Five Reasons Why the Boat Strike Debate Matters for the US
The US Navy's USS Stockdale, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, docked near the entrance to the Panama Canal.
Photographer: Enea Lebrun/Bloomberg
It has been a turbulent couple of weeks in national security, highlighted by continuing strikes on high-speed boats in the Caribbean that are, according to the Trump administration, carrying drugs headed to the US. Whether that doctrine of “shoot-to-kill,” carried out without warning or any opportunity for surrender, stands up under congressional and judicial scrutiny over time remains to be seen.
But what has really struck a nerve is the so-called double-tap strike that killed two alleged drug runners while they were clinging to the wreckage of their boat. Very few analysts have seen the video of that second strike, and hopefully it will come out soon so that a wider group of observers can provide a more informed judgment on whether it was justified.