Trump says he believes Hegseth did not give illegal order

When you attack during wartime, when your enemies are unable to fight, they are no longer supposed to be subject to a military strike.

Reports are now breaking that before the first strike on September 2, Hegseth told his commanders that nobody could be left alive in these strikes. However, during that first strike, two survivors were holding onto the boat after the first strike, but the boat was hit again, killing all eleven men.

The second strike

This is a very big deal because this would be considered a war crime if it could be proven.

Reports broke over the weekend that the commanding officer of the strike team had a conversation with his colleagues, claiming that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told him that nobody could be left alive in the strikes.

So, when there were two survivors after the first hit, another hit was ordered to take out the remaining people on the boat.

Sarah Harrison, a former associate general counsel at the Pentagon who now serves as a senior analyst at the Crisis Group think tank, explained, “They’re killing civilians in the first place, and then if you assume they’re combatants, it’s also unlawful -- under the law of armed conflict, if somebody is ‘hors de combat’ and no longer able to fight, then they have to be treated humanely.”

Investigation Looming

There are people on both sides of the aisle who want an answer over this, as Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) have not taken the lead.

The two senators announced, “The Committee has directed inquiries to the Department, and we will be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances.”

What has my ears up here is the fact that the original SOUTHCOM commander left right after the first strike. I even proposed at the time that he likely did not agree with the strikes, which led to him retiring years before he was expected to do so.

When Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) was asked if he thought this would be a war crime, he responded, “It seems to. If that is true, if what has been reported is accurate, I’ve got serious concerns about anybody in that chain of command stepping over a line that they should never step over. We are not Russia. We’re not Iraq. We hold ourselves to a very high standard of professionalism.”

Still has Trump’s Support

For now, Trump is buying whatever line Hegseth has fed him on this. When Trump was asked about Hegseth possibly giving the order to strike again, he responded, "He said he did not say that, and I believe him 100%.”

Trump also appeared to distance himself just a bit on this. When he was asked if he would have given that order, he responded, "No, I wouldn’t have wanted that. Not a second strike.”

Hegseth also responded, stating, "As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland."

Someone is lying because there was clearly a second strike conducted during this particular attack. And if they shot at people after they were out of the fight, charges are likely to be brought. I can tell you this… if Hegseth did give the order and is now selling out his commanding officer, and it comes out, this administration will have completely lost the support of our military. I believe we will have a head to blame on this very soon because there is no way Congress or the media is going to let this one go.