"Vance was there to tout President Donald Trump's widely unpopular budget bill, but he took a moment to tout the U.S. military's recent bull's-eye bombing of three boats in the Caribbean allegedly carrying narcotics to our shores. Vance claimed that all drug trafficking in those waters had since stopped, chortling, "I would stop, too-hell, I wouldn't go fishin' right now in that part of the world.""
"Even John Yoo, who defended the legality of torture during George W. Bush's presidency, has said the bombing of the boats was illegal, even if they were manned by drug smugglers, a claim that hasn't been proved. When Vance was asked about the operation's legality, he replied, "I don't give a shit." Vance was also, in effect, portraying the American military personnel who sank the boats as trigger-happy, prone to mistake a fishing boat for a drug vessel and feeling guiltless about doing so."
Vice President J.D. Vance publicly praised a U.S. military strike that sank three boats in the Caribbean allegedly carrying narcotics. He claimed the strike had stopped drug trafficking in those waters and joked that he would avoid fishing there. Observers reacted with amusement, shock, and shame among some American service members. Legal experts including John Yoo have said the bombing lacked legal authority and precedent, and the operation's justification was unproven. Vance dismissed questions about legality with profanity. He also portrayed military personnel as unremorseful trigger-happy actors, and his claim that trafficking ceased was factually incorrect.
Read at Slate Magazine
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