The White House admitted it struck a suspected drug boat a second time despite initially denying reports the administration did so. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the second strike was in “self-defense to protect Americans.”
The strikes happened on Sept. 2. The Washington Post reported Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered troops to “kill everybody” before the operation began. A commanding officer, allegedly following Hegseth’s order, approved a follow-up attack after the first strike left two survivors. The survivors were allegedly hanging onto the burning boat before a second strike killed them. Hegseth denied the report.
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“Fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland,” he said.
During a press briefing on Monday, Leavitt confirmed Adm. Frank Bradley gave the order to strike the suspected drug vessel a second time. She said President Donald Trump’s previous designation of drug cartels as foreign terrorist groups allowed the lethal strikes.
“Adm. Bradley worked well within his authority and the law to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated,” Leavitt said. “The president has the right to take them out if they are threatening the United States of America, if they are bringing illegal narcotics that are killing our citizens at a record rate, which is what they are doing.”
However, Leavitt denied The Post’s claim that Hegseth told the military to “kill everybody.”
“I saw that quoted in a Washington Post story. I would reject that the secretary of war ever said that,” she said. “However, the president has made it quite clear that if narco-terrorists, again, are trafficking illegal drugs towards the United States, he has the authority to kill them.”
Reaction to the second strike
Both Republicans and Democrats have raised concerns that the strike could be considered a war crime. According to International Humanitarian Law, the military cannot target incapacitated enemy combatants since they are considered “hors de combat,” or out of the fight.
Before the White House confirmed the second strike, Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, told CBS News’ Face the Nation it would be illegal, saying it would be “very serious.” He also highlighted that the follow-up strike is “completely outside of anything that has been discussed with Congress, and there is an ongoing investigation.”
Similarly, on Sunday, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., told CNN on Sunday the second strike would constitute a war crime.
“If what has been reported is accurate, I’ve got serious concerns about anybody in that, you know, chain of command stepping over a line that they should never step over,” he said. “We are not Russia. We’re not Iraq. We hold ourselves to a very high standard of professionalism.”
Trump himself said he “wouldn’t have wanted” a second strike when asked by reporters on Air Force One on Sunday. He also said he would look into it.
“The first strike was very lethal, it was fine,” Trump said. “I’m going to find out about it, but Pete said he did not order the death of those two men.”
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate opened investigations into the second strike.
The Sept. 2 strikes were the first the U.S. conducted against the alleged drug-carrying boats in the Gulf region and left 11 dead.
