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US Navy admiral who oversaw a double-tap attack on an alleged drug-smuggling boat that killed the survivors MPs were reportedly told on Thursday It appears that both stranded sailors did not have communication equipment that would have allowed them to contact others for help.
long after, officers are defending The Trump administration attacked the boat in the Caribbean on September 2, arguing that the people on board the boat posed a threat to the United States because they Other alleged “narco-terrorists” could have been called in for backup or attempted to redistribute illegal drugs.
But Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley reportedly told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing that the two survivors would not be able to call for help, three people familiar with the briefing said. Told CNN.
Bradley showed footage of the attack to lawmakers during a classified briefing, in which two alleged survivors can be seen clinging to a partially overturned boat.
Democratic Representative Jim Himes, a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, confirmed it on Thursday, telling reporters that the footage is “one of the most disturbing things I have seen in my time in public service.”
“You clearly have two individuals in distress, with no means of movement, with a destroyed ship, who have been executed by the United States,” Himes said.
However, Republican Senator Tom Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, gave a contradictory analysis, claiming that the admiral was right to conduct a second set of attacks because of the threat.
“I saw two survivors trying to turn around a boat loaded with drugs headed for the United States so they could stay in the fight,” Cotton told reporters Thursday. “And potentially, given the context we’ve heard, other narco-terrorist boats in the area are coming to their aid to recover their cargo and recover those narco-terrorists.”
Authorities are attacking boats accused of smuggling illegal drugs in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. At least 80 people have been killed as a result, with the administration accusing them all of being “narco terrorists”, but without providing public evidence.
According to people familiar with the closed-door briefing, Bradley and the rest of the military command center overseeing the attacks considered whether to conduct a second set of attacks on the alleged drug boat and its survivors.
After consultation with the Judge Advocate General officer, judicial officers of the Army, the command decided that it would be legal to organize a second set of strikes.
Initial reporting of the double-tap attacks claimed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously given instructions to “kill everyone”. However, the White House and Bradley denied this.
Multiple members of Congress said Bradley told lawmakers Thursday that Hegseth did not order everyone to be killed.
It is still not clear whether the attacks took place or not Violate the rules of war. The administration and many Republican lawmakers argue that the strikes were legal.
However, according to the Pentagon, killing shipwrecked people “in need of aid and care” is considered a war crime.
Independent Comment has been sought from the Pentagon.