The Empire Strikes Back

[BoSoxGal]

How else would you do it with prayers and bad vibes.

The US Navy has the ability to intercept, capture and board a fishing boat without blowing it and the crew to pieces.

We practiced VBSS (Visit Board Search and Seizure) on my ship in the mid 1990s. And I was on an AMMUNITION/OILER. The boats we were trained to board would possibly be carrying RPGs and weapons, not bricks of Cocaine. Just a tad bit more dangerous.

But then again we were expecting to board Dhows that might make 10kts on a good day. Not 60kt speedboats.

I don't agree with blowing up the boats without searching... but I also disagree with the media (and folks here) characterizing these as "fishing boats". They are not. These are boats running contraband, but they don't do all the way to the US. They head for uncontrolled waters to meet up with the luxury yachts that actually bring the cocaine (not fentanyl) in.

What they should be doing is following the boats to their destination, via radar. Of course that would probably find a Trump supporters multi-million dollar yacht... But the US war on Drugs has always just been to take out the small guys at the end of the chain rather than the actual source, because there are always more small guys. It was never about stopping it, just making it look like they were trying while protecting the actual money (and the 1%'s own supply).

Except the excellent government employees at the DOJ/FBI *do* occasionally put together a compelling case against a 'big guy' drug dealer, and this administration keeps springing those narco-terrorists from prison left and right.

These are probably drug running boats of course - but they're not running drugs into the USA, they are bound for other locations. The cause of the US fentanyl scourge is not being addressed even a little bit by these ridiculously expensive and abhorrently illegal/immoral lethal attacks on drug runners.

Distract and try to provoke a response that will somehow justify land invasion to Venezuela. From the anti-stupid-wars president.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Well, Meade, what do you think of the American pilots who machine‑gunned Nazi pilots who had bailed out of their disabled aircraft?

Probably I'd first think, "I bet that doesn't happen very often, if at all".

What should one consider in a war declared and fought between two nations - (or would-be nations as illustrated by the rebellions of British colonists against their rightful king and then later of one portion of the resultant nation attacking the other portion in order to keep their slaves)?

I'd probably think "yes, while it seems unsporting, these are military personnel engaged in shooting me and my fellow pilots to death in a war officially declared by our two nations so it's best to stop 'em from getting another chance. Why, just moments ago they, uncomfortably wearing their uniforms inside their clearly marked belligerent enemy aircraft, were doing their best to shoot me in my uniform in the course of a mutually declared war between nations or rebellious would-be nations which entitles me to shoot back at them from my clearly marked belligerent enemy aircraft."

That's what I'd think.

And then I'd think, "Good job most sane people know the difference between shooting enemy combatants and mowing down civilians moving their belongings from one place to another".

Have you tried thinking? It's alarmingly refreshing

[Joe Guy]

Have you tried thinking? It's alarmingly refreshing

The libster-dude has been maga-fied. The box in which his thoughts linger appears to be inescapable.

[liberty]

Well, Meade, what do you think of the American pilots who machine‑gunned Nazi pilots who had bailed out of their disabled aircraft?

Probably I'd first think, "I bet that doesn't happen very often, if at all".

What should one consider in a war declared and fought between two nations - (or would-be nations as illustrated by the rebellions of British colonists against their rightful king and then later of one portion of the resultant nation attacking the other portion in order to keep their slaves)?

I'd probably think "yes, while it seems unsporting, these are military personnel engaged in shooting me and my fellow pilots to death in a war officially declared by our two nations so it's best to stop 'em from getting another chance. Why, just moments ago they, uncomfortably wearing their uniforms inside their clearly marked belligerent enemy aircraft, were doing their best to shoot me in my uniform in the course of a mutually declared war between nations or rebellious would-be nations which entitles me to shoot back at them from my clearly marked belligerent enemy aircraft."

That's what I'd think.

And then I'd think, "Good job most sane people know the difference between shooting enemy combatants and mowing down civilians moving their belongings from one place to another".

Have you tried thinking? It's alarmingly refreshing

It happened frequently, and no one was ever prosecuted for it, even though it was considered a war crime. It was prohibited by the Hague Rules of Air Warfare. It was mostly committed by civilian transplants, whom the professional corps derisively called “90-Day Wonders.” They weren’t as concerned about maintaining the honor of the unit as they were about survival. For these temporary warriors, who were more interested in returning home to their civilian lives, it made sense. It seemed irrational to allow a pilot to escape, only to come back tomorrow and shoot at you again.

Well Meade, because of these atrocities, don’t you think you should find yourself a Neo-Nazi and apologize to him for the war crimes committed against his ideology? Take Sue, Joe, and Big with you.

[liberty]

Have you tried thinking? It's alarmingly refreshing

The libster-dude has been maga-fied. The box in which his thoughts linger appears to be inescapable.

I think I do a better job of seeing reality than my liberal friends.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Well lib, you are persistent in your pathetic attempt to equate warfare between belligerents with murdering civilians when no state of war exists. I will not waste further time explaining to you that the Kent State murders were murder (which I expect you find as difficult to accept as you do the random mowing down of boaters traveling to Antigua).

"Good job most sane people know the difference between shooting enemy combatants and mowing down civilians moving their belongings from one place to another".

Just answer - do you know the difference???

PS the Hague Rules of Air Warfare prohibited nothing whatsoever - they were never ratified or adopted.

[liberty]

Does anyone here happen to remember the Conference on Vietnam ? They brought together left- and right-leaning commentators and intellectuals in an attempt to close the divide. I saw a clip of it on CBS Evening News. One of the conservative attendees asked the group of liberal attendees, “Why did you support the communists?” They responded, “We did not; we just opposed the war.” At that point, the conservative attendee said, “How do you reconcile with people who are such liars?”

I remember that clearly, and it seems to me these conferences did nothing to close the divide; in fact, it has only gotten worse over the years. I think eventually it will get so bad that it will lead to inevitable violent conflict, some type of violence, or even a national divorce. It just seems inevitable; civilizations rise, and civilizations fall; nothing lasts forever.

Attempting to look into the future, here’s what I see: conservative radio commentators and political advertisements saying, “If your child is addicted to drugs, if your family is destroyed by drug addiction, who should you blame? The left, because they oppose anything effective that can be done about it.”

If someone is pushed off a subway platform to their death under a train, who should you blame? The left, because they oppose anything effective that can be done about it.

If people are murdered in the streets, raped, robbed, and murdered in the streets, who should you blame? The left, because they oppose anything effective that can be done about it.

Society is infested with crime, violence, and drug addiction; who should you blame? The left.

Johnson’s Great Society and War on Poverty programs spent billions. They had virtually no effect on crime or drug addiction. So much for buying your way out of crime.

[MajGenl.Meade]

[Joe Guy]

If someone is pushed off a subway platform to their death under a train, who should you blame? The left, because they oppose anything effective that can be done about it.

If people are murdered in the streets, raped, robbed, and murdered in the streets, the left....blah blah blah...

No, "the left" blames the person or people who are directly responsible. Maga people look at the person who did it, find out what political association, race, religion etc and then blame everyone in that group.

[liberty]

If someone is pushed off a subway platform to their death under a train, who should you blame? The left, because they oppose anything effective that can be done about it.

If people are murdered in the streets, raped, robbed, and murdered in the streets, the left....blah blah blah...

No, "the left" blames the person or people who are directly responsible. Maga people look at the person who did it, find out what political association, race, religion etc and then blame everyone in that group.

The mentally disturbed should be allowed to run loose on the streets, but liberals say they have a right to freeze, starve, be abused, and raped.

[Joe Guy]

The mentally disturbed should be allowed to run loose on the streets, but liberals say they have a right to freeze, starve, be abused, and raped.

Did you mean what you wrote? You appear to be agreeing with what you're accusing the liberals of saying (which I've never heard from anyone other than you)