Lawmakers shocked by video showing strike on survivors of alleged drug boat

Lawmakers in Washington were shown video footage of a controversial second strike on an alleged drug boat that took place in September, leaving some members appalled and others defending the action. The footage was presented during a closed-door session with military officials who participated in the strikes, attended by members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Armed Services Committees in both the House and Senate.

The video depicted a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean being hit, followed by a second strike as two individuals appeared to cling to debris from the wreckage. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, described the footage as alarming and called for a thorough investigation. He was informed that the survivors were considered "capable of returning to the fight," but he expressed skepticism, noting that the people appeared shipwrecked rather than combat-ready.

They look like classic shipwreck survivors, Smith said, questioning the justification for targeting individuals on a clearly incapacitated vessel. Other lawmakers, including Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., expressed shock at the images. Himes described the scene as one of the most troubling in his public service career, while Reed called it deeply disturbing and emphasized the need for the Department of Defense to release the full, unedited footage of the September 2 strike, with presidential approval.

Republican lawmakers defended the strikes. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., referred to the second strike as righteous and fully lawful and lethal, while Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., described the operation as conducted in a highly professional manner.

The controversy surrounding the strikes has persisted, with some critics labeling it a potential war crime. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth framed the strikes as a result of the fog of war, and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the actions self-defense. However, Volker Trk, the United Nations human rights chief, rejected any justification for the strikes, stating that such attacks and their human toll are unacceptable.

Author: Harper Simmons