Let's talk about Senators calling it like they see it on the boats....

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Belle of the Ranch 4 min 2 speakers 5 chapters transcribed

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What recent events involving veterans and Congress are discussed?

Beau 0:01

Well, howdy there internet people, it's Belle again. So today, we're going to talk about senators calling it like they see it on the boats. We have to set the scene real quick to put it into DC context. For quite a while now, people in Congress have been in an uproar over the administration's response to a group of veterans making a video that parallels DOD training on the duty to disobey unlawful orders. We've made a number of videos explaining the practical application of the laws governing this and discussed it in depth. In D.C., even some Republicans were bothered by the reactions from the White House. Senator Mark Kelly, who was one of the veterans in the video, described the chain of events and said, quote, I said something very simple and non-controversial, and Donald Trump said I should be hanged, executed, prosecuted.

Beau 1:03

Pete Hegg said that I should be court-martialed. How ridiculous is this? We say follow the law, and this is their response.

How do senators react to the administration's response to veterans' actions?

Beau 1:13

These are not serious people. Senator Kelly went on to reiterate that, quote, The immediate response from the White House to the video was calls of treason. Then, when it was discovered that the duty to disobey is something the military routinely trains on and the duty is literally enshrined in the oath of enlistment, the talking point was that it was an unnecessary video because the administration hadn't given an unlawful order. That's not how military training works. You don't start to train after a situation arises. You start before. Regardless of public comments, even congressional Republicans who are vets know this is the case. So, there was unease on Capitol Hill. Then, the report about the September 2nd boat strike came out, with the allegation that U.S.

Beau 2:20

forces struck a boat a second time once the opposition was out of action.

What are the implications of the September 2nd boat strike report?

Beau 2:27

Congressional leaders are now using the term that is normally unspeakable in politics concerning U.S. troops. Senator Tim Kaine said, If that reporting is true, it's a clear violation of the DOD's own laws of war, as well as international laws about the way you treat people who are in that circumstance. And so this rises to the level of a war crime if it's true.

Unknown 2:59

He and a bunch of other high-profile Democrats have said similar things.

How do bipartisan leaders respond to potential war crimes allegations?

Unknown 3:04

But they're Democrats, so that's going to be blown off. But then we have, quote, That's Republican Representative Don Bacon. Then there's, quote, If that occurred, that would be very serious, and I agree, that would be an illegal act. That's Republican Mike Turner. There's a bipartisan feeling that a war crime may have been committed. As I said earlier, if they were aware of the survivors and launched a second strike, I'm not sure how it could be anything else. As you change the other variables, it just changes which crime it looks like happened. Trumpian talking points aren't going to end this discussion. It'll go on now until there's some kind of clarification as to the chain of events and what exactly occurred.