00:00United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth
00:29is facing fire over his alleged order to kill all the remaining survivors on a claimed
00:34Venezuelan drug boat in the Caribbean.
00:37The Washington Post last week reported that a US military strike on an alleged drug boat
00:43on September 2 left two survivors.
00:46However, a second strike was ordered on the same boat to kill them as well.
00:51The report claimed that this second strike was carried out at Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's
00:57command, who ordered to kill everybody on board the boat.
01:01Even though Hegseth decried the report as fake news, Republican-led committees overseeing
01:06the Pentagon have vowed to conduct a vigorous oversight into the strikes.
01:12The controversy soon blew up into an all-out scandal as Democrats pounced on the issue and
01:17demanded answers from the Trump administration and accused Hegseth of war crimes.
01:23Senator Mark Kelly, a former Navy aviator, blasted Hegseth over the strike, calling it
01:28clearly not lawful.
01:29Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded that the Pentagon release the tapes of the
01:34strike and show exactly what had transpired during the strikes.
01:38Even some Republican lawmakers raised doubts over the strike.
01:42Representative Mike Turner said that if the reports were true, then it is a very serious
01:47illegal act.
01:49Pressed by the media, President Donald Trump on Sunday distanced himself from at least
01:53one aspect of the operation.
01:55He said he would not have preferred a second attack on the vessel and had been told by Hegseth
02:00himself that he did not instruct anyone to kill the two survivors.
02:04On Monday, the White House confirmed that a second round of military strikes on the concern
02:08boat had indeed been ordered.
02:11Press Secretary Caroline Levitt seemed to be shifting the onus from Hegseth onto Navy Commander
02:16Admiral Bradley.
02:18Levitt, however, clarified that Admiral Bradley was authorized by Secretary Hegseth to conduct
02:23the strikes and was well within his authority to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat
02:28eliminated.
02:29President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have made it clear that presidentially designated
02:34narco terrorist groups are subject to lethal targeting in accordance with the laws of war.
02:40With respect to the strikes in question on September 2nd, Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral
02:46Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes.
02:49Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure
02:54the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America.
02:58Secretary Hegseth has come out in support of Admiral Bradley, calling him an American hero
03:03who has his 100% support.
03:05Hegseth backed the combat decisions made by Bradley on September 2.
03:09The Democrats, however, continue to target Trump and Hegseth over the issue.
03:14Chuck Schumer has sought evidence and demanded the release of tapes of the strike.
03:19Representative Hakeem Jeffries accused the White House of lying, claiming that Pete Hegseth
03:23was absolutely involved.
03:25The controversy over the strikes have added a new dimension to the US military operations
03:30against so-called narco terrorists and the resultant conflict with Venezuela.
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