While the Iran War continues — despite the Trump administration’s claims that it is not a war and has terminated even as the antagonists blockade and fire at each other — the Defense Department is trying to distract attention from the stalemate: Our forces have picked up the pace of lethal strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific against boats the administration says it suspects of ferrying illegal narcotics (presumably cocaine).

There were three strikes in the last few days, according to the New York Times, bringing the total number of lethal attacks to 57, with at least 192 people killed. These strikes have not been authorized by Congress (there is no declaration of war or authorization to use military force), the United States was not threatened militarily, and there is no armed conflict.

Drug trafficking is a crime, not an act of war. The administration has not proved that the operators of the boats were transporting narcotics. I assume a high percentage of them have been (maybe you think U.S. intelligence has been right every time, but I’m dubious); even granting that, though, it is not clear that the boats were in the process of shipping drugs to the United States. It’s not even a federal crime (much less an act of war against our country) if a foreign drug transporter ships narcotics to a foreign country. Plus, the foreign countries affected (e.g., in Europe) did not ask for and do not support the lethal U.S. strikes. The administration is on its own.

The latest strike underscores the cavalier........

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