During the past three months, the U.S. Navy has conducted airstrikes against 19 foreign vessels off the coast of Latin America, killing an estimated 75 people.
President Donald Trump asserts that these military strikes are lawful exercises of the international right of self-defense against drug cartels. He has notified Congress that the country is engaged in an armed conflict with these cartels, thereby justifying lethal force. Some legal experts disagree.
Monday on the "Sound of Ideas," we'll hear another installment of "Talking Foreign Policy," our quarterly series in partnership with Case Western Reserve University where foreign policy experts discuss what's been in the headlines.
The implications of the attacks are broad. Without a foreign declaration of war, some critical of the Trump administration think that the president has stepped over the traditional bounds of the executive branch and has unlawfully engaged in the murder of dozens of people.
Our panel of experts will look at how the role of the president has grown and power over the U.S. military has expanded in the post-9/11 landscape. They will also discuss how strikes against Venezuelan ships further shapes the relationship the U.S. has with that country and its president Nicholas Maduro.
Guests:
- Michael Scharf, President, American Branch - International Law Association; Former Dean, Case Western Reserve University School of Law
- Harold Hongju Koh, Former Dean, Yale University School of Law; Former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, US Department of State
- Rebecca Ingber, Professor of Law, Cardozo Law School; Senior Fellow, Reiss Center on Law and Security, New York University School of Law
- Milena Sterio, Distinguished Professor, Cleveland State University School of Law; Director, Public International Law & Policy Group
- Greg Noone, PhD, Director, Fairmont State University Security and Intelligence Program; Retired US Navy Captain
