Hypocrisy Again

Maybe it's because it's on my mind, but I struggle with all of the hypocrisy. Not just the challenges I see in my day-to-day life, as I discussed yesterday, but also in the news in general. 

I read an editorial today that discussed the WaPo story about the "double tap" incident that is currently in the news. These two images that I posted, other than the land vs water aspect . . . what are the differences?

Well, one was during the Obama administration, the other Trump. If you have a problem with Trump's strikes in the Caribbean Ocean, and didn't have a problem with Obama's strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and other places in the Middle East, well . . . see the title. 

Do I like these strikes? Nope. Didn't like them under Obama either. However, as a (hopeful) self-authored person, I can see the rationale. 

I read this below except in Human Rights Watch:

As Donald Trump assumes office today, he inherits a targeted killing program that has been the cornerstone of U.S. counterterrorism strategy over the past eight years. On January 23, 2009, just three days into his presidency, President Obama authorized his first kinetic military action: two drone strikes, three hours apart, in Waziristan, Pakistan, that killed as many as twenty civilians. Two terms and 540 strikes later, Obama leaves the White House after having vastly expanding and normalizing the use of armed drones for counterterrorism and close air support operations in non-battlefield settings—namely Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia.

What did I read today?

• That Obama performed "double taps" as well. They would often have a second predator drone on site just waiting for that opportunity to completely eliminate any targets. 
• There were 542 drone strikes that Obama authorized, killing an estimated 3,797 people, including 324 civilians.
• A JAG officer was on-site during Trump's recent strike, giving legal advice on whether to shoot again or not.
• That the combatants were working to get their boat and the drugs back into action after the initial hit. 
• That fentanyl (which was apparently the target of the strike) has killed more Americans than Al Qaeda.

So, again, be as upset as you'd like at Trump and this policy of his to interdict drugs coming into the US. But if you think his response is unique, you're wrong.