Hegseth cites ‘fog of war’ in defending follow-on strike on alleged drug boat
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.00 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.00 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday cited the “fog of war” in defending a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-carrying boat in the Caribbean Sea in early September.
During a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Hegseth said he did not see any survivors in the water when the second strike was ordered and launched, saying the vessel “exploded in fire, smoke, you can’t see anything. … This is called the fog of war.”
Hegseth also said he “didn’t stick around” for the remainder of the Sept. 2 mission following the initial strike and the admiral in charge “made the right call” in ordering the second hit, which he “had complete authority to do.”
Lawmakers have opened investigations following a Washington Post report that Hegseth issued a verbal order to “kill everybody” on the boat, the first vessel hit in the Trump administration’s counterdrug campaign in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean that has grown to over 20 known strikes and more than 80 dead.
The U.S. also has built up its largest military presence in the region in generations, and many see the actions as a tactic to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to resign.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday distanced himself from the secondary strike, which the news report said killed two survivors who were clinging to the wreckage.
Trump said he “didn’t know anything” and that he “still hasn’t gotten a lot of information because I rely on Pete,” referencing Hegseth, when asked if he supported the second strike.
“I didn’t know anything about people. I wasn’t involved in it,” he added.
Hegseth, sitting next to Trump at the Cabinet meeting, said Trump has empowered “commanders to do what is necessary, which is dark and difficult things in the dead of night on behalf of the American people.”
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said earlier in the day that all of the strikes have been “presidentially directed and the chain of command functions as it should.”
“At the end of the day, the secretary and the president are the ones directing these strikes,” Wilson said while speaking to handpicked outlets at an event at the Pentagon.
The Trump administration has suggested that the admiral overseeing the operation made the actual decision to conduct a second strike. Trump called him an “extraordinary person” on Tuesday and said “I want those boats taken out, and if we have to, will attack on land also, just like we attack on sea.”
The White House said Monday that Navy Vice Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley acted “within his authority and the law” when he ordered the second strike, while Hegseth said on social media that he stood by Bradley “and the combat decisions he has made.”
Bradley is expected to provide a classified briefing Thursday to lawmakers overseeing the military.
___
Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard contributed.