In the stark, unforgiving waters of the Caribbean, the United States crossed a line from which it will be difficult to return.
That line was crossed with two chilling words allegedly spoken by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth – “kill everybody” – followed by the deliberate execution of two unarmed survivors clinging to the wreckage of a suspected narcotics vessel they had just been fired upon.
This was not tough policy.
It was not “self-defence,” as the White House claimed in a statement so threadbare it insulted the intelligence of the nation and the world.
By every moral and legal standard the United States once professed to champion, it was a summary execution.
It was murder.
Let us dismantle the fiction immediately. “Self-defense” implies an imminent threat. A person clinging to splintered wood in open water, after their vessel has been destroyed, presents no such threat. They are combatants rendered hors de combat – out of combat. The Law of Armed Conflict, the Rules of Engagement drilled into every service member, and the fundamental tenets of humanity all scream the same command: you do not fire on the helpless. This was not a split-second decision in a hot firefight; it was a deliberate order from the highest level of the Pentagon to kill defenseless individuals.
Secretary Hegseth, a figure whose previous commentary has often glorified a cartoonish, hyper-aggressive vision of American power, seems to have mistaken the U.S. military for a personal vengeance squad. The mission was interdiction. By all accounts, it was successful – the boat was stopped. The suspects were in the water. At that point, the lawful options are clear: capture and detain, or if logistically impossible, leave them to be retrieved by their own forces or coastal authorities. The one unthinkable, illegal option is to become judge, jury, and executioner from an office in the Pentagon.
The damage here is catastrophic, and it unfolds in layers.
First, it is a deep moral stain. It announces to the world that under this administration, America has abandoned the principle that even its enemies possess an inherent dignity and a right to surrender. America has done the very thing they have historically accused rogue states and terrorists of doing.
Second, it is a tactical and strategic disaster. Every potential adversary, from naval militias to guerrilla forces, now has a potent new recruitment pitch: “The Americans will show you no mercy. They will kill you even if you surrender. Fight to the death.” It endangers every U.S. service member in future engagements, stripping them of the legal and ethical shield that the rules of war are meant to provide.
Third, it shreds the credibility of the U.S. military as a professional institution. The military chain of command exists precisely to prevent such barbarism. The fact that this order was reportedly given, and reportedly followed, suggests a terrifying corrosion of legal and ethical training. Who transmitted the order? Who pulled the trigger? They, too, bear responsibility, but the paramount guilt lies with the Secretary who allegedly issued a manifestly unlawful command.
If talk in Washington is correct, this is not a scandal about policy differences; it is about the crime of murder. Secretary Hegseth is unfit for his office and must be immediately relieved of duty. Furthermore, a full, independent criminal investigation – not an internal Pentagon review – must be convened. If the facts are as reported, he must be charged accordingly.
To do anything less is to become complicit. It is to declare that the United States now stands for the law of the sea only when it is convenient, and for the law of the jungle when it is not. America’s strength has never flowed from ruthlessness, but from their unwavering claim to a higher standard. That standard has not just been compromised; in those bloody waters, it was deliberately and fatally sunk. America must recover it, and that process begins with holding Pete Hegseth accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
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For ages, I’ve mumbled on about executive murderers, those whose powerful positions, orders, policies, attitudes, organised underlings, cause death and agony deliberately, often with impunity and only slow reaction, opposition, awareness. Leaders of large nations and heads of corporations are typical candidates, doing their duty. Caligula, Assyrians, Huns, Nazis, agencies, military specialists, CIA and KGB, even BHP, aggression, carelessness, cheating, policy, greed, vanity, supremacy, righteousness, superstitious triumphalism, all in, the mighty heroes. Let us support vicious unfairness and ubermensch superiority, singing along to “WINNA, WINNA”, by Donny and the Hogshit Henchmen..
We are all now well aware of Trump’s criminal insanity,and by the looks of it, so is Hegseth.There are others crowding the leader board as well.From many reports in USANIA, there is a growing groundswell of opposition to the blatant criminality of this administration.One has to wonder when this travesty of humanity is going to implode.Sooner , rather than later would be a good thing.
When America regains it’s collective wits, a lot, if not most of these people should be facing lengthy incarceration.
“Secretary Hegseth is unfit for his office and must be immediately relieved of duty.” Is there any one appointed by Trump who ISN’T unfit for his office and must be immediately relieved of duty???
How convenient – USA is NOT a signatory to the Law of the High Seas Treaty!
I tried to be tactful, when discussing this event, with a good friend, – a professional worker, a University graduate, who thinks that Donald Trump has some good ideas.(I think so, too, but see these few occasions as fortuitis accidents). I remembered Noel Coward – tactfully advising an ambitious woman -“Do you think, perhaps, -this is not a GOOD idea?”. Not such a good idea, to kill South American fishermen in international waters? But my friend had an answer – “But drugs are SO DANGEROUS”. I could not deal with that logic -just like a lot of “logic” that I can’t deal with these days.
I never picked that up, Mediocrates. I should have been more thorough in my research.
Some years ago I wrote a piece about Marine Law in 1770 and assumed that Law of the High Seas was its modern incarnation.
My old sergeant said we must never assume anything, or you’ll make an ASS out of U and ME.
What does it say about other nations that say nothing about the rogue behavour of the US? or even worse leaders that ingratiate themselves at Trump’s feet? Are they complicit in these murders as well? Have the USA’s actions been raised in the UN other than the UN human rights commissioner condemning them?
What does it say about the Australian media that weren’t asking the Australian PM would he raise this issue with the US president, or the obvious US posturing to invade Venezuela and exploit its resources? (would they have failed to do so if it was China doing these things?)
What does it say about the mainstream media that instead they were obsessed with whether or not Albanese would get a meeting with Trump? Does it take a face-to-face meeting to raise these things?
What does it say when Anthony Albanese is being characterized in the media as Trump’s right-hand man?
there is no longer anything resembling the law under this administration, it is whatever works on any particular day. Hegseth is a war mongering bigoted idiot, following his blithering jibbering idiot of a President. There is little point in reporting any of this imagining anyone will do something. They just have to wait until the end of the term – unless DT can have himself crowned supreme leader before that
Of course. Even the Palestine genocide is allowed under the new “Any thing goes/Rafferty’s rules” system.
What a mentality!
Hitler must be chortling in his grave..”Whaddaya know, we won after all”.
US power has been largely based on naval power.
Those days are almost over, and might even be over right now.
China is mass-producing a hypersonic missile that has considerable range and is dirt cheap.
Naval vessels are now vulnerable.
From Philip Pilkington — China has created an even cheaper bargain bin hypersonic. For the cost of a decent car you get Mach 5-6. US Navy power projection is over, I’m afraid. In the future everyone will be playing defence. It might result in less global conflict.
Let’s hope he’s right.
Will America be penalised in any way for it’s ongoing illegal actions? Of course not, the power of the American dollar has dulled the sense of the Free World.
This video from “John Mearsheimer” explains how the Caribbean drama is not an isolated power play.
Also gives a great overview of global developments since 1991, showing the link between the Ukraine conflict and that in Venezuela.
It’s another AI-generated video, based on Mearsheimer’s stated views.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7440_SJhyg
And remember — check everything.
People like Mearsheimer are unlikely to misrepresent events from history, but interpretations can be slanted.
But a very worthwhile watch if you want to know why the world is in chaos.
There are few words to describe the wickedness of Hegseth’s order, or those who carried it out. The USA has, for nearly a century, operated as a rogue state, fomenting regime change to suits own political, or big business’s ( oil and gas mostly) interests. But.the attacks on these boats in the Caribbean are beyond the pale. If, as alleged by the madman Trump, they are drug boats heading for the US with Fentanyl aboard. Then they should be intercepted, boarded and processed legally. After all if drones can find them then the US coastguard should be able to. If, as now seems likely, the mid-terms see Democrats in control of both houses, will they have the required guts to prosecute Hegseth and those who have fired the missiles, as the Nuremburg trials showed, illegal orders do not have to be followed.
Didn’t the US exempt itself from war crimes years ago?