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Angela Milanese @AngelaMilanese who holds a law degree from the University of Brazil responded to the media bias about US Navy bombing of the Venezuelan vessel this week by posting this tweet on Sep. 5 in response to Reuters News' coverage about the attack.
"You wouldn't know by this whitewashing headline that the US is the one that bombed a vessel off the coast of Venezuela, killing 11 people. The US is the one doing 'provocative moves' against Venezuela and committing a war crime."
When Brian Krassenstein, an online critic of the Trump administration, responded by calling the killing of civilians without due process “a war crime,” Vice President Vance replied, “I don’t give a shit what you call it.”
I still remember when the USS Vincennes, a guided missile cruiser of the United States Navy, shot down an Iranian airliner in 1988, killing all 298 civilians on board. And you know what’s more baffling? The Navy has awarded special commendation medals for "meritorious service" to two of the top officers who were serving on the USS Vincennes at the time.
In 1996, the US and Iran reached a $131.8 million settlement of Iranian claims against the US, including compensation for the victims of the 1988 shooting-down of an Iranian airliner. That's money paid by US taxpayers (like you and I).
Mental people call Ansarullah a terrorist group for striking military assets but call the US Navy bombing of a civilian ship a "kinetic strike."
In addition, the U.S. stated it BOMBED a VENEZUELAN vessel in international waters, claiming they targeted alleged 'narco-traffickers'. Really? Who died and made the US international police?
Why didn't the U.S. use any of their 7 nearby warships with helicopters to intercept the vessel & positively identify the smugglers? Inquiring minds want to know!
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blasted Vice President JD Vance for describing the deadly U.S. strike on a drug vessel as the "highest and best use of our military," slamming his sentiment as "despicable and thoughtless," He further added, "What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial," according to Axios.
Given the Pentagon has not released any information, including whether any warnings were given, this sounds like a cover-up. Where is the evidence that this was a drug strike? Why wasn't the boat seized and searched? Sounds a lot like My Lai to me. But for JD Vance to describe it as the "highest and best use of our military" is ludicrous.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio confessed that it was the President who personally gave the order to blow up the vessel, rather than have troops interdict it. Leave it to Beaver!
The US government can't even provide proof that the boat was indeed a drug run. It could just as well have been civilians having a good time like many of us in the US taking boats out to the Gulf for kicks and giggles. To use our military to perform ad-hoc strikes on unconfirmed targets is not only not what our military stands for but also illegal both locally and internationally. Sure, it makes wannabe tough maggots feel good to label boats from Venezuela as drug terrorists and drink a beer seeing a boat blown out of the water.
Finally, the Intercept reported on September 5 that a current Department of the War official and many military and legal experts said that Trump's boat strike in on civilians was a criminal act.
Mahmoud El-Youseph is a Palestinian freelance writer and retired U.S. Air Force veteran. He writes on U.S. foreign policy, Middle East affairs, and justice. Email: elyousseph6@yahoo.com