"Democratic officials can certainly continue to make videos about why this is all problematic. But there’s a better and easier way to put an end to all of the summary executions happening in the oceans and any other abuses at every level of the Trump administration.

The Democratic Party can simply make clear that it believes in the rule of law. And there is no rule of law without accountability. Democrats in Congress can promise to fully investigate any possible violations of the law; presidential contenders can promise to appoint people to the Department of Justice who believe that nobody is above the law.

This could mean that Hegseth or even Trump will one day be prosecuted for ordering these crimes. It’s rare that anyone other than ground-level grunts — think, the soldiers at Abu Ghraib — are ever prosecuted for war crimes. Trump himself seems to have completely dodged most of his criminal cases.

But fundamentally these Trump officials are self-interested. If they think there’s a serious chance that they will be in legal trouble or end up behind bars, I imagine you’ll start seeing much more cautious use of the U.S. military, a tool that should be used as a last resort against lethal enemies, not as a first resort to soothe the ego of a nihilistic cabinet secretary."