“Kill them all”: Hegseth ordered strike on survivors of US attack

A bombshell Washington Post examination revealed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth personally ordered U S forces to kill them all during a September maritime strike off the coast of Trinidad an unprecedented escalation in America s counter-drug operations and one that legal experts say may violate international law According to bureaucrats with direct knowledge of the mission U S special operations forces targeted a small vessel suspected of transporting narcotics After the first missile strike destroyed the boat and killed largest part of the crew observers informed seeing at least two survivors clinging to debris Hegseth allegedly directed forces to launch a second strike to eliminate the remaining survivors a move experts describe as potentially unlawful under long-standing rules of armed conflict which prohibit killing combatants who are hors de combat or out of the fight The strike was not part of any declared war raising even more questions about how the administration has justified such lethal operations A Justice Department memo reportedly classifies drug trafficking networks as part of a non-international armed conflict effectively granting the executive branch sweeping authority to kill suspected traffickers on the high seas Critics argue that this interpretation is legally flimsy and dangerously broad Start your day with essential news from Salon Sign up for our free morning newsletter Crash Program Human rights groups and former military lawyers warn the decision could set a precedent for unchecked lethal force far beyond U S borders If this stands the U S is claiming the right to kill anyone anywhere based on secret intelligence and no transparency one legal expert notified the Post Hegseth took to his official social media account to respond and defend the strikes on Friday He called the reports fabricated and framing the operations as lawful efforts to stop narco-terrorists and destroy drug-trafficking vessels with all actions reviewed by military and civilian lawyers He emphasized his endorsement for the Southcom forces carrying out the missions As usual the fake news is delivering more fabricated inflammatory and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland As we ve disclosed from the beginning and in every message these highly effective strikes are specifically Secretary of War Pete Hegseth SecWar November Members of Congress are now calling for hearings though it remains unclear whether the Republican-controlled committees will challenge one of the administration s the majority aggressive national-security operations to date For now the revelations leave the White House with mounting questions and the families of the dead without answers Read more about this topic No justification UN human rights chief condemns unacceptable strikes on alleged drug boats Trump s anti-Venezuela actions lack strategy justifiable targets and legal authorization Trump s deadly Venezuela boat attack takes us into dangerous waters The post Kill them all Hegseth ordered strike on survivors of US attack appeared first on Salon com