Smith, Meeks, Himes, Raskin, Thompson Demand Trump Provide List of Designated Terrorist Organizations and Justification for U.S. Military Strikes in the Caribbean
(WASHINGTON) – Reps. Adam Smith (D-WA), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Jim Himes (D-CT), Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Judiciary, and Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter today to President Donald Trump demanding he provide the list of designated terrorist organizations (DTOs) he has unilaterally declared as such and provide evidence for his justifications used in several recent lethal U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean Sea.
The Members wrote: “Per your Administration’s sparse reporting to Congress, you have determined that certain cartels are ‘non-state armed groups,’ that you have ‘designated them as terrorist organizations,’ and that you have ‘determined that their actions constitute an armed attack against the United States.’ However, your Administration has not identified any of the specific organizations you have determined to be included as designated terrorist organizations, nor the criteria or process used for making such determinations.?You have also failed to specify the authority under which the Administration is able to designate affiliates of certain drug trafficking organizations as enemy combatants for the purpose of undertaking lethal strikes. We request that you immediately provide a list of all designated terrorist organizations to Congress, along with the associated determination criteria or methodologies used.”
The letter can be found here.
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