Hegseth won’t commit to releasing video of second strike on drug boat charging: “We’re reviewing it now”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegs on Saturday declined to say whether the Pentagon would release the video of the Working in early September That target is survivors of a strike on a drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean.

“We’re reviewing the process, and we’ll see,” Hegseth said in the Times after addressing a Defense Forum held by the Ronald Reagan National Library in Simi Valley, California. “Whatever we would have decided to take out, we would have to take a lot of responsibility to review that now.”

Eleven people were killed in the September 2 attack on a suspected drug boat, the first of several such attacks in Latin American waters. The Trump administration faced heavy criticism after the Washington Post reported last week that a second missile had been launched from the boat, killing two survivors of the first strike.

The White House confirmed that the boat was attacked by a second sniper, but both the White House and Hegseth denied that Hegseth ordered the second strike.

Hegseth said earlier this week that the second strike was ordered by Navy Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley – Head of special operations, who led September

“In this particular situation, it was well within the authority of ADM. Bradley,” Hegseth said.

On Thursday, the conmessional lawmakers they were shown a video In the second strike, Bradley and Gen Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, learned about the incident in a closed-door session.

Gop Sen. Tom Cotton, Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Rep. Jim Him, the top Democrat on the House Committee, told reporters after leaving no survivors. The first post report quoted an anonymous source as saying that, before the first strike, Hegseth verbally ordered everyone on board to be evacuated. “The plan was to kill everyone,” the Post story quoted the source as saying.

Hegsteth on Saturday strongly denied that he issued the order to kill the survivors, as reported by the Post.

“You don’t go in and say ‘kill them all.’ Very good, “he said, adding the report” meant that a cartoon was created with me and the decisions we make. “

But he admitted that he “fully supports that strike. I would have made the call myself.”

The two survivors were trying to climb aboard before being shot by a second archer, a source familiar with the story said. I said CBS News on Wednesday.

on friday, Two common sources In a video shown by law enforcement officials told CBS News that the two survivors were walking around before the second strike killed them. One of the sources said the action could be interpreted as survivors calling for help or trying to circumvent another strike.

Some legal experts have questioned whether the second strike constituted a war crime.

The September 2 strike was the first in a series of attacks on drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Overall, at least 87 people were killed In the 22nd section, according to the numbers provided by the Pentagon. The Trump administration has so far not provided anyone with evidence that the ships were smuggling drugs, only releasing a mysterious video of the strikes.

Mr. Trump on Wednesday he said he would support you the withdrawal of all strikes on September 2.

“I don’t know what they have, but whatever they have we will certainly release it, no problem,” Mr Trump told reporters on Wednesday.

However, the Pentagon chief on Saturday would not be asked repeatedly if the video would be released.

“We’re reviewing it now,” Hegseth said.

During the speech on Saturday, Hegseth insisted that these are involved in the suspected drug smuggling boats and that their “terrorists” will “continue.

“Let’s be clear, if you’re working for a designated terrorist organization, and you’re bringing drugs into this country on a boat, we’re going to find you and we’re going to sink you,” Hegseth said. “… We are killing them. We will continue to kill them for a long time as they say they have poisoned our people with narcotics who are killed as much as they have chemical weapons.”