midday yesterday, news commentators had begun When news outlets began to
what do you know of Maria Corina Machado, the person who many organizations confirm was the duly elected President of Venezuela.
Hegseth denies any wrongdoing and this incident will be investigated
remember: the activist "left" does NOT want trump to succeed and will look for anything to distract from his successes (i e solving 7 world conflicts; reducing inflation....etc.)
Obeying orders from the commander in chief is basic to military code...who can judge in the moment what is a legal or an illegal order???
From the information Gabe has provided here it would appear that firing on survivors of a shipwreck is most definitely an illegal order.
Great reporting, Gabe.🙌🙌🙌
What is Tulsi thinking? She ran for President on an anti war platform and actually got the attention of many who consider war and the outsized military budgets as dampening all the other things that need government attention. Perhaps Trump has grabbed her ... morals?