SECRETARY OF DEFENSE Pete Hegseth is under increasing fire for a double-tap strike, first reported by The Intercept in early September, in which the U.S. military killed two survivors of the Trump administration’s initial boat strike in the Caribbean on September 2.
The Washington Post recently reported that Hegseth personally ordered the follow-up attack, giving a spoken order “to kill everybody.” Multiple military legal experts, lawmakers, and now confidential sources within the government who spoke with The Intercept say Hegseth’s actions could result in the entire chain of command being investigated for a war crime or outright murder.
“Those directly involved in the strike could be charged with murder under the UCMJ or federal law,” said Todd Huntley, a former Staff Judge Advocate who served as a legal adviser on Joint Special Operations task forces conducting drone strikes in Afghanistan and elsewhere, using shorthand for the Uniform Code of Military Justice. “This is about as clear of a case being patently illegal that subordinates would probably not be able to successfully use a following-orders defense.”
Could Be Held Liable
*Should
If anyone is held accountable, it will be the person that ultimately pressed the buttons and/or their direct superior.
Ooh, I did not consider the possibility of a military court case on this. That could be a game-changer.
I doubt it. Kegsbreath will just fire everyone involved in the investigation
What absolute moron would obey that order?
I could see how maybe you could believe there was justification for the initial strike but there can be no justification for killing people who are now defenceless. Although why not just board the vessel and take everyone into custody, why instantly resort to deadly force, did they have information that the people on the boat were heavily armed or otherwise able to threaten a US naval vessel?
I won’t claim to have researched it myself, but I’ve seen about a dozen different people quote the section of military law that talks about illegal orders that are so blatant you don’t need to check or think, they’re illegal, and the example they use is “firing upon the shipwrecked”.
As in, the order to fire upon the shipwrecked should be immediately known to every Navy personnel as blatantly illegal as a precondition of their service.
If you’re performing the example for an illegal order, you’re executing illegal orders.
Edit: and I’m realizing now I responded to the wrong person.
In my mind the rules are clear on that: to use deadly force there must be an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm. Potential future harms can’t even begin to be accounted for, so the standard has to be judged with those immediate circumstances in mind.
Even in that situation there are means to deter a threat or determine a person’s intent prior to employing any sort of lethal force. There’s nothing justifiable about this.
These idiots will never face consequences until the citizens get angry enough to start guillotine trials
Yeah, if any significant pushback ever happens, it’s not going to be 14 years of court cases and bullshit appeals. It’s going to be citizens’ justice.
I’m not advocating it. I’m just saying that’s how it could play out.
Could be, should be, won’t be
Oh don’t worry, those down the chain will be prosecuted. Just not Hegseth.
Although that’s not totally inappropriate (although ideally he would be prosecuted too but for so many things not just this) because it’s also their responsibility to disobey illegal orders.
Theyd have to walk back their tantrum about veterans saying illegal orders are illegal
And they should be, MAGA is a terrorist organization
“Could”
More like “should but won’t”
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Wtf kind of schizo bot posting is this?
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Are you okay?
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WE DIDN’T LIGHT THE FIRE, IT WAS ALWAYS BURNING SINCE THE WORLD’S BEEN TURNING
Y’all mother fuckers ebeying in advance. These assholes will be held accountable. Call your representatives! Don’t assume their power is so great because it’s not!
Don’t “y’all” me, we ain’t kin and you don’t know me.
And what I do on Ebay is my own business, Bubba.
Except the Democrats have basically just announced they are going to do nothing because their efforts wouldn’t go anywhere. So better off not trying.
Our representatives are literally owned by Israel and Israel loves this administration so I doubt we’ll get anything except a congressional hearing where they get a pool noodle beating for an hour or two. Why isn’t Trump in prison? That was a slam dunk case
You are absolutely right. And even if they only end up charging some random lieutenant at the bottom of the chain, it will send a message to the rest of the troops that they will not be protected from the consequences of their actions.
Which means, as the law is being followed in the US right now, only the plebs at the bottom might be held responsible.
Just like the Jan 6 hearings, they will drag it out for political points, but have no intention to seek actual charges, institutional change, military reform or anything.
It will just be: “Look at all the evil shit they did! Don’t you wish something could be done! Oh well. Also Maduro bad m’kay, drugs bad m’kay, Hamas bad m’kay, we love troops m’kay. Hearing adjourned!”
Yeah I hear Obama is going to be arrested for drone striking Yemeni civilians too #TrustThePlan #StayTuned #AreYouEnjoyingTheShow
This is actually the example they use of an illegal order in the DOD manual.
Page 1117 18.3.2.1 https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23892053-dod-law-of-war-manual-june-2015-updated-july-2023/
Holy moly, all that’s left to do is to add a picture of Hegseth and of the exploded boat to illustrate this paragraph. SMH.
This should be top of the thread everywhere this story is mentioned, forever.
Incredible
Nooo, but trump and all his totally cool and not criminal bros said that the president cannot give an illegal order…
No no, he limits himself to “Clearly illegal” orders, normal illegal is beneath him.
Today I learned the word tragicomical
