Donald Trump is a fervent believer in using death and destruction to achieve his ends. Celebrating his military attacks on alleged drug boats on the high seas, he vowed, “If you try to poison our people, we will blow you out of existence.” But blowing up people and property hasn’t worked in his war on Iran, and it hasn’t worked in his war on drugs. 

The entire campaign, dubbed Operation Southern Spear, is a radical departure from how past presidents tried to combat drug trafficking. The established approach was to intercept, board and search vessels suspected of smuggling illicit substances, before arresting those believed to be guilty of crimes and turning them over to civilian authorities for prosecution. 

Under Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the policy dispenses with the need to find drugs or prove crimes. It’s the height of simplicity: Kill them all. So far, at least 221 lives have been snuffed out.

That number undoubtedly includes innocents. In an Aug. 3 letter to the president, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., wrote that “a careful review of the available evidence suggests that the United States has killed individuals who are not involved in narcotrafficking.”

Trump insists that every boat sunk........

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