Venezuela 2025

[temporal1]

I don't know if it would be appropriate to share what kind of orders you were given that contradict the Geneva conventions. If this is something you can share, I would be interested.

All I can legally say is it was normal training and we were taught that this is the correct practice.
Parts of my training were need to know and its not legal for me to speak to them in specifics. You could likely find them but I couldn't confirm them.

There's a catch-22 for the troops: I have certainly heard that bad things happen to people of conscious who witness war crimes. On the other hand, you can also get convicted of a war crime if you follow the order. I'm thinking of Staff Sergeant Michael J. Smith, a dog handler who trained dogs to terrorize prisoners of war. He was following orders, but he was convicted and court martialed anyway, and "just following orders" is not a legal defense. The people who asked him to do this were not prosecuted.

and one of my instructors was filmed swinging a body part by CNN and CNN was paid off to not show the film.

Several other U.S. soldiers were convicted for abusing detainees at Abu Ghraib. Not the senior officers or legal architects of the interrogation program. Accountability stops at the bottom. Which puts troops in a very difficult position. And even if they are court martialed, worse could happen if they disobey illegal orders.

Paper trails on these sort of orders only happen if someone refuses.

One example I can give was how it was normal practice to take away our "self defense" rifle and giving us an M16 which put us in violation of the Geneva conventions.

The number of stories I was told to justify the training, the changing of who was lawful combatant, on and on.

I was given considerable pressure to lie to an infection control officer to make my clinic look better and what happened because I refused to lie was pretty bad but nothing compared to what happens on occasion in the sandbox.

i will venture to guess, all of the above happens in every large institution where stakes are high - military or not.

[JohnH]

“No plan survives contact with the enemy.”
Attributed to Helmuth von Moltke (“The Elder”), 1800-1891

Cartels, drug traffickers, mobs, gangs, etc., are not countries.
Using the word, “war” (as in war against poverty, and such others) doesn’t make poverty a country.

The word shouldn’t have been used that (casual) way. imho

So if “war” is not the right word, maybe “murder” is.

So war against a nation is OK but kinetic action against cartels and drug traffickers is not?

[Bootstrap]

So if “war” is not the right word, maybe “murder” is.

So war against a nation is OK but kinetic action against cartels and drug traffickers is not?

Should we kill people because they are suspected of a crime? With no trial, no public evidence, and no way out for anyone who is actually innocent?

I have heard many people say these boats could have been stopped and searched without real danger.

Why complicate the picture? The question you asked is more or less irrelevant, this is not war against a nation.

[temporal1]

we

who is we?
are you part of that other kingdom now?

i don’t know about we, but i intend to watch for due process. which could take years.
not all such military actions are questioned and investigated. this one will be.

[Soloist]

Should we kill people because they are suspected of a crime? With no trial, no public evidence, and no way out for anyone who is actually innocent?

I have heard many people say these boats could have been stopped and searched without real danger.

Why complicate the picture? The question you asked is more or less irrelevant, this is not war against a nation.

Thankfully, we are not part of this kingdom.

Secondly, I have never said that the boats could be stopped without real danger. I said there was an escalation ladder that they’re supposed to use, but they could very easily bait a boarding team over and then kill them. They’d get killed after that but drug enforcement is not a safe job.
if you are breaking the law hauling something illegal why in the world would you willingly let someone board your ship who’s going to throw you to prison? You would everything you could to avoid getting killed or getting thrown in prison other than following the law apparently.

Part of the reason the escalation ladder exists to begin with is to separate criminals from innocent.

[JohnH]

Should we kill people because they are suspected of a crime?

Since you said "we", I would prefer not to kill anyone.

With no trial, no public evidence, and no way out for anyone who is actually innocent?

I do not plan to conduct trials to decide if I can kill someone or not.

Why complicate the picture? The question you asked is more or less irrelevant, this is not war against a nation.

It most certainly is a war by any reasonable definition of the word with Venezuela.

[R7ehr]

Pirates were simply the terrorist or cartels of their day. We could check our history and see how nations combatted pirates and see if there is any consistency in the logic today.
Pirates and smugglers were two different, but overlapping categories.
Pirates and terrorist probably overlap.
Smugglers and drug runners overlap.

[temporal1]

Pirates were simply the terrorist or cartels of their day. We could check our history and see how nations combatted pirates and see if there is any consistency in the logic today.
Pirates and smugglers were two different, but overlapping categories.
Pirates and terrorist probably overlap.
Smugglers and drug runners overlap.

These are all illegal activities, outlaws, raiders, mostly for riches, pillaging+plundering, opportunists, they aren’t suicidal;
terrorism is distinct because of violence/death usually for politics, or hate, often with disregard for the perp’s life (suicide). Ambush+execute (terrorize) is the goal, not plunder. Cowardice. Examples, 9-11-2001, Iryna Zarutska, many others.*

There are pirates active on the high seas today. Examples are in the Caribbean, the Middle East.

Cartels, mobs, organized crime, are organized, today they can be large entities, rich, powerful, sophisticated, well-educated, probably Ivy League law school educations at the top; illegal big business. Godless thugs. Opportunists. Profiteers.

We may be about to see how big, at least glimpse. Unfortunately, i suspect their reach is vast, domestic+foreign.

Pirate versus terrorist
https://wikidiff.com/terrorist/pirate

*It seems as tho young women, women in general, are being targeted for random (knife) killing more than in the past?
Unsuspecting, unwarned, unprepared. The Knockout Game seemed to more often target unsuspecting, unwarned, unprepared males.

In the past, there was a more common code that COWARDICE was low and to be avoided. That marker is now often nonexistent.

It’s impossible to know, reporting was deemed racist.
It’s probably accurate to say, the legal system, itself, has been plundered.

[JohnH]

Pirates were simply the terrorist or cartels of their day. We could check our history and see how nations combatted pirates and see if there is any consistency in the logic today.
Pirates and smugglers were two different, but overlapping categories.
Pirates and terrorist probably overlap.
Smugglers and drug runners overlap.

Indeed, early in America’s founding anyone could go out and attack pirate ships. No need for detentions or trials or evidence. Nor rescues for “survivors”.

[Soloist]

Anyone who has read Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Memoirs from the House of the Dead, Kidnapped, Great Expectations, Les Miserables and so on… should know that just because we used to do something doesn’t mean we still should.