System Update with Glenn Greenwald Sen. Rand Paul on Venezuela Regime Change, the New War on Drugs, MAGA Rifts, and Attacks from Trump
7 snips
Oct 30, 2025 
Glenn interviews Rand Paul, the libertarian-leaning U.S. Senator from Kentucky, about various pressing topics. They dive into the Trump administration's controversial push for regime change in Venezuela, emphasizing the potential dangers of such interventions. Paul critiques the 'war on drugs' as a guise for military actions and highlights the legal issues surrounding drug interdiction. They also discuss MAGA rifts, particularly Trump's attacks on fellow Republicans like Thomas Massie, revealing deep ideological divides within the party.
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War Framing Lowers Legal Protections
- Rand Paul warns calling the drug fight a "war" normalizes deadly rules of engagement and circumvents due process.
- He highlights a 25% false-positive boarding rate to question lethal tactics at sea.
9/11 Legal Legacy Enables Indiscriminate Strikes
- Paul links the post-9/11 legal framework to today's maritime strikes, arguing it enables killing with little proof.
- He stresses civilians are mistakenly treated as expendable and warns of collateral injustice and inefficacy.
Blowing Up Boats Won't Stop Drugs
- Paul argues maritime strikes won't stop drugs because smugglers can change routes and boats cannot reach the U.S. mainland.
- He calls the policy globally policing the drug trade both ineffective and immoral.
