Pentagon Chief Backs Second Caribbean Strike as Senators Press for Video and Legal Rationale

Overview

• Pete Hegseth said at the Reagan National Defense Forum he fully supported the second strike on Sept. 2 and would have made the same decision.
• Senators who watched the classified video said two shirtless men clung to wreckage for about an hour without weapons or communications before being killed.
• The Pentagon has not released the full footage, with Hegseth saying a disclosure review is underway to protect sources and methods.
• Adm. Frank Bradley told lawmakers the targeted boat planned to meet a second vessel for a drug transfer believed tied to Suriname, but the second craft was not found.
• Congress is pursuing oversight after 22 maritime strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific that have left at least 87 dead, and a Republican senator called the second attack a legal and ethical violation.