Lawmakers Troubled by Video of 2nd Strike on Boat Survivors

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are demanding answers after viewing video footage of the controversial Sept. 2 US military strike in the Caribbean Sea. The footage, shown during a day of congressional meetings attended by Navy Adm. Frank M. Bradley, revealed that two alleged drug smugglers were attempting to flip their capsized boat before they were killed in a second strike by the US, lawmakers who viewed it told the Washington Post. The attack, the first in a series of US strikes on alleged "drug boats," resulted in the deaths of 11 people and has raised serious questions about the legality and ethics of the operation. (The 22nd such strike took place Thursday after a nearly three-week pause, the AP reports. Four people were killed, bringing the total death toll to at least 87.)

Democrats, who emerged from the meetings alarmed, have called the incident "highly questionable" and vowed to continue investigations. Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut described the footage as "one of the most troubling things I've seen in my time in public service," noting that the survivors of the first strike were clearly in distress and posed no immediate threat when they were killed in the second strike, which was ordered by Bradley (reportedly after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said to "kill them all," though Bradley denied that during the meetings). Lawmakers say Bradley told them the two survivors did not appear to have any communications devices that would have allowed them to call for backup, CNN reports.

Republicans, on the other hand, have largely defended the operation. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas argued that the strikes were "entirely lawful and needful," and said he would have made the same decision. Legal experts and some military personnel have questioned whether the survivors, left clinging to the wreckage, could be considered legitimate targets under US and international law, which requires protection for incapacitated individuals. The Pentagon has so far declined to release the video publicly, but pressure is mounting for greater transparency and accountability.

The New York Times argues that the focus on this particular strike masks the larger question of whether any of the boat strikes have been legal. For more reading, Politico delves into the partisan divide on the issue, and Axios looks at why it's unlikely Hegseth will be impeached over it.