President Donald Trump hosted a Cabinet meeting at the White House Tuesday, where Secretary of War Pete Hegseth gave a spirited defense of the much debated military strikes on a drug-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean on September 2.
The Washington Post reported on Friday that Hegseth gave an order to “kill everybody” before the strikes on the “suspected drug boats.” After two men allegedly survived the initial strike, according to the Post’s sources, the mission commander ordered a second strike to take them out to comply with Hegseth’s directive. “The two men were blown apart in the water, the Post reported.
Democrats contend that the second strike to take out the survivors could have been a violation of the laws of war.
Amid talk of potential war crimes, the New York Times on Monday reported additional details refuting the Washington Post’s version of events, clarifying that Hegseth had ordered the attack, but not the killing of survivors.