Hegseth says he ‘would have made the same decision’ during second September 2 boat strike
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday defended the Sept. 2 strike against survivors of an early U.S. military attack on an alleged drug ship.
Hegseth made the remarks at the Reagan National Defense Forum in a conversation with Fox News correspondent Lucas Y. Tomlinson. He told Tomlinson that he had left the room after the first shot and before the order for a second shot was given, but said he would have made the same decision.
“A few hours later [after moving on]“I was told, hey, there must be another attack, because there were a few people who might still be in the fight,” Hegseth told Tomlinson. “Access to radios. There was a liaison point with another potential boat. The drugs were still there. They were actively interacting with them.
“I said, Roger, that looks good,” Hegseth said.
On September 2, the U.S. military twice struck a boat that the Trump administration said was carrying drugs, a U.S. official and a source familiar with the Pentagon’s actions previously told NBC News. Two survivors remained after the first strike, the official said, and the second killed them.
“From what I understood then and what I understand now, I fully support this strike,” he told Tomlinson. “I would have done the same thing myself. Those who have been involved in 20 years of conflict, in Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere, know that reattacks and new strikes by combatants on the battlefield occur often.”
Hegseth would not say for sure whether the Defense Department would release video of the Sept. 2 strike.
“We are looking into it. [the video] right now, to secure the sources, the methods, I mean, it’s an ongoing operation,” he said. “We have operators doing that right now. So whatever we decide to release, we’ll have to be very responsible, which is why we’re looking at this right now.
Asked if Hegseth said at any point that everyone on board should be killed, the defense secretary said no.
“It’s just ridiculous,” he said. “It’s meant to create a caricature of me in the decisions we make and how we make them. Simply ridiculous.”
President Donald Trump and the White House have publicly defended Hegseth, with Trump saying Hegseth did not order the second strike.
The second strike raised concerns among some that there was a directive to kill survivors, which could be a violation of international law.
NBC News reported Saturday that Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley told lawmakers that Hegseth ordered the strike to kill the 11 people aboard the boat because they were on an internal list of narcoterrorists who U.S. military and intelligence officials said could be lethally targeted.
An order to kill people on a hit list is not prohibited by U.S. and international law, unlike a “no-watch order,” which is an illegal military directive to kill all enemy combatants and show no mercy, even if they surrender or are seriously injured.
Bradley was asked at a congressional briefing this week whether Hegseth had given a no-watch order, according to a U.S. official and a second person familiar with the briefing, and he responded that he had not received such an order and would not have followed one if it had been given.
An administration official said in a written statement that “as with all such actions, a uniformed JAG provided guidance and guidance every step of the way” regarding the September 2 strike.
There have been at least 22 strikes against suspected drug boats, and at least 86 people have been killed. The Trump administration has produced no evidence to support its claims about the boats, the people on board, or their cargo.
