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Hegseth reportedly ousted admiral who expressed concerns about legality of boat bombings (www.mediaite.com)
submitted 11 months ago by to c/conservative@sh.itjust.works
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/39693197

Pete Hegseth asked U.S. Navy Admiral Alvin Holsey to retire in October after Holsey expressed concerns about the legality of the Trump administration’s boat bombings in the Caribbean, according to a new report.

On Wednesday, the _Wall Street Journal_published a report that cited two unnamed Pentagon officials, who said Hegseth asked the admiral to step down in “a de facto ouster that was the culmination of months of discord between Hegseth and the officer” after Holsey expressed “concerns about the legality of lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.”

Shortly after, Hegseth announced that Holsey – the commander of U.S. Southern Command – would be retiring.

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[–] 239 points 11 months ago (15 children)

It must suck to have worked their entire life moving up to such a respectable position only for a measly infantry officer and shitty alcoholic tv personality to swoop in, be your boss, and fire you for doing the right thing. Life really does just favor some of us.

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  • [–] 75 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    I'm not sure it favors some of us, as it's a sign all of us collectively have gotten waaay too comfortable letting pieces of shit off the hook for their behavior. If we ever make it out of this I think we need to swing pretty hard the other direction on 'tolerating' people being total fucking assholes to everyone else in their career, in politics, in public. Call that shit out, shun them, make them understand freedom of speech does not allow you to literally spew hate speech, threaten people, and generally be a corrupt asshole. None of anyone's behavior in the GOP since basically 2016, is okay. Obviously this has been going far longer, but 2016 election is when it went full gloves off.

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  • [–] 13 points 11 months ago

    The problem is the system that was set up hundreds of years ago (“liberal democracy”) ended up just incentivizing psychopathy. This system always brings the worst people in society up to the top. Either in government or business.

    You can’t be a genuinely good person and become a general, a congressperson or a billionaire.

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  • [+] 20 points 11 months ago* (6 children)
    [deleted]
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  • [–] 9 points 11 months ago (4 children)

    I doubt that all these high-ranking officers who have been forced out because they won't follow illegal or just plain stupid orders, are just hanging out at home, sipping drinks on the veranda, as the nation they dedicated their lives to protecting just burns down around us.

    What scum like MAGA never understand, is that when you fire your best people for bad reasons, there is a good chance that at least some of them will band together to fight back. By getting rid of his most moral, most experienced officers, he has weakened his own side, and strengthened his own enemy.

    If this country finally comes down to a Civil War, the Patriots will have the competent military leadership on their side, while the MAGAs will just have the losers who think they are right, because they are too stupid to know how stupid they are.

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  • [–] 5 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    The dumbest thing they can do is create an army of people with nothing left to lose.

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  • [–] 4 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    And led by competent experienced military leaders, with an axe to grind

    MAGAs biggest problem is that they are virtuosically ignorant, and love to show it off. None of these people seem to realize how the political careers of tyrants almost always end. They have no historical knowledge at all, or they'd realize that their biggest role models - Hitler, Mussolini, Ghadafi, Ceauscescu, and nearly every other authoritarian - did NOT die of old age in their sleep.

    These people are too stupid to understand that they are staging their own demise. Dunning-Kruger runs strong in MAGA.

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  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago

    None of these people seem to realize how the political careers of tyrants almost always end.

    And yet ironically it's staring them in the face every minute in the virginia state seal.

    "Sic Semper Tyrannis" -- Thus always to Tyrants.

    Their stupidity knows no bounds.

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  • [–] 1 point 11 months ago

    the nation they dedicated their lives to protecting just burns down around us.

    The US hasn't needed protection from anything in a long time. What they've been protecting is the US' economic interests, spending trillions on armaments to attack those who can't defend themselves while people back home die of curable illnesses. They're not your paladins, they're the enforcers of your ruling class.

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  • [–] 20 points 11 months ago (4 children)

    No, it was this officer's greatest joy to be relieved of command by a puny puke who will soon be rung up on charges by the ICC. He spoke truth to power as was his duty and now he is free of the consequences of his commander's choices. I'm sure he will drink a toast to the incarceration and eventual firing squad awaiting Hegseth and subordinates for war crimes.

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    • [–] 29 points 11 months ago (6 children)

    This country clearly has no rule of law. People just do whatever.

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    • [–] 23 points 11 months ago (3 children)

    do you want the Venezolan oil? say the truth 😆

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    • [–] 44 points 11 months ago (3 children)

    This is not some squishy left-wing guy. He’s been in a command position, no doubt participating in numerous bombing campaigns and drone strikes throughout his career.

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  • [–] 44 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    Chopper pilot, and when the guy in charge of an entire carrier strike group capable of leveling a city tells you to cool it with the bombs, he’s saying so from experience that the only way things go is escalation from here.

    More importantly, drug interdiction is not the Navy’s job and the Coasties have been arresting narcos, alive, for decades. This is straight up murder.

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  • [–] 10 points 11 months ago

    Or he knew Hegseth would throw him under the bus for the obvious violation of international law and he just wanted to save his own skin.

    Probably also had inside knowledge of the long term plan to land troops on Venezuelian soil, and didn't want his name part of that history chapter.

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    • [–] 17 points 11 months ago

    Murderous bullies need to be met with virtuous Luigi Mangiones.

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    [–] 10 points 11 months ago

    Something something...illegal orders...

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    [–] 7 points 11 months ago

    Republicans are so stupid, man.

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    [–] 5 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    Good for that admiral. If there are any repercussions (however unlikely) a bullet was dodged.

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    • [–] 4 points 11 months ago

    The orange felon/rapist/liar wants subordinate stooges that he can shit on, not patriots who serve their country and uphold the constitution.

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    [–] 7 points 11 months ago

    man, this entire topic of Venezuela is the more intrusive thing that I had seen in the continent... it sounds like Rafael Videla returning from his tomb...

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