Hegseth’s double tap murder isn’t the hero America likes to think of themselves as

I think Trump could be in for some actual political danger here…

What legal experts say about second US strike on Venezuela boat

Several legal experts have told BBC Verify that the second strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat by the US military was probably illegal, and would likely be considered an extrajudicial killing under international law.

On Monday, the Trump administration confirmed that a follow-up strike on the boat – which has been criticised as a “double tap” – was ordered by US Navy Admiral Frank Bradley with the overall operation having been authorised by War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Nine people died in the first strike on the vessel and two survivors were left clinging to the burning wreckage when it was struck again, killing them, according to the Washington Post. A US official has said four missiles were used in the operation.

The Trump administration has not denied there were survivors and has insisted the strikes on 2 September were “in accordance with the law of armed conflict”.

…the danger isn’t legal, this entire extrajudicial assassinations on the waves bullshit has always been illegal and the argument about fentanyl smuggling to justify these killings is a joke especially after Trump bizarrely pardoned Honduras’s ex-president drug smuggler last week.

No the danger here is political because Americans like to think of themselves as moral crusaders reigning down Christ’s missiles of judgment.

Blowing up narco terrorists peddling Satans drugs is one thing, blowing up unarmed wounded prisoners who can’t fight is less righteous and anything that dents that sense of inflated sanctimoniousness risks a backlash.

Americans love to tell themselves smug lies and pious falsehoods about who they are, Hegseth’s double tap murder isn’t the hero America likes to think of themselves as.

When you highlight the hypocrisy of a Nation’s character, that Nation turns on the one exposing it.

Hegseth could be in trouble here.

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