Trump admin. changes its story, confirms second strike on civilian boat in the Caribbean
There was already significant controversy surrounding the Trump administration’s months-long policy of deadly military strikes against civilian boats in international waters. But late last week A report in the Washington Post took the discussion to another dimension.
In an article published the day after Thanksgiving, the Post, citing “two people with direct knowledge of the operation,” reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth verbally ordered military personnel in early September to kill the crew of a ship carrying 11 people. The Post noted in a report not independently verified by MS NOW that two men survived the initial military assault, clinging to smoldering debris.
Adm. Frank Bradley, who headed Joint Special Operations Command at the time, ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s “kill everyone” directive, according to two of the Post’s sources.
A group of former military lawyers published a joint statement It concluded that the allegations made in the Post’s report “constitute war crimes, murder, or both.” many others we came to the same conclusion.
The rejections came quickly. Beleaguered Pentagon chief searched for the article “fake news.” His top spokesman, Sean Parnell, in question The “entire story” the Post presented was a “lie” and added: “These people are just making up anonymously sourced stories. Fake News is the enemy of the people.”
Three days later, the administration changed the story: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing Monday that the U.S. military I did Launch a second attack, adding that it was ordered by Bradley.
Shortly after Hegseth posted an item “Let’s make one thing clear: Admiral Mitch Bradley is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support. I stand with him and his war decisions during the 9/2 mission and every war decision he has made since,” the following statements were posted on social media.
On the surface, this might give the impression that the secretary was standing behind the admiral, but context is everything: Hegseth appeared to be passing responsibility to Bradley rather than taking responsibility, citing “the war decisions he made.”
Actually, a follow-up report Officials in Congress and the Pentagon have expressed concern that the Trump administration “intends to scapegoat” Bradley, the Post said, adding that Leavitt’s prepared comments “prompted an angry response within the Defense Department, with officials expressing anger over uncertainty about whether Hegseth would take responsibility for his alleged role in the operation or leave military and civilian personnel to face the consequences.”
Further complicating matters was the September 3 video resurfaced on Fox News of Hegseth boasting that he had watched the military operation in real time the day before, making it difficult for him to distract himself from what was going on.
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, where the defense secretary is already short of allies, Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, responded to the latest allegations. Demanding Hegseth’s resignation.
“If the reports are true, Pete Hegseth likely committed a war crime by giving an illegal order to kill helpless survivors of the US attack in the Caribbean,” the senator said. “The American people deserve to know exactly what happened, which is why I’m proud to join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in demanding a thorough investigation and full transparency from Congress. It is deeply shameful that the Secretary of Defense violated the laws of armed conflict and put our brave soldiers in this situation. He should resign immediately.”
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut released a similar expression he soon insisted, “Hegseth needs to go. … He should resign or be fired—or at least placed on leave while investigations continue. Our men and women in uniform and the American people deserve nothing less.”
On the other side of the aisle, Senate Majority Leader John Thune was also asked how satisfied he was with Hegseth’s leadership. South Dakota Republican: ‘I don’t have an assessment of the secretary at this time’ he told reporters. “Others can also make these evaluations.”
It wasn’t a ringing approval.
Bradley expected to spend time on Capitol Hill this week. talking to senior MPs about what’s going on. Watch this space.
This post updates our relevant previous coverage.
Post Trump executive. Changed his story, confirmed second attack on civilian boat in Caribbean appeared for the first time MS NOW.
This article was first published on: ms.now
