The idea that the Trump administration could be committing war crimes or murder by blowing up boats in the Caribbean that they believe are carrying drugs, will not go away.
Republicans are often asked about it, and to say their answers haven’t been particularly satisfying or even credible would be an understatement.
Republicans who are defending Pete Hegseth’s actions have based their statements on the evidence-free concept that the United States is at war.
Who is this enemy? How is it possible that the country is at war with a group of boats and not with an actual nation? These are all questions that Republicans have been unable to answer.
Senator Tom Cotton had challenged his rationale for defending Trump on CNN, and things were not going well for the Republican party.
CNN’s John Berman asked: “Let’s ask you this specific question: Would it be legal for police in Arkansas to kill suspected drug dealers on an overturned boat?”
Cotton replied:
Well, well, John, let me get back to the premise of your question. The Washington Post reported that Pete Hegseth had given an illegal order to leave no quarter or anyone alive or kill them all.
Pete Hegseth denied that last week and did not deny there was a second strike. Mitch Bradley and Dan Kane also denied that outright yesterday, which some Democrats who watched the video and received the briefings confirmed. That’s what the Washington Post reports. That is a total and complete lie.
I just respectfully disagree with my Democratic friends here. I don’t think the problem they have is with the second attack. It is on the first attack and on every subsequent attack on these boats. They think the entire operation is unfounded. I just don’t agree with them. I guess with the analogy I would draw, it’s not Arkansas police officers dealing with American citizens.
If those boats were loaded with bombs or missiles headed for the United States, I don’t think anyone would dispute that. We had every right and even a duty to intercept them, but those drugs are exploding like a bomb throughout Arkansas and across America.
Killing hundreds of Arkansans and hundreds of thousands of Americans. Our government has a duty to protect our communities from these drugs.
Berman didn’t get an answer to his original question, so he asked again, “Senator, let’s, that’s exactly what we’re trying to do. Can I just break this down and answer my question first? Would it be legal for police in Arkansas to kill suspected drug dealers in an overturned boat in an Arkansas lake? Just answer that and I’ll answer your question on the other point.”
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