Hypothetical Legal Review: Counternarcotic Airstrikes ("Operation Reciprocity")

Former JAG Working Group
Oct 1, 2025
1 min read

Summary: This legal review models the advice a staff judge advocate would provide regarding planned lethal strikes on suspected narcotics-trafficking vessels. It concludes there is no domestic legal basis under the Constitution, federal statutes, or the War Powers Resolution, and no international legal basis under self-defense, armed-conflict law, or the law of targeting. It states that drug smugglers do not qualify as lawful military targets and that lethal strikes could expose U.S. personnel to criminal liability for murder or conspiracy. It also outlines obligations for independent legal advice under military regulations.

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