House Speaker Mike Johnson stood by the double-tap attack against an alleged drug vessel in early September, calling it “entirely appropriate.”
Speaking after watching footage of the incident, Johnson said the survivors of the first strike were “able-bodied” and the second one was fitting.
“The individuals on that vessel were not helpless castaways,” Johnson said. “They were drug runners on a capsized drug boat, and by all indications, attempting to recover it so they could continue pushing drugs to kill Americans,” he added.
“They were able-bodied, they were not injured, and they were attempting to recover the contents of the boat, which was full of narcotics.”
Johnson went on to claim that the men “seemed to be waving their arms at some point to indicate that that vessel that was off outside of the video that we have was headed that way, and so that they could continue their mission.”
However, other lawmakers, including Republicans, have criticized the move. Republican Sen. Rand Paul said last week that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth should testify “under oath” about the episode.
Speaking to press after seeing the footage of the strike, Paul said he also thinks “the video of the distressed, shipwrecked or incapacitated people on those boats being bombed, that video should be shown to every American.”
Democratic Rep. Jim Hines, the party’s top lawmaker on the House Intelligence Committee and who has also seen the footage, said he was stunned after.
He added that Admiral Mitch Bradley, who took part in the episode, has a storied career and he has my respect and he should have the respect of all of us.”
However, he went on to say that “what I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things that I’ve seen in my time in public service.”
“You have two individuals in clear distress, without any means of locomotion, with a destroyed vessel, who were killed by the United States,” he added. Recent reports detailed that Bradley ordered a second strike after consulting with government lawyers.
Hegseth, who has been under intense scrutiny since reports about the second strike surfaced, has said he didn’t stay after the first one, but defended the legality of the second one and said the decision was made by Bradley.
Originally published on Latin Times
