‘Another D-Day’: Biden once urged ‘international strike force’ on narco-terrorists as Dems now blast Trump
In a striking reminder of the long-standing battle against drug trafficking, former President Joe Biden’s impassioned 1989 speech as a Delaware senator has resurfaced amidst current controversies surrounding the Trump administration’s military actions against suspected drug traffickers. During his address, Biden passionately called for an “international strike force” to combat what he termed “narco-terrorists,” arguing that the U.S. was under attack from well-financed and armed drug lords. He emphasized the need for a robust response, likening the fight against drugs to a military campaign, stating, “What we need is another D-Day, not another Vietnam.” His remarks were made in the context of a national crisis, as the crack cocaine epidemic was devastating communities across the U.S., and Biden framed the drug issue as a significant threat to national security.
Fast forward to today, the Trump administration is facing backlash from Democrats over its military strikes against drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean, which have resulted in the deaths of dozens of suspected traffickers. These actions, which the administration defends as part of an ongoing armed conflict with drug cartels, have been met with accusations of potential war crimes from some lawmakers, including Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen. The controversy highlights a deepening divide in how drug-related violence and trafficking should be addressed, with some Republicans supporting the strikes as necessary measures against a growing threat, while Democrats raise concerns about legality and the potential for escalation.
As the U.S. grapples with the persistent issue of drug trafficking, both Biden’s historical stance and the current administration’s military responses reflect the ongoing complexity and urgency of addressing drug-related violence. The resurfacing of Biden’s speech serves as a poignant reminder of the long-standing nature of this crisis, illustrating how the rhetoric around drug enforcement has evolved over the decades while the fundamental challenges remain. As the debate continues, the implications of these military actions and historical perspectives will likely shape the future of U.S. drug policy and international relations in the fight against narcotics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc62REnQJ-g
Former President
Joe Biden
, when he served as a Delaware senator, railed against foreign narco-terrorists flooding the U.S. with highly addictive substances, calling for an “international strike force” against the drug traffickers in a fiery 1989 speech.
“Let’s go after the drug lords where they live with an international strike force. There must be no safe haven for these
narco-terrorists
and they must know it,” then-Sen. Biden said in an 1989 video speech addressing then-President George H.W. Bush’s efforts to combat the narcotics flooding U.S. streets.
The remarks have resurfaced on social media as the Trump administration currently faces outrage from Democrats over its strikes on suspected drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean.
Biden’s address was billed as the Democrat Party’s official response to then-President H.W. Bush’s Sept. 5, 1989, address on his administration’s efforts to tackle the crack cocaine epidemic and rampant use of cocaine, C-SPAN footage reported. Bush had announced that the administration would double federal assistance to state and local law enforcement to tackle the drug problem, $65 million emergency assistance to nations such as Colombia to “fight against the cocaine cartels,” an overall $1.5 billion increase in drug-related federal spending on law enforcement and other initiatives.
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Biden, in the Democrat Party’s response, called for “another D-Day” to end the war on drugs.
“The president says he wants to wage a war on drugs, but if that’s true, what we need is another D-Day, not another Vietnam, not another limited war fought on the cheap and destined for stalemate and human tragedy,” Biden said in his response.
Biden railed that the H.W. Bush administration was failing to take stronger actions on drugs at a time when cocaine from Colombia flooded the nation and U.S. cities were rocked by the crack epidemic that persisted through the 1980s and early 1990s, when crystal meth and heroin became the drugs of choice.
“We speak with great concern about the drug problem in America today, but we fail to appreciate or address it for what it really is, the number one threat to our
national security,
” Biden said during his 1989 address on the war on drugs. “It affects the readiness of our army, the productivity of our workers and the achievement of our students and the very health and safety of our families.”
“America is under attack, literally under attack by an enemy who is well financed, well supplied and well armed and fully capable of declaring total war against a nation and its people, as we’ve seen in Colombia. Here in America, the enemy is already ashore, and for the first time, we are fighting and losing the war on our own soil,” Biden continued before arguing the U.S. should “go after the drug lords where they live.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office Friday inquiring if he stands by his 1989 address or has any additional comment to include, but did not immediately receive a response.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has come under fire for carrying out a series of military strikes on boats suspected of trafficking narcotics from Venezuela in the waters off of Central and South America. The administration has carried out at least 22 fatal strikes on the boats since September, killing dozens of suspected drug traffickers.
The administration has defended the strikes, saying the U.S. is engaged in an ”
armed conflict
” with drug cartels after the groups evolved into transnational terror organizations.
Trump has said the strikes are part of an effort to curb
drugs
flooding into the U.S., while experts have weighed in that the pressure on Venezuela is likely also to force Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s ouster and end his regime in the country.
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Democrats have taken issue with a pair of strikes on Sept. 2 against an alleged drug boat from Venezuela. The White House confirmed the military carried out an initial strike on the boat before firing off a second that killed two suspected traffickers, sparking Democrats to claim the administration committed potential war crimes.
“If the reports are true, Pete Hegseth likely committed a war crime when he gave an illegal order that led to the killing of incapacitated survivors of the U.S. strike in the Caribbean,” Nevada Democratic Sen. Sen. Jacky Rosen said in a statement earlier in December.
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Several Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee told Fox News Digital that the Trump administration has been well within its rights to act against Maduro’s regime. They added that they’re eager for more information after several strikes against alleged Venezuelan drug boats and Trump’s heightened rhetoric targeting Maduro.
Trump campaigned on ending the flow of narcotics flowing across U.S. borders in 2024, vowing after his election win to deploy the Navy to assist in the effort.
“To stop the deadly drugs that are poisoning our people, I will deploy the U.S. Navy to impose a full fentanyl blockade on the waters of our region.…The drug cartels are waging war on America, and we will destroy those cartels!” Trump wrote on Truth Social a day before his inauguration.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
