"Don't Give up the Ship"

[RDKirk]

He retired to spend time with his family.

As opposed to "doing time" with a cellmate.

 

[Aryeh Jay]

So, Bradley has been thrown off the sleigh to the wolves.

"I'll be home for Christmas..."

 

[Aryeh Jay]

Yes, he didn't need a weatherman to know which way the wind was blowing.

No sharpie to show the track of this hurricane.

 

[BCP1928]

Once upon a time blowing up a boat and then killing the survivors in the water would have been regarded as a monumental atrocity even when perpetrated against combatant enemies. Once upon a time Christians would lament the victims of such an enormity. Now all we care about is whether the action can be painted as legal or a plausiible low-ranking scapegoat can be found. That's what MAGA has done to us, and them.

 

[Say it aint so]

'Yes, he didn't need a weatherman to know which way the wind was blowing.

That's for sure. “Curses are like young chickens, they always come home to roost”

 

[FAITH-IN-HIM]

Once upon a time blowing up a boat and then killing the survivors in the water would have been regarded as a monumental atrocity even when perpetrated against combatant enemies. Once upon a time Christians would lament the victims of such an enormity. Now all we care about is whether the action can be painted as legal or a plausiible low-ranking scapegoat can be found. That's what MAGA has done to us, and them.

It is not exclusive to the MAGA movement. President Obama authorized a drone strike in Yemen that targeted an American citizen. At that time, liberals who called President Bush a "killer" did not object to President Obama's actions.

 

[Aryeh Jay]

a plausiible low-ranking scapegoat can be found. That's what MAGA has done to us, and them.

Thankfully the scapegoat chosen is quite a bit higher than me.

 

[RDKirk]

It is not exclusive to the MAGA movement. President Obama authorized a drone strike in Yemen that targeted an American citizen. At that time, liberals who called President Bush a "killer" did not object to President Obama's actions.

That was Anwar al-Awlaki, a New Mexico–born, radical Islamic cleric, whom the Barack Obama administration accused of being an operational leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The killing of al-Awlaki was the result of a multiyear operation involving the CIA, Joint Special Operations Command, and allied foreign intelligence services. Obama did get some heat from that, enough in a later but very similar circumstance he got the help of Pakistan to capture Mohanad Mahmoud al-Farekh, an American citizen in Pakistan accused of being a major figure in al-Qaeda.

Or the difference between the two may have only been that capturing al-Farekh was feasible while capturing al-Awlaki was not.

 

[BCP1928]

It is not exclusive to the MAGA movement. President Obama authorized a drone strike in Yemen that targeted an American citizen. At that time, liberals who called President Bush a "killer" did not object to President Obama's actions.

Did we not?

 

[RDKirk]

Did we not?

Yes, there was uproar about it.

 

[BCP1928]

That was Anwar al-Awlaki, a New Mexico–born, radical Islamic cleric, whom the Barack Obama administration accused of being an operational leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The killing of al-Awlaki was the result of a multiyear operation involving the CIA, Joint Special Operations Command, and allied foreign intelligence services. Obama did get some heat from that, enough in a later but very similar circumstance he got the help of Pakistan to capture Mohanad Mahmoud al-Farekh, an American citizen in Pakistan accused of being a major figure in al-Qaeda.

Or the difference between the two may have only been that capturing al-Farekh was feasible while capturing al-Awlaki was not.

Those were both known individuals with serious evidence against them, not anonymous alleged drug smugglers. Tell me, was al-
Farekh summarily gunned down when he was captured, or did he stand trial? You know the answer.

 

[BCP1928]

Yes, there was uproar about it.

Even the killing of Osama bin Laden seemed dubious to me, and he was a bona fide terrorist leader.

 

[RDKirk]

Even the killing of Osama bin Laden seemed dubious to me, and he was a bona fide terrorist leader.

Those were both known individuals with serious evidence against them, not anonymous alleged drug smugglers. Tell me, was al-
Farekh summarily gunned down when he was captured, or did he stand trial? You know the answer.

From a soldier's viewpoint, if Obama or Trump are doing wrong, it's for Congress to call them on it.

The soldier is responsible for what's in front of him: A bad guy caught doing bad guy things right in front of him is a valid target. Whether or not Congress wanted him there at that time to catch that bad guy doing bad things and targeting him is not something he's held accountable for.

 

[MarcusGregor]

White House says admiral ordered follow-up strike on alleged drug boat, insists attack was lawful

The White House says a Navy admiral ordered a second strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea and insists the September attack that has come under bipartisan scrutiny was lawful.

apnews.com

 

[Hans Blaster]

White House says admiral ordered follow-up strike on alleged drug boat, insists attack was lawful

The White House says a Navy admiral ordered a second strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea and insists the September attack that has come under bipartisan scrutiny was lawful.

apnews.com

There is the underbussing we've been expecting.

 

[BPPLEE]

There is the underbussing we've been expecting.

Maybe it was a mistake. If so, it’s all good, like when Biden did it

• Victims: The strike killed Zemari Ahmadi, an Afghan aid worker for the U.S.-based organization Nutrition & Education International (NEI), and nine members of his family, including seven children. The youngest victim was a two-year-old girl named Sumaya.
• The Mistake: U.S. intelligence tracked Ahmadi's white Toyota Corolla for eight hours, mistakenly believing it was an ISIS-K vehicle laden with explosives and a direct threat to U.S. forces at the Kabul airport, days after a deadly suicide bombing there.

 

[Hans Blaster]

Maybe it was a mistake.

How would "attack the survivors" be a mistake?

 

[hedrick]

There is the underbussing we've been expecting.

It may even be true. My bet: the Secretary of Defense didn't actually say "if anyone survives, kill them." But when someone survived, someone had to interpret what ambiguous orders actually meant. It's not liikely that they'll be court-martialed, but I predict further promotions will be hard to get.

They really should have followed the Democrats' advice. Not "I refuse to follow this order," but "I don't think that's what the Secretary really meant."

 

[BCP1928]

It may even be true. My bet: the Secretary of Defense didn't actually say "if anyone survives, kill them." But when someone survived, someone had to interpret what ambiguous orders actually meant. It's not liikely that they'll be court-martialed, but I predict further promotions will be hard to get.

They really should have followed the Democrats' advice. Not "I refuse to follow this order," but "I don't think that's what the Secretary really meant."

"Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?" --Henry II

 

[RDKirk]

It may even be true. My bet: the Secretary of Defense didn't actually say "if anyone survives, kill them."
But when someone survived, someone had to interpret what ambiguous orders actually meant.

I said that earlier myself.

It's not likely that they'll be court-martialed, but I predict further promotions will be hard to get.

Maybe they'll find a way to let him weasel out. It depends on how bipartisan the Congressional complaints get. All it does is feed fuel to the fire of troops being sure not to obey illegal orders, particularly if the lower ranking people catch heat.

They really should have followed the Democrats' advice. Not "I refuse to follow this order," but "I don't think that's what the Secretary really meant."

He wouldn't have had to say anything, simply not do it. The survivors of the later boat were rescued alive.