The Return Of Gunboat 'Diplomacy'

I haven't had a lot of spare time of late to write, and today will see but a brief post to observe the following: as the U.S. continues its transition to domestic fascism, it is not forgetting the rest of the world in the process.

News comes daily about the sight of soldiers in the streets, with the national guard this past summer in Los Angeles and currently occupying D.C. Herr Trump promises, despite the legal obstacles, to dispatch them to Democratic cities like Chicago and Baltimore, despite plummeting crime rates. Of course red states are currently being ignored, many of which have higher murder rates.

But not satisfied to subjugate the domestic populace, the mad king is bent on imposing his rule on the world. Tariffs are assuaging part of that imperialistic impulse, but he certainly plainly intends to use his mighty military toys where he deems fit.

Having already labelled Venezuela a narco state and repository of terrible gangs such as Tren de Argua  (Orwell's Goldstein of the current era), it seems that all force is now being legitimized to stop this scourge, as evidenced by by the American ships positioned off of that South American country's shores. 

But what fun is having such military might if you don't use it? The Yanks answered that one quickly enough, firing upon a boat purportedly carrying drugs bound for America.

The president said in a Truth Social social media post that 11 people were killed in the U.S. military operation, and he posted a video of a small vessel appearing to explode in flames.

"The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States," Trump said in the posting. "No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike. Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America."

Now, I have no sympathy for drug cartels and their trafficking, but several questions need to be raised here: 

• how did the Americans know the boat was carrying drugs?
• how did they identify the Tren de Aragua gang as the occupants of the boat?
• why did they not simply stop the boat and arrest the alleged culprits?

Ultimately, the most important question is the one involving due process. While many Americans may mindlessly cheer the obliteration of drug smugglers, they also need to recognize that the elimination of due process is happening in their own country, as we see in the mass deportations currently underway. 

But then again, perhaps the mindless, aka the MAGATS, are okay with that too.