President Donald Trump
I assume it's still acceptable to have a Trump thread in a Politics forum?
So this is an obvious lie - basically aimed at
[URL="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/05/us-airstrike-survivors-clung-to-boat-wreckage-for-an-hour-before-second-deadly-attack-video-shows"]US airstrike survivors clung to boat wreckage for an hour before second deadly attack, video shows
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Gross
This is almost certainly true, even if the victims were piloting drug boats at the time.
If someone approaches a commercial fisherman living on the margins and offers to pay that person you six months of fishing income if he pilots a boat from point A to point B, that fisherman is going to say yes a fair bit of the time, even if he knows that he will transporting contraband.
I don't think rick's even considered the possibility that the people on the boats aren't the actual owners of the boats.
The bottom line is that these people seem much more analogous to criminals than they do to war combatants or terrorists. If someone attempts to drive an eighteen-wheeler full of stolen goods across the Canadian border into the United States, it seems obvious that the person should be arrested, not bombed.
I'm assuming for the purpose of my statement that they were in fact piloting boats full of illegal drugs destined for the United States. But it doesn't really matter. If the plan is to arrest them rather than bomb them, then you don't need for that assumption to be correct in order to avoid the irreparable harm of potentially killing an innocent person.
That's the whole point of due process and the reason why it seems crazy to bomb the driver of the eighteen-wheeler in my hypothetical.
I'm more interested in the strategy of publicizing what appears to be gladiator style killing for sport content for their blood thirsty fervent MAGA base
Nobody with functioning brain cells thinks that droning random boats does anything productive. They could drone actual farms, production facilities, cartel leadership, weapons caches, etc. Blowing up the end product is pure theater
I'm more interested in the strategy of publicizing what appears to be gladiator style killing for sport content for their blood thirsty fervent MAGA baseNobody with functioning brain cells thinks that droning random boats does anything productive. They could drone actual farms, production facilities, cartel leadership, weapons caches, etc. Blowing up the end product is pure t
the people in charge think it is productive. Obama thought it was productive. so did Biden. the only problem that liberals have is that this stuff is being publicized.
I'm more interested in the strategy of publicizing what appears to be gladiator style killing for sport content for their blood thirsty fervent MAGA baseNobody with functioning brain cells thinks that droning random boats does anything productive. They could drone actual farms, production facilities, cartel leadership, weapons caches, etc. Blowing up the end product is pure t
So would you support Trump droning a cartel leaders home which would result in his death and the family and his security detail ?
Also do agree with Trump designating the cartels as terrorists ?
I designate Trump a terrorist too. Those little boats don't go the US, if they are trafficking drugs they'll probably go to the Caribbean. Why doesn't he have all the navy there, or let the coast guards do their job. He wants to start another oil war in Venezuela.
the people in charge think it is productive. Obama thought it was productive. so did Biden. the only problem that liberals have is that this stuff is being publicized.
I doubt you have much insight into who exactly Obama was droning but they definitely focused on more leadership assassinations than targeting villagers that had been coerced
So would you support Trump droning a cartel leaders home which would result in his death and the family and his security detail ?
Also do agree with Trump designating the cartels as terrorists ?
Support? I dunno. They could just do it and not tell everyone. You realize we don't actually need to know this stuff is going on
No, I don't agree with Trump unilaterally declaring entities terrorists
I doubt you have much insight into who exactly Obama was droning but they definitely focused on more leadership assassinations than targeting villagers that had been coerced
lol
No we should be framing it, "is it ok to kill people who are criminals without any due process if they are not an imminent threat to life"
I don't think it's even clear they are criminals btw, but that argument is clouding the issue.
To me, of course not. You capture, arrest and process them.
this has been a decade long issue that we've been losing - those boats are faster than anything on the coast guard
only way to stop the drugs from getting ashore with non lethality is to dispatch a helicopter with a sniper onboard who puts a 50 caliber into the engine block - then they jettison the cargo and it floats away by the time a coast guard boat catches up and then it's a long drawn out legal issue of "how do we prove they weren't just throwing sacks of powdered sugar overboard"
you're missing the context that we've been pretty powerless to do anything about it and the only solution we had was extremely expensive and not remotely scalable - let alone not very effective
you send a few dozen boats at a time, one or two get caught - those that get through easily make enough money to replace any confiscated boats
this is the old process
we've been shooting at boats based on circumstantial evidence for decades - only making the news now because we've upped the ante
enough drugs are jettisoned into the water off florida each year that there have literally been studies on what the effects of cocaine will be on sharks
This is cringe as ****, you've given Trump his lollipop now can you get on with the ****ing draw please
This is almost certainly true, even if the victims were piloting drug boats at the time.
If someone approaches a commercial fisherman living on the margins and offers to pay that person six months of fishing income if he pilots a boat from point A to point B, that fisherman is going to say yes a fair bit of the time, even if he knows that he will transporting contraband.
but... the fact that they are fishermen when not drug smuggling is not relevant to their drug smuggling activities, which is what is going on when are getting drone striked
it's done that way intentionally to obfuscate everything and draw max sympathy - you'll even find rampant discussion on social media and even here where people insist they are fishermen
i've even had to do a lengthy post or three pointing out that it was not possible for those to be fishing vessels because that was an unchallenged claim here made by many
I dunno what you searched but it was obv bullshit.
and they put the guy in jail who exposed this stuff.
but... the fact that they are fishermen when not drug smuggling is not relevant to their drug smuggling activities, which is what is going on when are getting drone strikedit's done that way intentionally to obfuscate everything and draw max sympathy - you'll even find rampant discussion on social media and even here where people insist they are fishermen i've even had to do a
Maybe they are fishermen with a raging coke habit? I really don't feel my "personal use" theory is getting enough airplay.
but... the fact that they are fishermen when not drug smuggling is not relevant to their drug smuggling activities, which is what is going on when are getting drone striked
Where did I claim that being a fisherman in addition to being a drug smuggler was relevant to whether someone was engaging in drug smuggling?
The bottom line is that these people seem much more analogous to criminals than they do to war combatants or terrorists. If someone attempts to drive an eighteen-wheeler full of stolen goods across the Canadian border into the United States, it seems obvious that the person should be arrested, not bombed.
you can pull over an 18 wheeler which is confined to a road network - you can't do that for a boat that is faster than anything the coast guard has
you're missing the context that we've been pretty powerless to do anything about it and the only solution we had was extremely expensive and not remotely scalable - let alone not very effective
The fact that a problem is difficult to solve does not justify solving the problem using any means necessary.
but... the fact that they are fishermen when not drug smuggling is not relevant to their drug smuggling activities, which is what is going on when are getting drone striked
The fact that they are fishermen (underline the word "fact" please) is relevant to the fact that they are fishermen, which you weirdly keep insisting isn't the case.
you'll even find rampant discussion on social media and even here where people insist they are fishermen
*shrug*
Where did I claim that being a fisherman in addition to being a drug smuggler was relevant to whether someone was engaging in drug smuggling?
you didn't but others co-opt the fishermen label to make it look like we're just button clicking at random boats out there
frankly, i disagree with what's going on - i'm for 100% legalization of all drugs - that would eliminate a lot of the issues inherent with them and make them more of a medical problem only (like with prescription pills)
but making it illegal but impossible to enforce is not a working method - if enforcement is the path that is to be chosen - then choosing a path where people know there's a good chance they won't survive the venture is a very good way to dissuade anyone from wanting to take that risk
pretend it's not people and real lives but a strategy game and you're tasked with preventing the flow of drugs - this would probably be one of the options employed by most of the players
