Mike Schmitt
LightNews LightNews
mikeschmitt.bsky.social
Mike Schmitt
@mikeschmitt.bsky.social
1.8K followers 450 following 54 posts
Professor of International Law, Reading University
Posts Replies Media Videos
mikeschmitt.bsky.social
Analysis of intelligence sharing in the context of the boat strikes with my friends @rgoodlaw.bsky.social and Marko Milanovic. Professional and personal pleasure to team up with these superstars.
November 17, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Reposted by Mike Schmitt
justsecurity.org
(1/2) Catch up on our recent analysis:

• Veterans Day
• Russia-Ukraine War
• U.S. military / Immigration
• Israel-Hamas War
• Anti-corruption series
• Afghanistan
• Violent extremism
• Trump executive actions
• U.S. foreign policy / Nigeria
• Data privacy
• Latin America
Digest of Recent Articles on Just Security (Nov. 10-14, 2025)
Veterans Day • Russia-Ukraine War • U.S. military / Immigration • Israel-Hamas War • Anti-corruption series • Afghanistan • Violent extremism • Trump executive actions • U.S. foreign policy / Nigeria ...
www.justsecurity.org
November 15, 2025 at 11:56 AM
mikeschmitt.bsky.social
My newest piece, with my friend @rgoodlaw.bsky.social and NYU's Anna Jimenez.
rgoodlaw.bsky.social Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 22d
I teamed up to write how:

The Trump administration has provided two - completely irreconcilable - determinations on status of Tren de Aragua and Venezuela regime.

Makes it impossible for judges to defer to 'presidential determination' on Alien Enemies Act. Confounds law and policy.
Irreconcilable Presidential Determinations on TdA and Venezuela
The two characterizations are mutually exclusive; it is legally impossible to maintain both simultaneously.
www.justsecurity.org
October 29, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by Mike Schmitt
tessbridgeman.bsky.social
See my discussion with Jane Coaston on this here:

crooked.com/podcast/trum...

2/3
Trump’s Deadly Attacks in the Caribbean Sea | Crooked Media
crooked.com
October 23, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Reposted by Mike Schmitt
tessbridgeman.bsky.social
And the @justsecurity.org collection of analysis, podcasts, and informational resources here:

www.justsecurity.org/120753/colle...
Collection: U.S. Lethal Strikes on Suspected Drug Traffickers
Collection of expert analysis on the legality of the U.S. strike on Venezuelan vessels in the Caribbean, the consequences of the strike, and related issues.
www.justsecurity.org
October 23, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Reposted by Mike Schmitt
marknevitt.bsky.social
Interested in the ways that the Caribbean (and Pacific) drug strikes are unlawful?

@justsecurity.org has 15 Articles (!) from experts @becingber.bsky.social @bcfinucane.bsky.social @martylederman.bsky.social @seharrison7.bsky.social @mikeschmitt.bsky.social

www.justsecurity.org/120753/colle...
Collection: U.S. Lethal Strikes on Suspected Drug Traffickers
Collection of expert analysis on the legality of the U.S. strike on Venezuelan vessels in the Caribbean, the consequences of the strike, and related issues.
www.justsecurity.org
October 23, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Reposted by Mike Schmitt
unirdg-law.bsky.social
Professor @mikeschmitt.bsky.social writes in @justsecurity.org on the legal rules applicable to prospective US attacks on drug cartels in the territory of other states.
Attacking Drug Cartels in the Territory of Another State
U.S. lethal operations against suspected cartel-affiliated individuals to date stretch applicable international law beyond recognition.
www.justsecurity.org
October 22, 2025 at 12:40 PM
mikeschmitt.bsky.social
My latest on the possibility of conducting counter-drug strikes into the territory of other States.
justsecurity.org Just Security @justsecurity.org · Oct 17
Expert on use of force and law of armed conflict, Prof. Mike Schmitt:

“The U.S. operations conducted to date against suspected members of drug cartels stretch the applicable international law rules and their interpretation beyond recognition.”

Full analysis:
www.justsecurity.org/122756/drug-...
Attacking Drug Cartels in the Territory of Another State
U.S. lethal operations against suspected cartel-affiliated individuals to date stretch applicable international law beyond recognition.
www.justsecurity.org
October 17, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Reposted by Mike Schmitt
tessbridgeman.bsky.social
Qs Congress & press need to ask:

-What group were those killed associated with? What were their roles? Who were they?

-Will you explain the reasoning in OLC's opinion purporting to justify these killings?

-Do you believe you have authority to summarily kill US citizens involved in the drug trade?
October 14, 2025 at 6:16 PM
mikeschmitt.bsky.social
My thoughts on the unlawful Russian flights into NATO airspace and the legal grounds for responding to them forcibly
September 29, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by Mike Schmitt
justsecurity.org
The United States’ Dirty War on “Narco Terrorism”

By Ben Saul, Challis Chair of International Law at The University of Sydney and United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism
The United States’ Dirty War on “Narco Terrorism”
United Nations Special Rapporteur Ben Saul writes about the U.S. military strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats.
www.justsecurity.org
September 22, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Reposted by Mike Schmitt
justsecurity.org
(3/3) With thanks to our authors this week:

Jeremy Venook
Jesse Marks
Jon Temin
@jwrchappell.bsky.social
Maggie Lin
Michael Pusic
@mikeschmitt.bsky.social
@milleridriss.bsky.social
Peter J. Quaranto
Priyanka Motaparthy
@rgoodlaw.bsky.social
@richardgowan1.bsky.social
Siven Watt
Wells Dixon
September 20, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Reposted by Mike Schmitt
bcfinucane.bsky.social
And if folks are interested in rebuttals to the arguments for premeditated killings in the Caribbean, I would recommend listening from the ~23 minute mark onwards.
September 21, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Reposted by Mike Schmitt
becingber.bsky.social
And @mikeschmitt.bsky.social !
September 19, 2025 at 10:33 PM
mikeschmitt.bsky.social
Quoted in this WP story on attacking drug cartels. For a fuller discussion of my views on some of the legal issues, see my @justsecurity.org piece last week. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
DEA faced pushback at White House, Pentagon after urging Mexico strikes
The suggestion, though not acted upon, was met with alarm from officials who warned that Congress has not authorized such action.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 19, 2025 at 12:22 PM
mikeschmitt.bsky.social
Kudos to General Mark Welsh, former Chief of Staff of the Air Force, for doing the right thing and resigning as President of Texas A & M when one of his people was mistreated. Silence and inaction is complicity. www.washingtonpost.com/national/202...
Texas A&M president is stepping down after upheaval over classroom video
Texas A&M University’s president is stepping down after facing criticism over a classroom video that showed a student objecting to a children’s literature lesson about gender, which led to the profess...
www.washingtonpost.com
September 19, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by Mike Schmitt
justsecurity.org
Leading legal expert analyzes the Israeli airstrike on Hamas leadership in Doha, Qatar.

Striking Hamas in Qatar: "Unwilling or Unable”?
By professor @mikeschmitt.bsky.social

www.justsecurity.org/120727/israe...
Striking Hamas in Qatar: "Unwilling or Unable”?
Legal analysis of the Israeli airstrike against Hamas leadership in Doha, Qatar.
www.justsecurity.org
September 16, 2025 at 12:05 PM
mikeschmitt.bsky.social
My thoughts on the airstrike into Qatar against Hamas leaders.
September 16, 2025 at 1:11 PM
mikeschmitt.bsky.social
Read Brian Finucane’s analysis on the second counter-narcotics strike. As I wrote in my own @justsecurity.org piece last week, I see no legal basis for these strikes. I wa shooing cooler heads would prevail after the first misstep.
justsecurity.org Just Security @justsecurity.org · Sep 15
The lethal U.S. strike in the Caribbean that killed 11 people doesn’t fit the counterterrorism justification, writes @bcfinucane.bsky.social.

The lack of legal basis suggests the Trump administration may be asserting a prerogative to kill outside the law:
Asserting a License to Kill: Why the Caribbean Strike is a Dangerous Departure from the “War on Terror”
An absence of credible legal basis for the Caribbean strike suggests the Trump admin is asserting a prerogative to kill outside the law.
www.justsecurity.org
September 16, 2025 at 1:19 AM
mikeschmitt.bsky.social
After nearly a decade in the position, I have stepped down as the G. Norman Lieber Distinguished Scholar at West Point. I look forward to continuing to work alongside my great colleagues at the University of Reading Law School and the U.S. Naval War College's Stockton Center for International Law.
September 11, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Reposted by Mike Schmitt
justsecurity.org
New book alert! 📚
"Perpetual War and International Law: Enduring Legacies of the War on Terror" (OUP), ed @briannarosen.bsky.social.

Marking 24th anniversary of #September11, it offers a timely reflection on how the post-9/11 era shapes contemporary conflicts.
www.justsecurity.org/120313/perpe...
Book Release – Perpetual War and International Law: Enduring Legacies of the War on Terror
Introducing a new book series confronting the enduring legacies of the post-9/11 era and exploring viable alternatives to the use of force.
www.justsecurity.org
September 11, 2025 at 12:53 PM
mikeschmitt.bsky.social
My thoughts on the Tren de Aragua speedboat strike.
September 10, 2025 at 3:50 PM
mikeschmitt.bsky.social
Two years ago, I concluded, “Calls for a peace agreement contemplating territorial transfer are legally (and, in my view, practically and ethically) flawed.” I haven’t changed my mind. lieber.westpoint.edu/territorial-...
Ukraine Symposium - Territorial Acquisition and Armed Conflict - Lieber Institute West Point
Any agreement between Ukraine and Russia for territorial acquisition for the benefit of the latter would be void under the law of treaties.
lieber.westpoint.edu
August 12, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Reposted by Mike Schmitt
articlesofwar.bsky.social
Reportedly, Israeli settlers/soldiers have killed 5 US citizens in the #WestBank since 2023 Hamas attack. @mikeschmitt.bsky.social & Julia Flores examine occupying power’s obligation to maintain public order & ensure security of persons within occup. territory. lieber.westpoint.edu/protecting-i...
Protecting Inhabitants of Occupied Territory: Settler Violence in the West Bank - Lieber Institute West Point
Obligation of an Occupying Power to ensure public order/safety in occupied territory is a tenet of the law of belligerent occupation.
lieber.westpoint.edu
July 22, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Reposted by Mike Schmitt
unirdg-law.bsky.social
Latest @articlesofwar.bsky.social post by Professor @mikeschmitt.bsky.social
July 24, 2025 at 11:58 AM