Briefing Only for Republican Lawmakers...
"Something That Erodes Our Democracy"
The Donald Trump administration is facing escalating conflict with the Democratic Party over its decision to push forward with a military anti-drug operation in the Caribbean.
On the 31st, Yonhap News reported, citing the New York Times (NYT), that the Democrats are mounting a political offensive after the Trump administration disclosed details of the anti-drug military operation only to the Republican Party the previous day.
Donald Trump (right), President of the United States, is seen conversing with Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of Defense, after the roundtable event on crime cartels held on the 23rd at the White House state dinner hall in Washington, D.C. Photo by AP Yonhap News
Mark Warner, the Democratic vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, strongly criticized the Trump administration at the Senate Intelligence Committee the previous day. He condemned the decision to provide a classified briefing on the military operation to only 12 Republican senators, calling it "something that erodes our democracy."
In the House of Representatives, concerns were raised about the adequacy of the Trump administration’s reporting to Congress. At a closed-door briefing held by the Department of Defense for lawmakers from both parties, policy officials such as Major General Brian H. Bennett, who oversees special operations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were present. However, all legal counsel withdrew from the meeting.
In this context, Democratic Representative Seth Moulton pointed out, "Policy officials avoided answering questions because there were no lawyers present." In fact, it has been reported that Department of Defense officials are not fully aware of the current status of the military operation in the Caribbean.
Democratic Representative Sara Jacobs argued that this situation amounts to an admission by Department of Defense officials that they have not been able to identify all those killed as a result of the military operation.
Previously, since the end of August, the U.S. military has deployed approximately 10,000 troops to the Caribbean. The official justification was "drug enforcement." According to the Department of Defense, over the past two months, the U.S. military has conducted at least 14 airstrikes against vessels suspected of drug smuggling. Since the start of the operation last month, there have been at least 61 fatalities.
Anna Kelly, Deputy White House Press Secretary, countered the Democrats' criticism by stating, "The Department of Defense has conducted nine briefings for both parties regarding the airstrike operations against narco-terrorists, and additional briefings are scheduled."
Meanwhile, the White House has mainly emphasized the threat of fentanyl being smuggled into the United States in connection with the Caribbean airstrikes. However, at a briefing on the 30th, Department of Defense officials revealed that the vessels targeted in the airstrikes so far were primarily transporting cocaine. In response, Representative Jacobs said, "Officials claimed that cocaine is an 'intermediary drug' for fentanyl, but it was an unconvincing explanation."
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