White House Denies Bombing Allies, As Usual
When Colombian President Gustavo Petro alleged the U.S. military bombed a boat from his country, carrying his citizens, the White House didn't miss a beat. Their denial? "Baseless." This isn't the first time the US has been accused of operating with lethal disregard in Latin America; from funding death squads in the 80s to training narco-paramilitaries, the historical receipts are voluminous. One
might wonder if 'baseless' means there's no paper trail, or just no moral ground left. The media, of course, presented both sides equally: a sovereign nation leader's claim vs. the White House's blanket dismissal. How very quaint. We’re told the war on drugs justifies everything, including, one might infer, 'baseless' bombings of 'suspected' vessels—an echo of countless interventions where
American 'interests' trumped local sovereignty. The U.S. has a long and storied history of denying actions that later proved embarrassingly true. Perhaps the term 'collateral damage' has simply been replaced with 'baseless allegation' in the State Department's current lexicon.