Victor Davis Hanson: Democrats Mischaracterize Narco-Terrorists as POWs

The War on Drugs and Military Operations

• 🎯 The U.S. military has conducted 22 lethal strikes against narco-terrorist vessels in international waters as part of ongoing counterdrug operations.
• ⚠️ Critics, including Senator Mark Kelly, have labeled these actions as "war crimes" and called for Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's impeachment.
• 🚢 An embargo-like strategy is being employed against Venezuela, restricting flights and ship access, raising questions about long-term sustainability and escalation.

The Definition of a Prisoner of War

• ⚖️ Victor Davis Hanson argues that individuals involved in an ongoing kinetic battle and not in U.S. possession cannot be considered prisoners of war.
• 💡 He contrasts this with situations where combatants are captured and taken into custody, highlighting the distinction between active combatants and POWs.
• ⚔️ Hanson references historical examples like the Battle of the Bulge and the DEP raid where prisoners were executed, questioning whether such actions were ordered by generals.

Political Narratives and Media Exposure

• 🗣️ Senator Mark Kelly is accused of using the counterdrug operations as an avenue for media exposure and anti-Trump rhetoric.
• 📺 The narrative pushed by critics is that the U.S. is executing prisoners, a claim Hanson refutes based on the ongoing nature of the conflict.
• 🇺🇸 Hanson questions the left's definition of "prisoners" in the context of active combat, contrasting it with his grandfather's experiences in World War I.

Optics and International Relations

• 🧐 The pardon of a Honduran president convicted of drug smuggling by the Biden administration creates problematic optics when criticizing other Latin American countries for drug running.
• 🌍 This creates a difficult situation when the U.S. criticizes drug smuggling from Latin America while simultaneously pardoning a convicted drug smuggler.
• 📉 Hanson suggests that committing U.S. military prestige to operations, like those off the coast of Venezuela, creates a willpower contest that can be lost if the U.S. backs down.