🔗 Share this article American Navy Commander to Inform Lawmakers as Cross-Party Examination Grows Over Vessel Attack A senior American naval admiral is scheduled to provide a classified briefing to lawmakers monitoring the armed forces this week, as investigators examine a US attack on a boat in the Caribbean waters. The incident, which allegedly targeted a craft carrying drugs, reportedly included a second strike that killed any survivors. White House Defends Actions as Self-Defense The administration spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, on Monday stated that the follow-on engagement was carried out “in self-defence” and in compliance with laws pertaining to armed conflict. Bipartisan scrutiny has increased over a report that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth issued a spoken command in last month to attack the boat. Democratic lawmakers have said the claims, first reported last week, could amount to a violation of international law, and GOP members have also expressed their concerns about the lawfulness of the attack on September 2nd. The House and Senate military oversight panels have opened investigations into the recent US military strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean. “The Defense Secretary authorised the naval commander to execute these military actions,” said Leavitt. “The commander acted well within his authority and the law, overseeing the engagement to guarantee the boat was destroyed and the danger to the United States of America was removed.” In her remarks to the press, Leavitt did not challenge the account that there were individuals who survived after the initial attack. Her explanation came after ex-President Donald Trump a day earlier remarked he “would not have approved that – not a follow-up attack” when questioned about the event. Mounting Legislative Unease and Internal Backing Late on Monday, Hegseth wrote online: “Adm Mitch Bradley is an national hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support. I support him and the battlefield judgments he has made – on the September 2 mission and all others since.” A thirty days after the engagement, Bradley was promoted from commander of JSOC to chief of US Special Operations Command. Anxiety over the administration’s military strikes against suspected narcotics-trafficking vessels has been building in the legislature, but particulars of this follow-on strike shocked many legislators from both parties and sparked serious inquiries about the lawfulness of the operations and the broader policy in the region, particularly toward Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. The congressional members said they did not know whether the recent news story was true, and some GOP senators were sceptical. Nevertheless, they said the reported targeting of survivors of an initial missile strike posed serious concerns and merited additional investigation. White House and Pentagon Leaders Reiterate Position The administration commented after the commander-in-chief on Sunday strongly defended Hegseth. “Secretary Hegseth said he did not order the death of those individuals,” Trump said. He added, “And I believe him.” Leavitt said Hegseth had conversed with congressional representatives who may have voiced some worries about the reports over the weekend. Gen Dan Caine, the head of the joint chiefs of staff, also communicated over the weekend period with the two Republican and two Democratic lawmakers leading the Congressional military committees. He restated “his trust and confidence in the seasoned commanders at every level”, Caine’s spokesperson said in a release. The statement further noted that the conversation focused on “discussing the intent and lawfulness of missions to disrupt illicit trafficking networks which endanger the security and stability of the Americas”. Congressional Leaders React and Pledge Probe The Senate majority leader, John Thune, on the week's start broadly supported the operations, repeating the administration position that they were necessary to stem the influx of illegal narcotics into the US. Thune said the panels in Congress would investigate what occurred. “I don’t think you want to make any judgments or inferences until you have all the facts,” he remarked of the September 2nd strike. “We’ll see where they lead.” After the news article, Hegseth wrote on Friday that “misleading reporting is producing more false, provocative, and derogatory coverage to discredit our remarkable service members working to protect the homeland”. “Our current operations in the Caribbean are legal under both US and international law, with all actions in compliance with the rules of war – and approved by the best legal advisors, up and down the chain of command,” Hegseth wrote. The Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, called Hegseth a “national embarrassment” over his reaction to detractors. Schumer demanded that Hegseth release the footage of the attack and testify under oath about what transpired. The GOP lawmaker for Mississippi, Roger Wicker, the ranking member of the Senate military panel, pledged that his committee's inquiry would be “done by the numbers”. “We’ll find out the ground truth,” he said, noting that the ramifications of the report were “grave accusations”. The 2 September engagement was part of a sequence carried out by the American armed forces in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific as Trump has ordered the deployment of a fleet of naval vessels near the Venezuelan coast, including the largest US carrier. More than 80 people were killed in the strikes.
A senior American naval admiral is scheduled to provide a classified briefing to lawmakers monitoring the armed forces this week, as investigators examine a US attack on a boat in the Caribbean waters. The incident, which allegedly targeted a craft carrying drugs, reportedly included a second strike that killed any survivors. White House Defends Actions as Self-Defense The administration spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, on Monday stated that the follow-on engagement was carried out “in self-defence” and in compliance with laws pertaining to armed conflict. Bipartisan scrutiny has increased over a report that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth issued a spoken command in last month to attack the boat. Democratic lawmakers have said the claims, first reported last week, could amount to a violation of international law, and GOP members have also expressed their concerns about the lawfulness of the attack on September 2nd. The House and Senate military oversight panels have opened investigations into the recent US military strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean. “The Defense Secretary authorised the naval commander to execute these military actions,” said Leavitt. “The commander acted well within his authority and the law, overseeing the engagement to guarantee the boat was destroyed and the danger to the United States of America was removed.” In her remarks to the press, Leavitt did not challenge the account that there were individuals who survived after the initial attack. Her explanation came after ex-President Donald Trump a day earlier remarked he “would not have approved that – not a follow-up attack” when questioned about the event. Mounting Legislative Unease and Internal Backing Late on Monday, Hegseth wrote online: “Adm Mitch Bradley is an national hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support. I support him and the battlefield judgments he has made – on the September 2 mission and all others since.” A thirty days after the engagement, Bradley was promoted from commander of JSOC to chief of US Special Operations Command. Anxiety over the administration’s military strikes against suspected narcotics-trafficking vessels has been building in the legislature, but particulars of this follow-on strike shocked many legislators from both parties and sparked serious inquiries about the lawfulness of the operations and the broader policy in the region, particularly toward Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. The congressional members said they did not know whether the recent news story was true, and some GOP senators were sceptical. Nevertheless, they said the reported targeting of survivors of an initial missile strike posed serious concerns and merited additional investigation. White House and Pentagon Leaders Reiterate Position The administration commented after the commander-in-chief on Sunday strongly defended Hegseth. “Secretary Hegseth said he did not order the death of those individuals,” Trump said. He added, “And I believe him.” Leavitt said Hegseth had conversed with congressional representatives who may have voiced some worries about the reports over the weekend. Gen Dan Caine, the head of the joint chiefs of staff, also communicated over the weekend period with the two Republican and two Democratic lawmakers leading the Congressional military committees. He restated “his trust and confidence in the seasoned commanders at every level”, Caine’s spokesperson said in a release. The statement further noted that the conversation focused on “discussing the intent and lawfulness of missions to disrupt illicit trafficking networks which endanger the security and stability of the Americas”. Congressional Leaders React and Pledge Probe The Senate majority leader, John Thune, on the week's start broadly supported the operations, repeating the administration position that they were necessary to stem the influx of illegal narcotics into the US. Thune said the panels in Congress would investigate what occurred. “I don’t think you want to make any judgments or inferences until you have all the facts,” he remarked of the September 2nd strike. “We’ll see where they lead.” After the news article, Hegseth wrote on Friday that “misleading reporting is producing more false, provocative, and derogatory coverage to discredit our remarkable service members working to protect the homeland”. “Our current operations in the Caribbean are legal under both US and international law, with all actions in compliance with the rules of war – and approved by the best legal advisors, up and down the chain of command,” Hegseth wrote. The Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, called Hegseth a “national embarrassment” over his reaction to detractors. Schumer demanded that Hegseth release the footage of the attack and testify under oath about what transpired. The GOP lawmaker for Mississippi, Roger Wicker, the ranking member of the Senate military panel, pledged that his committee's inquiry would be “done by the numbers”. “We’ll find out the ground truth,” he said, noting that the ramifications of the report were “grave accusations”. The 2 September engagement was part of a sequence carried out by the American armed forces in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific as Trump has ordered the deployment of a fleet of naval vessels near the Venezuelan coast, including the largest US carrier. More than 80 people were killed in the strikes.