🔗 Share this article US Admiral to Update Lawmakers as Bipartisan Scrutiny Grows Over Maritime Engagement A senior American naval admiral is set to provide a classified update to congressional members overseeing the military this week, as they examine a US strike on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea. This event, which reportedly targeted a boat transporting drugs, allegedly included a follow-up strike that eliminated any remaining individuals. Administration Defends Actions as Self-Defense The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, on the start of the week asserted that the second strike was carried out “as a defensive action” and in accordance with laws governing military engagement. Cross-party scrutiny has increased over a account that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a spoken command in last month to strike the boat. Democrats have argued the claims, initially disclosed last week, could constitute a violation of international law, and Republicans have also voiced their apprehensions about the legality of the strike on 2 September. The Congressional military oversight panels have initiated inquiries into the recent US military strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific waters. “Secretary Hegseth directed the naval commander to execute these kinetic strikes,” stated Leavitt. “Adm Bradley acted well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to guarantee the boat was neutralized and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated.” In her remarks to the press, Leavitt did not challenge the report that there were individuals who survived after the initial attack. Her justification came after former President Donald Trump a day earlier remarked he “would not have approved that – not a follow-up attack” when asked about the incident. Growing Congressional Unease and Administration Support Late on Monday, Hegseth wrote online: “The Admiral is an national hero, a consummate professional, and has my 100% support. I stand by him and the battlefield judgments he has made – on the September 2 mission and all others since.” A month 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 alleged narcotics-trafficking boats has been building in Congress, but particulars of this subsequent attack shocked many legislators from across the aisle and generated serious inquiries about the lawfulness of the operations and the broader policy in the region, particularly toward Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. The lawmakers said they did not know whether last week’s report was true, and some Republicans were sceptical. Still, they said the reported attacking of survivors of an initial missile strike posed grave issues and deserved further scrutiny. White House and Military Leaders Reiterate Position The White House weighed in after the commander-in-chief on the weekend strongly defended Hegseth. “Secretary Hegseth said he did not order the death of those individuals,” Trump stated. He continued, “And I trust him.” Leavitt said Hegseth had spoken with members of Congress who may have voiced some worries about the reports over the past few days. General Dan Caine, the head of the military's top officers, also communicated over the weekend with the bipartisan leaders leading the Congressional military committees. He reiterated “his trust and confidence in the experienced officers at every level”, Caine’s office stated in a release. The statement further noted that the conversation focused on “addressing the intent and legality of operations to interrupt illegal smuggling rings which threaten the security and security of the western hemisphere”. Congressional Leaders React and Promise Investigation The top Senate Republican, John Thune, on Monday generally supported the missions, echoing the administration position that they were necessary to stop the influx of illegal narcotics into the US. Thune said the committees in Congress would investigate what happened. “I don’t think you want to draw any conclusions or deductions until you have all the facts,” he remarked of the September 2nd strike. “We’ll see where they point.” After the report, Hegseth wrote on the end of the week that “misleading reporting is producing more false, provocative, and disparaging coverage to undermine our remarkable warriors working to protect the nation”. “Our ongoing missions in the Caribbean are lawful under both American and international law, with every step in compliance with the rules of war – and approved by the most qualified legal advisors, throughout the chain of command,” Hegseth stated. The top Senate Democrat, Chuck Schumer, called Hegseth a “disgrace” over his response to critics. Schumer demanded that Hegseth make public the footage of the attack and appear under penalty of perjury about what happened. The Republican senator for Mississippi, Roger Wicker, the ranking member of the Senate military panel, pledged that his panel’s inquiry would be “done by the numbers”. “We’ll find out the facts,” he said, stating that the ramifications of the allegation were “serious charges”. The 2 September strike was part of a sequence executed by the American armed forces in the Caribbean and Pacific as Trump has directed the deployment of a naval group of naval vessels near Venezuela, including the largest US carrier. Over eighty individuals were fatally wounded in the strikes.
A senior American naval admiral is set to provide a classified update to congressional members overseeing the military this week, as they examine a US strike on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea. This event, which reportedly targeted a boat transporting drugs, allegedly included a follow-up strike that eliminated any remaining individuals. Administration Defends Actions as Self-Defense The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, on the start of the week asserted that the second strike was carried out “as a defensive action” and in accordance with laws governing military engagement. Cross-party scrutiny has increased over a account that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a spoken command in last month to strike the boat. Democrats have argued the claims, initially disclosed last week, could constitute a violation of international law, and Republicans have also voiced their apprehensions about the legality of the strike on 2 September. The Congressional military oversight panels have initiated inquiries into the recent US military strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific waters. “Secretary Hegseth directed the naval commander to execute these kinetic strikes,” stated Leavitt. “Adm Bradley acted well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to guarantee the boat was neutralized and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated.” In her remarks to the press, Leavitt did not challenge the report that there were individuals who survived after the initial attack. Her justification came after former President Donald Trump a day earlier remarked he “would not have approved that – not a follow-up attack” when asked about the incident. Growing Congressional Unease and Administration Support Late on Monday, Hegseth wrote online: “The Admiral is an national hero, a consummate professional, and has my 100% support. I stand by him and the battlefield judgments he has made – on the September 2 mission and all others since.” A month 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 alleged narcotics-trafficking boats has been building in Congress, but particulars of this subsequent attack shocked many legislators from across the aisle and generated serious inquiries about the lawfulness of the operations and the broader policy in the region, particularly toward Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. The lawmakers said they did not know whether last week’s report was true, and some Republicans were sceptical. Still, they said the reported attacking of survivors of an initial missile strike posed grave issues and deserved further scrutiny. White House and Military Leaders Reiterate Position The White House weighed in after the commander-in-chief on the weekend strongly defended Hegseth. “Secretary Hegseth said he did not order the death of those individuals,” Trump stated. He continued, “And I trust him.” Leavitt said Hegseth had spoken with members of Congress who may have voiced some worries about the reports over the past few days. General Dan Caine, the head of the military's top officers, also communicated over the weekend with the bipartisan leaders leading the Congressional military committees. He reiterated “his trust and confidence in the experienced officers at every level”, Caine’s office stated in a release. The statement further noted that the conversation focused on “addressing the intent and legality of operations to interrupt illegal smuggling rings which threaten the security and security of the western hemisphere”. Congressional Leaders React and Promise Investigation The top Senate Republican, John Thune, on Monday generally supported the missions, echoing the administration position that they were necessary to stop the influx of illegal narcotics into the US. Thune said the committees in Congress would investigate what happened. “I don’t think you want to draw any conclusions or deductions until you have all the facts,” he remarked of the September 2nd strike. “We’ll see where they point.” After the report, Hegseth wrote on the end of the week that “misleading reporting is producing more false, provocative, and disparaging coverage to undermine our remarkable warriors working to protect the nation”. “Our ongoing missions in the Caribbean are lawful under both American and international law, with every step in compliance with the rules of war – and approved by the most qualified legal advisors, throughout the chain of command,” Hegseth stated. The top Senate Democrat, Chuck Schumer, called Hegseth a “disgrace” over his response to critics. Schumer demanded that Hegseth make public the footage of the attack and appear under penalty of perjury about what happened. The Republican senator for Mississippi, Roger Wicker, the ranking member of the Senate military panel, pledged that his panel’s inquiry would be “done by the numbers”. “We’ll find out the facts,” he said, stating that the ramifications of the allegation were “serious charges”. The 2 September strike was part of a sequence executed by the American armed forces in the Caribbean and Pacific as Trump has directed the deployment of a naval group of naval vessels near Venezuela, including the largest US carrier. Over eighty individuals were fatally wounded in the strikes.