Pete Hegseth Is Ordering Executions at Sea

A lot happened this week. “Somalians, I don’t want them in our country.” “President Trump says National Guard troops will soon head to New Orleans.” “Netflix has inked a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.” Here’s one thing you shouldn’t miss. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has had a very bad week. That’s because last year, he had a cushy job as a talk-show host. “I got him, I got him.” And this year, he’s being accused of a war crime. This all started in September, when Secretary Hegseth ordered the military to strike a boat to strike a boat that he said was carrying drugs to the United States. Ever since, he’s been ordering more and more and more strikes, proudly announcing at least 20 strikes that have killed more than 80 people at sea. We could stop there and have plenty to talk about, but the picture has gotten a lot worse. Last week, The Washington Post reported that in the first attack, back in September, two survivors were seen clinging to the side of the boat. But at the beginning of the attack, Secretary Hegseth had reportedly given an order to “kill everybody,” which led the commander of the operation, Admiral Frank Mitchell Bradley, to order a second strike that killed those survivors. If that is true, it is almost certainly a war crime. “We’ve been hearing now from lawmakers. They are very skeptical of that second strike.” Under military law, you cannot kill people who no longer pose a threat to you. But the bigger problem is that all of these strikes are probably illegal in the first place. Just as the police can’t shoot a suspected drug dealer without due process, the military cannot decide from afar that someone is a criminal worthy of death. But that seems to be exactly what President Trump and Secretary Hegseth are doing. To give themselves cover, President Trump has declared that the U.S. is in a formal —— “Armed conflict ——” With drug cartels, which doesn’t actually make sense, because only Congress can declare war, and they have to vote on it. On Thursday, Congress finally provided some oversight. “On Capitol Hill to brief lawmakers today ——” “These incidents are happening a long way from the United States. I’m questioning why the administration is engaging in this campaign.” Everyone should be held accountable for their role, but we should remember that as Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth is responsible for the American military. But whether he’s posting bizarre memes about his boat strikes, or sending detailed military plans to a group chat that accidentally included a journalist, It doesn’t seem to be getting through to him: Our leaders have to abide by the law, and if they don’t, Our leaders have to abide by the law, and if they don’t, they should be removed.