KQED's Forum Calls Escalate for Release of Caribbean Boat Strike Video
Dec 10, 2025
In this discussion, Julian Barnes, an intelligence and national security reporter for The New York Times, and Tess Bridgeman, co-editor-in-chief at Just Security and former legal adviser to the National Security Council, delve into the controversial U.S. boat strike that resulted in fatalities. They analyze accusations of war crimes, implications for the law of war, and the Pentagon's shift from law enforcement to military action. The duo also highlights concerns about political accountability and the potential erosion of safeguards in U.S. military operations.
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Legal Protections For Shipwrecked People
- If shipwrecked persons are out of the fight they are protected under the Second Geneva Convention and cannot be lawfully targeted.
- Barnes explains killing shipwrecked individuals can constitute a war crime if an armed conflict applies and they are hors de combat.
Shift From Law Enforcement To Military Action
- Treating drug smugglers as military targets departs from longstanding U.S. practice of law-enforcement approaches led by the Coast Guard.
- Barnes warns military strikes erase evidence and prevent prosecution, differing sharply from prior interdiction policy.
Rhetoric Equating Smugglers With Terrorists
- Secretary Pete Hegseth framed narco-traffickers as 'narco-terrorists' akin to al-Qaeda and likened drugs to chemical weapons.
- Barnes and others call this rhetoric a significant departure from conventional legal and policy categories.