BySara Dorn,
Forbes Staff.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said “it was the right call” to conduct additional strikes that killed two survivors on a suspected drug smuggling boat in the Caribbean, defending the military commander who issued the order amid bipartisan criticism that it could constitute a war crime.
“It was the right call, we have his back,” Hegseth said Tuesday during a cabinet meeting, referring to Adm. Frank Bradley, who issued the order.
While Hegseth defended the decision, he also distanced himself from it, telling reporters he “watched that first strike” but did not “stick around for the hour or two hours after” and “moved on” to his next meeting.
