AG wrong

JOHN JEREMIE believes the Trump administration’s strikes at sea to be sanctioned under international law. The Attorney General is wrong.

At least 115 souls have perished in these summary executions, but Mr Jeremie says that’s okay because “that was the advice given to me by an international expert.”

Yet, the AG did not bother to say who gave him the advice, on what basis it was commissioned, its scope, or when the opinion was received.

Mr Jeremie wants us to believe he does not even know if any citizens have been killed at sea.

If so, on what basis was the AG moved to look into this matter?

The Prime Minister has said these strikes don’t concern this country, and we receive no information from the US. We don’t “participate” in US military operations.

But Mr Jeremie on January 14 spoke of his job of ensuring Trinidad and Tobago “acts in accordance with the law.”

To what action does he refer?

Apparently, the AG is concerned about experts and advice. Yet, Ms Persad-Bissessar has not appeared too worried about such niceties in the recent past.

The PM months ago was telling the world things like, “I have no sympathy for traffickers; the US military should kill them all violently,” and “the US is a sovereign nation and they are free,” and “I cannot be judge or jury here to determine whether they are right or wrong – that is not within my jurisdiction,” and telling the UN Donald Trump is “correct.”

Instead of correcting Ms Persad-Bissessar, Mr Jeremie, the Cabinet’s chief legal adviser and titular head of the Bar, has given her cover and set himself up as the fall guy should any repercussions follow.

In December, the PM did say her “advice” was that boats without flags are pirates, as if this justifies being blitzed to pieces. Who knows if that “advice” was the same expert analysis received by Mr Jeremie?

What the government needs expert advice to see, everyone else already knows. Killing people is wrong. Executing without due process is wrong.

In October, the UN warned that the strikes violate international law. In December, details of a “double tap” alarmed US officials. This week, reports suggested perfidy. Silent Mr Jeremie was on all that.

After the Trump administration’s forced regime change in Venezuela, the already dubious claim that US military assets were sent to the Caribbean primarily to target drug rings is even less convincing. Yet, our government officials continue to preach the faith.

They are all for legal order, but Mr Trump is unfettered by it.

This month, he minced no words, telling reporters: “I don’t need international law.”

Perhaps Mr Jeremie needs an expert to opine on those words, too.