Donald Trump the Megathread part II - Mod Warning updated in OP 12/2/26

Kind of puts pay to the whole "officers are free to chose to disobey an order if they think it's illegal" schtick. It's clear this administration couldn't give two ****s if it's illegal or not. It's a case of "do it, or you're fired. Where's the discretion for the officer?

Never really existed in any military anyway. The whole "just following orders" not being a defence for the Germans was only a means of getting as many prosecutions over the line as possible. There was plenty of illegal orders going around in the Second World War by all of the combatants.

These days, however, you'll only lose your job for refusing to carry out a direct order. In WWII you could be shot for insubordination.

As to the point about the admin not giving two shites whether something is illegal or not with regards to military ops, it shouldn't surprise anyone that they don't care to murder people with their military apparatus, because they couldn't care less about legalities in any other facet of life either.

However, blowing Venezuelan boats to pieces in international waters under the flimsy pretext of "oh they were carrying drugs" is one thing. But going back and murdering two survivors to, effectively, silence them is something else entirely.

FFS, I can't even watch the FIFA World Draw tomorrow (which I was really looking forward), as the event is now also ruined by the orange pos. BBC reports that "in a break with tradition, the draw ceremony will feature the awarding of a new FIFA Peace Prize, with Trump widely expected to be the recipient."

Why the hell are FIFA handing out prizes for anything other than football? The very least FIFA should do is keep their corruption to football. Where does it stop?

CFTrump will prob try and make at least one stadium change its name to something of his choosing, he will want a financial cut from any cities hosting. He will make sure he is centre of attention for the opening game, he will act as if Canada and Mexico are not even playing a part.

Because the orangutan has made it clear he desperately wants a nobel peace prize purely because Obama got one, FIFA being the corrupt human trash pile they are spotted an oppurtunity to give him a very public metaphorical blowjob via a made up peace award so as to ingratiate themselves in advance for what will be a chaotic mess of a world cup thanks to the orangutan

"Can't wait for the adults to be back in charge and change all of this nonsense back."

See, this is what annoys me. Not that I disagree with the sentiment, or want the adults back in the room.

What annoys me is people think that the adults are going to be back in the room. They're not. They never will be.

Trump's America isn't Trump's America, it's simply America with Trump at the helm. If it wasn't Trump, it'd be some other degenerate lunatic. America is where it is because America wants people like Trump, like Hegseth, like Musk, in charge. People know Trump and his ilk are a disaster, Trump is a deranged lunatic, a conman, a racist, a rapist, and will happily sell anyone and the whole country down the river. And they will still vote for him, and for it, because him and his acolytes curse at reporters and has a go at smart people and spend their time owning the libs.

The adults aren't going to be back in the room. America is too far gone in it's current fall for that to happen.

The only way the adults are ever going to get back in the room in the US is for the red half of the country to experience real pain at the hands of their republican whip holding masters. I'm talking great depression, fall of religion, national humiliation, possible break up of the Union, national psyche-scarring pain.

Then, and only then, will the US recover its adulthood. There is no point in thinking it will otherwise, it isn't going to happen. You're far more likely to see America conned and manoeuvred into a third Trump term, and a Trump dynasty, than the adults get back in charge.

And even if they do, say the Democrats will it out next year and in 2028, they'll spend the next 4-6 years doing harm through austerity to keep the country's head just about floating over the water, that another Trump will come along and drag them back under with the full weight of the American people, because Americans are so focused on singular selfishness that an $500 extra a year in their arse pocket from tax cuts is worth ending economy for, so they'll vote again for the grift.

As a people, they've become incredibly stupid, and incredibly stupid people will not allow the adults back in the room.

"We were shooting the boat but sadly it had people in it" 🙄

I remember working in nightclubs and there would always be boats parking up in the toilets to sell drugs.

Bradley will be briefing a Senate and House committee so they should know more about the strikes.

I think it's mainly down to the orders. Was he ordered specifically to 'kill them all' and/or was the second strike only ordered when the survivors were spotted (which could point to them being targeted rather than the boat etc...)

How mental is it that David Squires can do the brilliant cartoon below and not one mention by a Guardian commenter that there is 1 proven and 4 accused sexual predators (3 of whom paid off their accusers, the other said who didn't do something stupid when they were young) on that single page?

https://www.theguardian.com/football/picture/2025/dec/02/david-squires-on-making-world-cup-great-again-fifa-trump-infantino

That's quite the graphic, to paraphrase Andy Warhol , in the future everybody will have been pardoned by Trump

You really have lost the plot entirely if you believe you are legally entitled to do whatever you wish because no law has been specifically passed to stop you doing so.

The facts are that your own U.S. Department of Defense Law of War Manual, your own U.S. 1996 War Crimes Act plus the Geneva Convention are all very clear on the subject of those hors de combat. Not that it was ever a work manual for me to abide by, but it being so for you then you should be able to give a definitive answer to this.

Does the U.S. DoD Law of War Manual not oblige the same being shown too even terrorist fighters hors de combat as it does anyone else or not ?

I have said this repeatedly to you but for whatever reason you refuse to recognise it. The has no law been passed by the U.S. Congress sanctioning any of those strikes let alone this particular strike that killed two survivors clinging to the wreckage of a boat. Trump deciding he will use any broad term that comes to mind - in this case narco-terrorists - and then get Bondi to comply with his wishes that everyone he decides is a narco-terrorist should be summarily killed is not a law, it`s a wish list. A wish list to further his political aims using a military, that is supposedly apolitical, to do so. Congress is the the only branch of the executive that can propose and pass laws, and Congress hasn`t even been shown this wish list. Never mind being asked to pass it into law. .

If Trump decided tomorrow that all those traveling on a green painted bus - for whatever bullshit reason he came up with - were then summarily killed then really what you are saying is that would also be legal is it not ?

Our trekkie contributor completely missed the nail because there is no nail there to hit.

The fact, that even you do not contend, is that there were two people seen clinging to that wreckage before the second strike was ordered. Their resulting deaths by your own Law of War Manual, your own 1996 War Crimes Act and the Geneva Convention were not collateral damage. They were due to a decision being made after observing them clinging to that wreckage and a decision made while knowing that and then carried out by launching that second strike. And that is a war crime.

I know nothing about Admiral Bradley`s character or his reputation but it does not really matter. He or anybody else that played and part in that second strike, orders or no orders, are now looking at the very real possibility of being tried as war criminals. In fact anyone that played any part in any of these sinkings that claimed lives who avoid being charged under the same can count themselves very luck.