Hegseth’s Defense of Cartel Strikes Exposes Dangerous Overreach and Legal Ambiguities

In a recent address at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stood firmly behind President Trump’s controversial military strikes against alleged drug cartel vessels. Claiming that the president can take forceful military action "as he sees fit," Hegseth likened these operations to the post-9/11 war on terror—an analogy that glosses over troubling legal and human costs.More than 80 lives have been lost in these strikes aimed at disrupting drug trafficking into the United States, but the campaign raises serious questions about compliance with international law and due process. How far should American power reach before it starts...