OPINION:
The Washington Times’ Monday edition had a front-page story comparing President Trump’s war on drugs (his targeting of high-speed boats trying to smuggle drugs into the U.S. and other countries) to President Obama’s drone attacks as part of the global war on terror (“Trump strikes echo Obama’s lethal legacy”).
Here are the approximate death tallies for each. Mr. Obama: high hundreds to low thousands plus a U.S. citizen. Mr. Trump: 83 as of Monday, no U.S. citizens.
Sen. Tim Kaine, Virginia Democrat, is cited in the story as saying Mr. Trump’s attacks are “not congressionally authorized and therefore legally suspect.” Duke University law professor Charlie Dunlap adds, “We do not have sufficient public information to definitively conclude, one way or another, on the legality of the boat strikes.” The article cites Yale Law School professor of military justice Eugene Fidell as saying, “Our country has become much too ready to conduct operations without the clearest congressional authorization.”
The article details the various attitudes of Democratic-leaning, liberal academics who rail against Mr. Trump’s efforts to fight the narco-terrorists while giving the Obama administration a pass. As Mr. Fidell is quoted as saying: “The fact that prior administrations may have engaged in questionable uses of force is water over the dam and should not distract the country from the continuing current operation.”
In this day and age of severely divided popular attitudes, a clear congressional authorization is likely not possible on most of the major challenges we face. It could very well be said that the election of President Trump is the clear national citizen authorization on how we should face those challenges.
When the U.S. Senate cannot get a 60-vote supermajority on just about anything, it’s time to listen to the voters who showed us their desire to follow the policies put forth by President Trump.
JAMES KOUT
Bowie, Maryland
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