Trump Labels Fentanyl 'WMD,' Ignores Actual US-Made WMDs Abroad
Trump's declaration on fentanyl (which caused over 70,000 overdose deaths in 2023, according to CDC data) certainly sounds ominous, echoing post-9/11 fear-mongering and the 'War on Terror.' This militarized framing, as Al Jazeera notes, conveniently justifies 'operations against drug smuggling.' Yet, the administration that greenlit massive arms sales to countries embroiled in actual, widely
condemned conflicts seems remarkably consistent in defining 'weapons of mass destruction' as anything not made in America and purchased by allies. One might wonder where the executive orders are for the F-35s dropping bombs on civilians (as seen in Gaza, with over 35,000 deaths and widespread destruction). Perhaps those aren't 'weapons of mass destruction' when we're selling them. The distinction
seems to be entirely about who is wielding the 'weapon' and whose profits are at stake. While fentanyl is a tragedy, the sudden reclassification feels less about public safety and more about creating a narrative for intervention, conveniently distracting from the actual destruction enabled by U.S.-supplied weaponry in places like Yemen and Palestine. It's a familiar tactic: inflate a perceived
threat, then position oneself as the sole savior, all while maintaining plausible deniability about the very real, very tangible 'weapons of mass destruction' that fund political campaigns and defense contractors. Priorities, after all, are about perception.