Pete Hegseth on Saturday doubled down on his defense of the US military in the alleged drug cartel boat in the Caribbean, saying that he has the power to stop military action “and to stop the concerns that violate international law.
Hegseth spoke on Saturday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Palace in Simi Valley, California, amid growing scrutiny of the legality of the attacks and his leadership at the Pentagon.
The defense secretary argued the strikes, which have killed more than 80 people since September, were justified to protect Americans. He compared suspected drug smugglers to al-Qaida terrorists. “If you’re working for a designated terrorist organization and you’re bringing drugs into this country on a boat, we’re going to find you and we’re not going to think twice about it,” Hegseth said.
“President Trump can and will take decisive military action as he sees fit to protect our nation’s interests. Don’t let the nation hesitate for a moment.”
Despite Hegseth’s strong defense, the Trump administration is facing growing questions about the legality of anti-trainking operations in the Caribbean, even from some Republicans.
The administration has forced nearly two dozen strikes that are legal under the rules of war because the US has joined the armed forces of the Tren de Arguua army in Colombia.
Many legal experts criticized that rationale, noting that the US is not at war with an armed group in the Caribbean and that the suspected traders are not attacking the US, or its assets abroad.
Other concerns include that the alleged smugglers were not convicted in a court of law; that the US has provided little evidence of supporting its cartel schemes; And experts in the region have said that the strikes must use real smuggling of Fendanyl – the drug that mostly comes to the US through Mexico, not on boats through the Caribbean.
Review of the strikes, and Hegseth’s role, was raised at the end of November, when the Reported by the Washington Post That a strike on the 2nd of September was followed by a second attack targeting the two survivors who were spinning in the wreckage. The commander in charge of the operation, the post reported, ordered the second strike to follow instructions from HEGSETH to “kill everyone”.
Hegseth denied that claim. During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the defense secretary said the commander, ad Frank Bradley, had “fallen overboard and eliminated the threat”. Hegseth explained that while he was “watching the first strike”, he wasn’t “running around for an hour or two”.
While Hegseth has shown no sign of giving up, calls from Democrats for his resignation are growing. The new Democratic Coalition, the largest democratic caucus in the house, called Hegseth “incompetent, relentless, and a threat to the lives of the armed forces”. Cairicion Chaird Chaird, Brad Schneider, and National Security Working Group Chair, accused the secretary of defense of lying, rejecting and scapegoating the sub-or-responsible.
The Secretary of Defense reiterated Trump’s Artom to continue nuclear testing on the same basis as China and Russia. He criticized Republican leaders for supporting wars in the Middle East in recent years, and opposed those who argued that climate change posed serious challenges to military reform.
“The War Department will not be distracted from the establishment of democracy, interventionism, unknown wars, regime change, economic change,” said Feckess Morag and Feckless National Tindoke, “he said.
The Associated Press contributed