[ETCM]

1. The U.S. has no legal or diplomatic justification for protecting foreign vessels in international waters

And what of the 10 US flagged ships listed in post 62? Or the many US Navy ships that were fired on. Are those not reason enough to take decisive action against those who attack us?

Obviously, we should expect Europe to chip in on this effort, and the leaked Signal chat implied that we are seeking just that.

[Alberta's Child]

Interestingly, most (if not all) of those U.S.-flagged ships listed in Post #62 are owned by foreign companies (Maersk, one of the largest commercial vessel operators in the world, is a Danish company). If they are flying U.S. flags, then it is almost certain that they are carrying U.S. government cargo -- including military cargo.

One thing is for certain: You can go to any major U.S. port today and see thousands of shipping containers being handled from massive ships -- and none of this civilian cargo is being carried by U.S.-flagged ships.