this happened as described in the Post report, it was, at best, a war crime under federal law. I say "at best" because, as regular readers know, I believe the attacks on these suspected drug boats " without congressional authorization, under circumstances in which the boat operators pose no military threat to the United States, and given that narcotics trafficking is defined in federal law as a crime rather than as terrorist activity, much less an act or war " are lawless and therefore that the killings are not legitimate under the law or armed conflict. (See my Saturday column, with links to prior posts on this subject.)