00:02With respect to the strikes in question on September 2nd,
00:06Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes.
00:10The strike was conducted in international waters and in accordance with the law of armed conflict.
00:15The Trump administration confirmed they carried out a double strike on a boat in the Caribbean.
00:19Critics like Senator Mark Kelly and Representative Mike Turner have spoken out against the second strike.
00:25But the administration is defending it.
00:27Why is that second strike such a big deal?
00:30Is it a war crime? Let me explain.
00:33On September 2nd, the U.S. struck a vessel in the Caribbean, claiming it was smuggling drugs,
00:38with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth allegedly ordering troops to kill everybody before launching the attacks.
00:44The first strike reportedly killed most aboard and sank the boat.
00:48But according to the Washington Post, there were two survivors.
00:53Admiral Frank Bradley, allegedly following Hegseth's order, approved a second strike killing those survivors.
01:00This is where it gets tricky.
01:03The first strike could be argued U.S. officials were combating drug trafficking.
01:07But after the attack left the targets neutralized, a second strike on incapacitated survivors raises legal issues.
01:15According to international humanitarian law, once someone is unconscious, shipwrecked, or hurt, they are no longer legitimate targets for attack.
01:24A no-survivor strike, when there is no ongoing threat, violates that law.
01:29One more thing.
01:29The Navy's own manual of law of war says that specifically firing on survivors from a wrecked vessel is an example of a war crime that's forbidden under U.S. law and the law of armed conflict.
01:46According to the Department of Defense's law of war manual, section 13.3.4, shipwrecked persons are hors de combat and may not be made the object of attack.
01:58Hegseth justified the second strike as eliminating the threat.
02:02Admiral Bradley made the correct decision to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat.
02:07But bipartisan critics continue to call it a war crime, killing defenseless men.
02:12I just gave you a lot of straight facts, so here are my receipts.
Be the first to comment