Representative Eli Crane (R-AZ) suggested that "partisan hacks" owe Secretary of War Pete Hegseth "an apology" on X after new evidence emerged in the ongoing drone strike controversy.
In early September, Secretary Hegseth and Admiral Frank "Mitch" Bradley ordered a drone strike on a boat supposedly used by drug cartels to smuggle narcotics. The controversy deepened when a second strike to "kill everybody" was ordered to finish off two survivors of the first strike, raising alarms that this could constitute a war crime.
As a result, Secretary Hegseth and Admiral Bradley are set to appear before Congress, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) declaring on social media that Hegseth should "tell the truth. Release the full, unedited tapes of the September 2 boat strikes. Only then will Americans know the truth, because no one believes Hegseth."
However, a clip from a recent broadcast of ABC's World News Tonight shows anchor Martha Raddatz reporting from an undisclosed source "familiar with the incident" that the second strike was ordered after intelligence suggested that the two survivors of the first were attempting to salvage the drug cargo and communicate with other cartel members, meaning they remained valid targets.
"According to a source familiar with the incident, the two survivors climbed back on to the boat after the initial strike," Raddatz says. "They were believed to be potentially in communication with others, and salvaging some of the drugs. Because of that, it was determined they were still in the fight and valid targets."
Moreover, a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer gave legal advice during the strike.
As a result, Rep. Crane tweeted in response, "It appears as though a whole bunch of partisan hacks owe Secretary Hegseth a public apology."
In June, the Arizona Congressman discussed the cartels' increasing reliance on smuggling drugs over water, highlighting a September 2024 seizure of a makeshift submarine built to evade Coast Guard detection.
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