WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday denied witnessing a reported follow-up strike that allegedly killed survivors in the Caribbean, saying he was affected by "the fog of war."
Hegseth has been in hot water since The Washington Post reported Friday that he issued a verbal order to "kill everybody" aboard alleged drug boats before the Sept. 2 strike, the first known U.S. boat strike in the Latin American international waters. Two survivors hanging onto the burning vessel hit by an initial strike were reportedly killed in the second attack.
Asked at the White House if he had seen survivors of the alleged second strike, Hegseth said he had seen the initial strike live, but neither saw the follow-up attack nor survivors.
"I did not personally see survivors ... because that thing was on fire," he said. "It was exploded and fire and smoke, you can't see anything ... This is called the fog of war."
When asked about his knowledge of the second strike, U.S. President Donald Trump said, "I didn't know about the second strike. I didn't know anything about people I wasn't involved in. I knew they took out a boat. But I would say this, they had a strike. I hear the gentleman that was in charge of that is extraordinary."
On Tuesday, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson also rejected The Washington Post's report, calling the allegation "totally fabricated."
"He never said them," Wilson said at an on-camera press briefing, quoting White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's remarks on Monday. "The decision to restrike the narco-terrorist vessel was made by Admiral Bradley operating under the clear and long-standing authorities to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States was eliminated."
Over the weekend, the Republican-led armed services committees in both the House and Senate announced bipartisan inquiries into the second U.S. strike, which was reportedly aimed at killing the survivors of the first boat strike.
Since early September, the Pentagon has carried out more than 20 known strikes on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean, killing over 80 people aboard. ■
