US President's Extrajudicial Killings: Now with Bipartisan Approval
The Intercept flags Donald Trump’s extrajudicial killings, as if such actions are a new invention by a Republican. (One might wonder where this 'license to kill' was printed.) While the concern is genuine, the framing suggests this is a uniquely Trumpian horror. Yet, the Obama administration, heralded by some as 'kinder, gentler,' drastically expanded drone warfare, greenlighting 'disposition
matrices' and escalating covert operations across the globe, racking up 563 strikes in Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan during his tenure, compared to Bush's 48. These were not mere 'terror suspects' but often entire families, children included, reduced to 'bug splat' on drone operator screens. This isn't about Trump or Biden; it's about a systematized U.S. policy of global assassinations cloaked in
'national security.' The U.S. provides $3.8 billion annually in military aid to Israel, a state often accused of extrajudicial killings, including targeting journalists and aid workers—all while our media debates which American president is 'more' murderous. The consistent thread? Impunity for those who wield the power, and silence on the victims whose lives are deemed expendable. How many more
'threats' will justify extraterritorial executions before we question the premise, not just the puppet?