US Deploys 'Southern Spear,' Calls it 'Counter-Narcotics'
Al Jazeera reports the US is launching 'Southern Spear,' with forces deploying to South America to combat drug trafficking, allegedly conducting its 20th strike resulting in four deaths with 'no survivors' in the Caribbean and Pacific. One might note this suspiciously echoes the rhetoric of yesteryear: from Eisenhower's coups to Reagan's Contra wars, 'fighting drugs' or 'communism' almost always
precedes securing resource access or installing compliant regimes. It's truly a feat of rhetorical gymnastics to call lethal force against vessels a 'counter-narcotics' mission, rather than, say, an act of war, given the lack of due process involved in 'no survivors.' We've surely forgotten how the CIA once flew their own share of 'contraband' to fund covert ops in the region (see: Iran-Contra
affair, 1980s). This 'Southern Spear' conveniently plants US military presence directly in a region increasingly wary of Washington's interference, just as China's economic influence grows. How many 'drug wars' does it take for the public to realize this isn't about drugs anymore, or perhaps, it never truly was? It's about control, plain and simple, dressed up in uniform and a convenient
narrative.