War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday went off on the Washington Post while discussing US kinetic strikes against Venezuelan drug boats in the Caribbean Sea.
Hegseth delivered the keynote address at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, on Saturday.
During a panel discussion with Fox News Correspondent Lucas Tomlinson, Hegseth obliterated the Washington Post when asked if he ever ordered US troops to kill everybody on board the ships.
“Is anybody here from The Washington Post? I don’t know where you get your sources, but they suck. Of course not,” Hegseth said.
WATCH:
Tomlinson: Did you at any time say that everybody on board should be killed?
Hegseth: Is anybody here from The Washington Post? I don’t know where you get your sources, but they suck. Of course not. Anybody that’s been in the situation room or there’s or has been in the war room there, the Secretary’s office knows you don’t walk in and say, “Kill them all!” It’s just patently ridiculous. It’s meant to create a cartoon of me and the decisions that we make and how we make them. Just ridiculous. The chairman and Admiral Bradley and everybody shot it down immediately because anybody that knows, knows that’s not how things go. There’s a very defined process, specific criteria, go, no, go, yes, no, lawyers, Intel, analysts, everything. And then after that, you simply say, “cleared hot” or not.
Hegseth further spoke about the planning and operation of the strikes and the criteria for verifying intel on the targets.
He suggested that after further review, they may release the full video of the first strike on September 2, where US forces hit the same boat twice, sparking outrage and claims of illegality from terrorist-sympathizing leftists.
Watch the full discussion below:
Hegseth has come under fire from the Democrats and the fake news media, declaring his strikes on terrorist drug boats “illegal.”
A November 29 report from the Washington Post claimed that Hegseth ordered troops to “kill everybody” on board the boats and ordered a double strike to kill survivors clinging to the wreckage of a ship in the Caribbean Sea. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) described the operations as “blatantly illegal,” adding, “Mark my words: It may take some time, but Americans will be prosecuted for this, either as a war crime or outright murder.”
“As two men clung to a stricken, burning ship targeted by SEAL Team 6, the Joint Special Operations commander followed the defense secretary’s order to leave no survivors,” the report claims. According to an anonymous source, Hegseth gave a verbal order “to kill everybody” in the September 2 strike against narcoterrorists trafficking narcotics into the United States, which killed 11 designated terrorists.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, President Trump posted footage from the strike on September 2, stating, “Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!”
WATCH:
This also comes as Democratic lawmakers are demanding that US service members defy President Trump and Secretary Hegseth’s orders, which they claim are illegal. This has sparked outrage from many on both sides of the political spectrum, as well as veterans and experts on the topic.
Hegseth responded to the firestorm of “fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting” on Friday, maintaining that the actions are lawful and align with the stated intention of the strikes to be “lethal, kinetic strikes.”
“Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict—and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command,” Hegseth said.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, despite these attacks, the US is continuing strikes on drug boats in the Caribbean, executing the 22nd strike on Tuesday and killing, in total, nearly 100 designated foreign terrorist narcotic traffickers.
MORE:
WATCH: US VAPORIZES 22nd Venezuelan Drug Boat Amid Democrat Claims of Unlawful Orders
The post WATCH: Pete Hegseth NUKES Washington Post – “I Don’t Know Where You Get Your Sources, But They SUCK!” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.