WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth clarified that he did not give the order for a second strike on a suspect Venezuelan drug vessel, but he still backed the operation and said he would have made the same call if tasked. The comments came after a briefing held last week at the National Defense Forum, where lawmakers were shown classified details of the September 2 attack. Senators and Representatives from both parties reacted sharply: Democrats expressed horror at the information presented, while many Republicans stood by Hegseth. President Trump has urged that the footage from the strike be released, but Hegseth remained inconclusive when questioned at the forum. After the attack, Hegseth told Fox News’s Lucas Tomlinson that investigators were still reviewing the operation’s sources, methods, tactics, techniques and procedures, and that combat teams were active in the area. The September 2 incident marked the first of 22 documented strikes the Trump administration carried out against alleged drug trafficking vessels. According to Pentagon officials, Navy SEAL Commander Braldey was the one who authorized the second strike, a detail that some Democrats allege could amount to a war crime.
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