Press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed the apparent war crime was legal even as she said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth knew nothing about it.
The White House on Monday shifted the blame for killing the survivors of a U.S. military strike on an alleged drug smuggling boat from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and onto the commanding admiral.
Killing survivors of a destroyed vessel is literally an example of a war crime in the U.S. Department of Defense Law of War Manual. “For example, orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal,” the manual reads.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt, nevertheless, repeatedly stated that it was legal – even as she further claimed, as Donald Trump did Sunday, that Hegseth was unaware that it had happened.
Oh look, exactly what Mark Kelly was talking about. Shit rolls down hill guys. Remember that when someone orders you to murder people.
The top brass who aren’t full on MAGA, but didn’t leave now have clear proof that they are expendable and will be scapegoated to protect Trump and his croneys. Honestly showing their hand at this stage gives me a lot of hope that any coup won’t happen now and resistance will be strengthened from within. I smell leaks coming!
Killing survivors of a destroyed vessel is literally an example of a war crime in the U.S. Department of Defense Law of War Manual. “For example, orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal,” the manual reads.
RTFM
I didn’t see anything about reading the fan mail…
That’s like what my understanding of fubar was, face unrecognizable, belay any response.
Thanks Dad.
Combined with a pretty bad case of face blindness led me to telling a fellow classmate a professor was “fubar” in public…
As they should. But the fact that he chose to follow an obviously illegal order, doesn’t absolve the ones who gave that order. This should in no way, take the heat off Hegseth…or Trump himself.
Hey military— see what happens when you obey illegal orders?
⤵️🚌
I mean, probably nothing. Its not like anyone is going to investigate or prosecute. Trump’s just throwing up chaff so he can whine about the press treating him unfairly. “We didn’t do it, but if we did it would have been based and cool, and don’t think we won’t do the thing we didn’t do again if we feel like it” is exactly what I’d have expected to hear from a PR flack in the Bush or Reagan Era.
Hell, I’m pretty sure this is the line Bush Sr used when the US shot down that Iranian passenger airliner. Nobody suffered any kind of consequence for that, either. Hell, the air warfare coordinator on duty received the Navy Commendation Medal after killing a few hundred civilians.
I bet Trump’s Navy Command is going to look like late-stage Brezhnev by the time he’s finished passing out pins and ribbons for civilian casualties.
Yeah, except the investigative body in this case is not the US government.
So no consequences for them again? Got it.
So we went from denial, to it happened but it wasn’t us…
I think we’re currently in the phase where it’s rapidly undulating between both takes.
Give it another week and it’ll devolve into “what firing on shipwrecked people? What are you talking about? Lalalala, I can’t hear you!”
When do we enter the phase that no boat was even destroyed that day?
If he ordered it, or complied with the order from above, lock him up. If not, this accusation is yet another confession.
Time to make this witness cooperative.
As was said elsewhere, the transmitted command will have been recorded. The hard undeniable truth can be provided. Congress just needs to subpoena it, or a soldier with a conscience needs to whistleblow and leak it. Otherwise, we trust the liars’ word and they get away with yet more of what are unquestionably, objectively, war crimes.
Confirming the military should not follow through with illegal orders.
Ok… So common sense would read that as: ’ it wasn’t legal, it’s a prime example of a war crime, and Pete may not have explicitly approved of that action, but probably gave a vague order like ‘no survivors’ , which the admiral took literally, and so it’s entirely the admirals fault for not disobeying an unlawful order. ’
All I want for Christmas is a military coup, cold hard justice for the traitors enabling Trump, and emergency elections, monitored by the military, and un observers
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When. When the dictator falls.
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Ordering that operations be conducted on the basis that there be “no survivors” is also specifically cited as an example of a war crime by the same manual: “Moreover, it is also prohibited to conduct hostilities on the basis that there shall be no survivors, or to threaten the adversary with the denial of quarter.”
We also don’t fight with stupid rules of engagement. We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill the enemies of our country. No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement, just common sense, maximum lethality and authority for warfighters.
Pete Hegseth [Source]
He’s an idiot
Indeed, and a murderer
As a sailor, I find the whole shoddy affair most disgusting.
Yes in war (and this was by no means a war) we may seek to kill one another as enemies, but every sailor knows, it is the sea who is the ultimate enemy.
A human adrift at sea is a pitiful thing. To save them is to save ourselves.
Hmm, I wonder why Admiral Holsey decided to retire when he did. 🤔
Can it be a war crime if you’re not actually at war? Seems like it’s just murder.
I guess we can add “war criminal” or straight up “murderer” to Trump’s list of accomplishments. It’s his administration.
If only he was closer to his predecessors in other ways too.
Dear America,
You are disposable to them.
