US 'War on Drugs' Now Includes Drowning Survivors, Apparently
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth crowed about intentionally sinking alleged drug vessels and killing survivors, telling reporters the military has 'only just begun.' This, according to Axios, despite The Washington Post reporting such orders violate the Law of War Manual, which explicitly uses 'shooting shipwrecked survivors' as an example of an illegal order. (How's that for 'rules-based order'?)
Hegseth assures us it's about 'deterrence' and 'poisoning the American people,' which apparently justifies turning the Caribbean into a watery graveyard for those accused of a crime. This isn't about drugs; it's about extrajudicial killing framed as national security. The same politicians who fund a global 'war on terror' that creates more terrorists now extend their 'kill 'em all' doctrine to
alleged drug smugglers. One might wonder if Hegseth, a pundit turned defenense secretary, truly understands the difference between a military objective and a war crime, or if he just likes the sound of 'bottom of the ocean.' The laughter in the room, as mentioned by Axios, suggests grim enthusiasm for unaccountable violence.