Most Americans feel like they have not been well enough informed about U.S. military action against Venezuela. Drug trafficking does not invoke a president’s right to go to war with another country. International laws of sovereignty apply. Narco-terrorism is a term coined by the administration. It is not recognized in legal terms and, by definition, cannot be used to declare war.

It is the Coast Guard’s job to stop drug boats; to do search and seizure. The terms of engagement on suspected drug boats is not to fire unless fired upon. When we go outside the internationally agreed upon definition of war and treatment of survivors — calling traffickers combatants in war, and issuing orders to kill all survivors — these are acts of murder. Only laws separate justified deadly force from the charge of murder. Without those requirements being met, these are extrajudicial killings, condemned by all nations of the world.

The administration has failed to show a legal basis for going to war. We know the huge tragedy of engaging in wars entered into recklessly. Trump promised he would keep us out of unnecessary wars of intervention and regime change. There has been no plausible act of war against us. Americans should be asking hard questions of their representatives.

Colin Powell cautioned our leaders, “The Pottery Barn rules apply. You break it, you fix it!” Our new imperialism can only hurt us, damage our reputation and undermine the peace, which underlies our national security.

Edward Reiner
South Portland