@hbrandon-smith.bsky.social
Foreign Policy Director @fcnl.bsky.social | Adjunct at Georgetown Law. War powers, AUMF, law of war, use of force, international law
FCNL’s @hbrandon-smith.bsky.social joined @npr.org to break down Trump’s murderous, lawless strikes at sea:
“What the administration is claiming is that it has the right to kill people who are not firing upon the U.S. … and that it can do this indefinitely without any say-so from Congress.”
"Venezuela today presents many of the same temptations and dangers that Libya did in 2011 ... But a military intervention would not solve these problems, nor would it stem the tide of fentanyl arriving in the US. It would, however, almost certainly make them worse."
www.cato.org/blog/dont-re...
NEW:
In @justsecurity.org I analyze the Trump administration's reported theory for how it can continue its lethal maritime strikes despite the time limit on unauthorized military action imposed by the War Powers Resolution.
www.justsecurity.org/123844/war-p...
The administration is claiming the right to kill people who are not firing upon the US indefinitely and without any say so from Congress. That is a breathtaking claim. And even more so in this situation, where the United States is not at war, and it is targeting and summarily executing civilians.
03.11.2025 20:29 — 👍 2 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0The claim that it is only hostilities if the other side is firing back is not consistent with congressional intent and it is also not consistent with Congress’s subsequent interpretation of the term “hostilities.”
03.11.2025 20:28 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0Congress also passed a War Powers Resolution in 2020 directing the termination of hostilities against Iran, following the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani by drone.
www.congress.gov/bill/116th-c...
This is also consistent with subsequent congressional conduct. Congress passed the Yemen War Powers Resolution in 2019, which said hostilities "includes in-flight refueling of non-United States aircraft conducting missions as part of the ongoing civil war in Yemen"
www.congress.gov/bill/116th-c...
At the time the War Powers Resolution was passed, a report of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said that “hostilities” is “broader in scope” than an “armed conflict,” and that “hostilities” can include a “state of confrontation in which no shots have been fired.”
www.congress.gov/crs_external...
As @bcfinucane.bsky.social states, the administration's claim that strikes killing people in international waters are not "hostilities" under the War Powers Resolution is nonsensical.
www.justsecurity.org/123844/war-p...
Over the weekend, the administration made the claim that it does not need to comply with this 60-day clock because its strikes don't constitute "hostilities" as, being largely by drone, they don't endanger the lives of U.S. troops.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/01/u...
Today marks the expiration of the "60-day clock" under the War Powers Resolution. This requires the Trump admin to end its strikes targeting suspected members of drug cartels in international waters.
www.justsecurity.org/123717/war-p...
“Even if we knew for certain that the boats being destroyed … 1) contained illegal drugs; 2) those drugs were headed for our shores; and 3) all on board were criminals, it would still be grossly illegal and immoral to blast them out of the water … This is murder.”
www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-targ...
“These attacks – and their mounting human cost – are unacceptable. The US must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats, whatever the criminal conduct alleged against them.”
www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
Rep. Adam Smith saying that the president has determined that drug trafficking deserves the death penalty and he has appointed himself judge, jury and executioner.
Said that in yesterday's briefing the admin didn't try to defend the legality of boat strikes.
www.cfr.org/event/conver...
"Lt. Gen. Joe McGee ... left his position earlier this month"
Sources said "that McGee had frequently 'pushed back' against Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine on issues ranging from Russia and Ukraine to military operations in the Caribbean."
www.cnn.com/2025/10/29/p...
"The fact that the vessels our forces are attacking are encountered on the high seas does not give the president any more authority to employ lethal force than if drug traffickers were found selling drugs on an American street."
www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-b...
"Treating international drug smuggling as an armed conflict and drug traffickers as combatants has implications far beyond the legal realm. U.S. adversaries could use this precedent to gain advantage on the global stage."
www.militarytimes.com/opinion/2025...
Doug Krugman is a 24-year Marine Corps veteran who chose to resign rather than participate in Trump's and Hegseth's #ForeverWars. His voice carries the weight of someone who has personally made "life and death targeting calls" in combat zones like Iraq and Afghanistan.
24.10.2025 21:57 — 👍 640 🔁 287 💬 20 📌 9
"That Trump can concoct a war and then summarily kill people is all the more troubling as Trump deploys troops in Democratic-run cities. What would stop him from claiming to be at 'war' with protesters or other critics and ordering them shot?"
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Sen. Rand Paul calling the boat strikes what they are:
"...I would call them extrajudicial killings ... And this is akin to what China does, to what Iran does with drug dealers. They summarily execute people without presenting evidence to the public. So, it’s wrong.”
thehill.com/homenews/sen...
🚨 Did you know? The last remaining nuclear weapons treaty between the U.S. and Russia is set to expire in February.
On Tuesday, join FCNL's Allen Hester for a webinar hosted by @winwithoutwar.bsky.social to learn how you can join advocates mobilizing to stop a nuclear arms race.
Register ⬇️
Thank you @meeks.house.gov for calling for a hearing on the recent strikes in the Caribbean that have killed at least 43 civilians. Congress cannot remain silent while the administration summarily executes people without charge or trial.
s3.amazonaws.com/quorum-pdf-l...
"For the first time in U.S. history, lethal military force has been authorized solely to target drug traffickers—a move that marks an extraordinary assertion of expanded presidential power."
@seharrison7.bsky.social and @marknevitt.bsky.social on the collapse of legal oversight within the USG
UN Experts on US strikes in Caribbean Sea: "... the use of lethal force in international waters without proper legal basis violates the international law of the sea and amounts to extrajudicial executions”
www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
In one of the most important cases to watch, federal district court finds Elon Musk actions (in this case toward #USAID) in violation of the Appointments Clause - sufficient to issue a preliminary injunction.
A very big deal.
www.courtlistener.com/docket/69636...
@isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social spoke w/ Alien Enemies Act internees & family:
“We’re going to be a memory fairly soon & we haven’t done all we wanted to do, which was to prevent something like what’s happening today from happening again to another group of people.”
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Government placing a lot of weight on the spurious designation of TdA as a foreign terrorist organization.
A related concern is that the Trump admin will use the FTO designation of Mexican cartels as a predicate for U.S. direct action, e.g. drone strikes.
www.justsecurity.org/107850/us-mi...
We are saddened by the news of @repraulgrijalva.bsky.social’s passing and are holding his loved ones in the light.
We are grateful for his years of public service and leadership for a more a just and peaceful world.
@brennancenter.bsky.social works on the Alien Enemies Act in coalition with Karen Ebel (German American Internee Coalition) and Grace Shimizu (Japanese Peruvian Oral History Project).
Everyone should read Karen and Grace's piece opposing the president's abuse of the Alien Enemies Act. /1
Withholding food from the hungry through incompetence and spite.
www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/art...
