Overview
- Classified video shown to lawmakers reportedly depicts two survivors visible for more than 30 minutes after an initial September 2 strike before a follow-up attack killed them.
- Admiral Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley told Congress he ordered the second strike because he believed cocaine packages remained in the overturned hull.
- Democrats Adam Smith and Jim Himes say the survivors appeared unable to continue hostilities, while Republican Sen. Tom Cotton says the vessel and its occupants remained valid targets and calls the footage unremarkable.
- Pentagon doctrine bars firing on shipwrecked persons, and legal experts say killing defenseless survivors could violate the law of war, prompting ongoing oversight and investigations.
- President Donald Trump says he has no problem releasing the footage, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the Pentagon is reviewing it for potential declassification and protection of sources and methods.