'Fog of war' and passing the buck don't make strikes on boats right
I watched the news last evening with incredulity as President Donald Trump and then Pete Hegseth passed the buck to a four-star admiral for the second missile strike on the first "drug boat" sunk in the continuing series. That second strike on unarmed people trying to survive the sinking of their craft amounts to a war crime, as does the subsequent sinking of the other "drug boats," regardless of how the White House or Pentagon tries to spin it.
The pilot who fired the second missile could have thought he was following a legal order, but the admiral knew better. To reach the level of four stars, a service member has seen lots of bad stuff in their time, so he should have been able to tell right from wrong, legal order from illegal order. That's the kind of stuff the Japanese and Nazis did against our helpless sailors after their ships were sunk, when they could have rescued them.
For Hegseth to blame the "fog of war" is patently ridiculous, given that there was no opposing fire, and our Navy had all the time in the world to make a decision about a second strike, which choices should have included sending a surface craft to rescue any survivors. The four-star should be court-martialed and charged with a war crime along with Hegseth. The pardoning of the former president of Honduras should prove these actions are not about drugs.
Robert F. Matthias, Boulder
President Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth and Karoline Leavitt say that the second strike was legal. But none of them will acknowledge that it was a horrible thing to do, whether legal or not. I am reminded of watching Desert Storm, the televised war. A small group of Iraqi soldiers were on their knees, pleading, obviously expecting Hegseth-type treatment. A young U.S. officer held out his hand to pick one up, saying, "It's OK. It's OK. It's OK". I teared up. That was my America.
It is unfortunate for all of us that "no survivors" is a policy that would prevent finding out that the boat and its contents were not what the U.S. military thought.
It is my personal opinion that drug runners do not kill Americans -- Americans kill themselves by overdosing at a rate that has nothing to do with the quantity of drugs intercepted by Customs and the military.
Don Reckseen, Broomfield
Hegseth can try to hide behind the "fog of war" all he wants. As a young officer candidate, I (and all my classmates) were taught early on that I, as a leader, was responsible for "all that my people did or failed to do."
It's ironic that your website warns of prosecution if your safety is threatened. Yet, it's OK for you to threaten American lives by advocating the overthrow of our government. You suggest that military personnel violate the chain of command, the U.S. Constitution, and their military oath. You appear to oppose chain of command (a long-established regulation of conduct), and you advocate for each person to decide which orders to follow. I remind you that there have been no illegal orders given.
You did this to drive a wedge into the heart of our country, and I am angry with you and your Democrat buddies for attempting it.
Like Benedict Arnold, you are a traitor who should be charged with treason. A prison cell may give you time to reflect on your betrayal of your country's citizens.
A congressman's job is to protect constituents, but you said nothing, nor did you take any action, when Tren de Aragua gangs infiltrated apartment complexes in Aurora. You failed those terrified residents.
I do not understand why you want to destroy our country, keep illegal aliens here who kill, maim and rape American women and children, and shut down the government for your own perceived political advancement. You are an embarrassment to all of us who value good government and who treasure a strong United States.
"A man's personal behavior is who he is" and this is who you are -- a failure and a danger to our way of life.
President Trump's pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez demonstrates that the administration's efforts to stem the flow of illegal drugs into the country are a sham.
Hernandez was convicted for enabling hundreds of tons of cocaine to be smuggled into the U.S., causing untold damage. He served less than 18 months of his 45-year sentence and is now free. At the same time, the U.S. has blown up at least 21 boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, and killed about 83 people for allegedly trying to smuggle drugs into the United States. The government has provided no evidence these boats were carrying drugs, nor that their intended destination was the U.S.
If the administration wants to convince the American people that the boats are actually carrying illegal cargo, why not interdict them, and exhibit the evidence to show the effort is having the intended effect, rather than killing all on abroad extrajudicially?
Ronald L. Rudolph, Golden
Re: "Tackling America's housing crisis," Nov. 30 commentary
On the affordable housing crisis, there are multiple solutions. But none of them involve more government.
For starters, the phrase "affordable, union-built" is laughable. There are too many regulations already. When you buy a piece of land, you spend around $150k per unit before you put a shovel in the ground. This is permitting, tap fees, engineering, etc. Then factor in the green regulations that change every year. Every rental we now build has to have charging stations in the garage and high-efficiency appliances and zero-leak ducting systems, to name a few.
Then there are local jurisdictions like Lakewood that are anti-development and have a mindset of "development pays its own way". It sounds nice, but here is what that means. We built 19 units, and the city made us upgrade the water main for a city block (this upgrade was already planned, but since we are the "rich developers," we had to pay for the whole thing). On another six unit,s the city made us spend $50k on a floodplain study that they were already in the process of un-classifying as a floodplain.
Throw in state legislators and a governor who are doing their best to make being a landlord impossible with a firehose of "pro-tenant" laws, and you have an environment where there will be no new affordable housing in the next decade from the private sector. To justify building anything in this state right now, you can only do a luxury product. Until the decision-makers understand this, it won't get better. My suggestion is to start talking to actual builders and to stop talking to think tanks.
Allen Perry, Lakewood
Re: "Under no circumstances should Tina Peters be handed over," Nov. 30 commentary
Thank you, Krista Kafer, for standing for the rule of law again -- in this case, the absurdity of releasing Tina Peters into federal custody. Even if in a cushy jail cell, I am guessing she would not have to serve for very long.
What I do not understand is why anyone writing about Tina Peters' crimes does not include in the article with full caps: AND TRUMP BEAT BIDEN HANDILY IN MESA COUNTY. Biden 31,536 vs TRUMP 56,894 -- that is more than 25,000 votes! Every article should ask what possible irregularities anyone was looking for. Was it just a publicity stunt? Charming MAGA? It is impossible for me to understand.
Keep her here in Colorado, or we really would be looking at true irregularity.
Judith Pettibone, Denver