Hegseth boat strike (Trump administration brewing)

[Syne]

So... if it's too easy.... we should just let the drug smuggling continue unabated. 9_9

[Magical Realist]

The US Coast Guard already does a fine job of finding and arresting drug-smugglers. And guess what? They don't do it by blowing up fishing boats. Are they doing it wrong?

[Syne]

Was Obama doing it wrong?

The former head of the CIA's Clandestine Service accused President Barack Obama of hurting the country's ability to fight the war on terror because he stopped the use of "enhanced" interrogation techniques like waterboarding.
...
“We don’t capture anyone anymore Lesley…the default option of this administration has been to kill all prisoners. Take no prisoners,” he said, according to the release. “The drones. How could it be more ethical to kill people rather than capture them?”
- https://www.politico.com/blogs/politico4...ues-121805

If the Coast Guard did a fine job, there would already be no waterway drug smuggling.

[Magical Realist]

If the Coast Guard did a fine job, there would already be no waterway drug smuggling.

So the Coast Guard is doing it wrong because there's still waterway smuggling going on? No..that doesn't follow at all. Doctors effectively fight cancer everyday but there's still cancer. That doesn't mean they're doing it wrong.

"The Coast Guard focuses on disrupting transnational criminal organizations, with maritime interdictions accounting for an estimated 80% of U.S.-bound drug seizures."

[Syne]

Is Obama guilt of war crimes for the same "take no prisoners" strikes?
Is catch, interrogate, and imprison a sufficient deterrent... when the smuggling continues apace?

Yes, Mexican cartels materially aid their captured members in U.S. prisons, often by working through affiliated U.S. prison gangs. This support is part of a symbiotic relationship where cartels provide drugs and logistical support to U.S. gangs, who in turn offer a pool of experienced criminals and established distribution networks, even from behind bars.

In U.S. prisons, cartels and their affiliated prison gangs provide members with protection, access to contraband (like drugs and phones), and logistical support. This can make life "easier" in terms of physical safety and acquiring goods and services that are otherwise unavailable, though it also means being bound by the strict rules and obligations of the gang.
- Google AI

Doesn't sound like much of a deterrent to me.

[Magical Realist]

Doesn't sound like much of a deterrent to me.

What does that have to do with the effectiveness of the Coast Guard's anti-drug interdictions? Are you saying it's only effective if we kill smugglers outright? You're a complete moron..

[Syne]

Deterrence is what reduces the overall number of future attempts, thus easing future law enforcement efforts and eventually bankrupting cartels.
Just like the cartels freely "send a message" by torturing and murdering people who get in their way, such barbarians only understand a similar deterrent.

But if you want to rally around the cartels, that's your prerogative.
Not any different from you rallying around the likes of Hamas.

[Magical Realist]

Deterrence is what reduces the overall number of future attempts, thus easing future law enforcement efforts and eventually bankrupting cartels.

Killing smugglers outright is against all laws, both national and international. I already showed you this. You can no more kill a drug smuggler outright than you can kill a drug pusher outright. Not by renaming them "terrorist" and not by renaming them "combatant". Welcome to the 21st century.

[Syne]

Then Obama is just as guilty of violating those national and international laws.
And as Yaz pointed out:

"According to the CDC, there were 76,282 deaths in the United States in 2023 attributable to overdoses of synthetic opioids. (Compare that to a total of 53,402 US battle deaths in all of World War I!) ISIS and Al Qaida never did to the US anything remotely like what Colombian, Venezuelan and Mexican drug cartels are doing to us every year."

[Magical Realist]

"According to the CDC, there were 76,282 deaths in the United States in 2023 attributable to overdoses of synthetic opioids. (Compare that to a total of 53,402 US battle deaths in all of World War I!) ISIS and Al Qaida never did to the US anything remotely like what Colombian, Venezuelan and Mexican drug cartels are doing to us every year."

LOL Nobody's killing anyone with drugs. People take drugs out of their own free volition and also take the risk of accidentally overdosing on them. Every time. You can't blame the smugglers for their deaths anymore than you can blame gun sellers for shooting deaths.