According to “sources familiar with the matter,” one of our most valued allies, the United Kingdom, is no longer sharing intelligence with the U.S. regarding suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean “because it does not want to be complicit” in the Trump administration’s military strikes, which it “believes . . . are illegal.” [Natasha Bertrand, CNN, November 11, 2025.]

The UK believes they’re illegal?? Well, if anyone has any doubts, they should be allayed by the following:

> The United Nations’ human rights chief, Volker Turk, said last month that the strikes violate international law and amount to “extrajudicial killing.”

> Trump has justified the attacks by designating drug cartels as “foreign terrorist groups,” thus making his actions — in his opinion — fully compliant with the Law of Armed conflict, which applies to attacks on civilians. But legal experts say that that the “foreign terrorist” designation does not automatically authorize the use of lethal force, and that the restrictions mandated by the Law of Armed Conflict would still apply to civilian drug traffickers.

> Even Trump’s own Defense Department has weighed in against the attacks. Specialists in international law within the DoD’s Office of General Counsel have raised concerns, as have current and former uniformed military lawyers . . . although Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s spokesperson has denied that any lawyers involved in the operations have dissented.

> To top it off, the commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), Admiral Alvin Holsey, raised questions about the legality of the strikes during a meeting last month with Hegseth and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during which Holsey offered his resignation. He will be leaving his post next month. [Id.]

And our British friends are not alone in their refusal to be associated with Trump’s murderous rampage. Canada — which has also helped the U.S. Coast Guard pursue drug traffickers in the Caribbean for nearly 20 years in a partnership called Operation Caribbean — has now also distanced itself from the attacks by making it clear to the U.S. that it does not want its intelligence being used to help target boats for the deadly strikes. In a statement to the Canadian press last month, a spokesperson for the Canadian defense authorities said:

“ . . . it is important to note that Canadian Armed Forces activities under Operation Caribbean, conducted in coordination with the United States Coast Guard, are separate and distinct” from the U.S. military strikes on suspected drug vessels. [Id.]

*. *. *

While it’s encouraging and heartwarming to know that our allies have consciences and codes of ethics unfamiliar to the current members of the U.S. administration, it is at the same time devastating to realize how far we have sunk in the esteem of even the most stalwart of our friends.

I’m reminded of the song by American country music singer Lee Greenwood — “God Bless the USA” —which he wrote in 1983 but which went viral in 2001 following the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The second verse is particularly poignant:

“I thank my lucky stars
To be living here today
’Cause the flag still stands for freedom
And they can’t take that away.”

. . . and the chorus continues:

“And I’m proud to be an American
Where at least I know I’m free,
And I won’t forget the men who died
Who gave that right to me.
And I’d gladly stand up next to you
And defend Her still today,
’Cause there ain’t no doubt
I love this land.
God Bless the U.S.A.”

I vividly remember hearing that song on my car radio as I drove past the destroyed western side of the Pentagon on my way home from work the day they reopened that stretch of highway I-395.

And I recall being at Dulles International Airport to meet an arriving relative just a week after the attack, when I was privileged to speak with a unit of British soldiers who had also just landed . . . coming to assist us in our time of need.

I feel certain that our British friends would still be there for us if we needed them today. But I wonder whether it would be with the same spirit of comradeship . . .or simply out of an innate sense of duty and human decency.

What sad times we live in.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
11/12/25