Hegseth Faces Boat Strike Questions and Signalgate Scrutiny
Welcome back to Foreign policyPosition Report, where co-authors compare their “Spotify Wrapped” discoveries. John’s musical tastes seem to align with those of a 72-year-old (although, if you remember, he did go to a Chappelle Rouen concert during the UN General Assembly), while Richie’s 30-year-old “listening age” is lower than his actual age thanks to his love of 2000s electronic dance music.
Well, here’s what’s on offer for today: US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth He faces increasing backlash from congress Russian President Vladimir Putin Visits New Delhi, and New York Times Sue Pentagon.
Pete Hegseth may be eating a lot of his favorite comfort foods — bread and butter — this week.
The US defense secretary became the main target of anger from lawmakers on both sides this week over multiple controversies, including the return of his role in the year’s most famous case.
In a report released Thursday, the Pentagon’s inspector general concluded that Hegseth’s sharing of information about U.S. military strikes on Houthi militants via Signal, a messaging app, violated the department’s protocols on the use of personal devices and unclassified apps and that the information he shared could have put U.S. forces at risk.
Hegseth has repeatedly insisted that the information he shared in what is now known as the Signalgate group chat – which included the exact times of strikes and the weapons used – was not classified and did not put any forces at risk. The Inspector General’s report acknowledged that the Secretary of Defense has the authority to declassify information.
However, he also stated that “if this information [Hegseth shared] Had it fallen into the hands of US adversaries, Houthi forces may have been able to confront US forces or reposition personnel and assets to avoid planned US strikes. Although these events ultimately did not occur, the Secretary’s actions created an operational security risk that could have resulted in the failure of U.S. mission objectives and potential harm to U.S. pilots.
Hegseth denied the report even before it was officially published, posting on X on Wednesday evening that it showed “complete vindication” of his actions. He added: “The case is closed.”
Double-click the discussion. Hegseth is also in hot water over two US raids on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean on September 2, which marked the start of a controversial US military operation near Latin America against so-called “narco-terrorists” that left more than 80 people dead.
This new scandal, which has sparked bipartisan criticism and investigations in Congress, came to light after A The Washington Post The report claimed that the Special Operations Commander supervising the operation, Admiral Frank M. Bradley, ordered a subsequent raid at the direction of Hegseth after survivors were spotted in the water after an initial strike destroyed their boat.
Under the laws of war, combatants who are “hors de combat”—those who have been taken out of combat and can no longer defend themselves—are supposed to be protected. Therefore, attacking shipwrecked combatants could constitute a war crime. According to the report, Hegseth’s order was to “kill them all.”
The White House acknowledged that a second strike had occurred, but stressed that it was legal and had not been ordered directly by Hegseth, instead stating that the head of the Pentagon “authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes.”
Hegseth — who initially said he witnessed the September 2 operation “live” — has since said that he was not in the room for the second strike, which reportedly occurred approximately two hours after the first, and that he did not see any survivors of the initial strike due to the “fog of war.”
Bradley, who was on Capitol Hill on Thursday briefing top lawmakers on the strikes, reportedly deemed the second strike legitimate because the survivors were able to continue communicating with other drug traffickers and thus still posed a threat. But Democratic Rep. Jim Himes, the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee who was among those briefed by Bradley, said Thursday he was “deeply” disturbed by video of the strike. He added: “The truth is that we killed two people who were in dire distress and had neither the means nor the clear intention to continue their mission.”
Meanwhile, the Republican chairs of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, Rep. Rick Crawford and Sen. Tom Cotton, who were also briefed, indicated they considered the strikes justified and legal. This suggests that the GOP will not rush to join any Democratic calls to impeach or remove Hegseth.
The bigger legal question. Legal experts noted that US boat attacks were already widely viewed as illegal before this scandal, as the alleged drug traffickers are not combatants in an armed conflict.
“It’s just extrajudicial killing, which is murder under international law, and under our domestic law. There’s no authority to do that,” Daniel Maurer, a retired US Army lawyer who is now an associate professor at Ohio Northern University, told CNN.
The strikes are also seen as part of a broader effort to lay the groundwork for regime change in Venezuela. In recent days, US President Donald Trump has indicated that the operation may soon expand to include ground strikes in Venezuela, but it remains to be seen whether this new controversy may prompt him to reconsider or delay any such actions.
New details have emerged about the sudden retirement in October of Adm. Alvin Hulsey, who was head of the U.S. military’s Southern Command charged with overseeing U-boat strikes in the Caribbean. According to a new report from Wall Street JournalHegseth asked Hulsey to step down after multiple disagreements with the military official, including Hulsey’s concerns about the legality and control of the strikes.
The semi-autonomous United States Institute of Peace — which had to lay off most of its staff in March due to cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency — will be renamed the Donald J. Trump Institute for Peace, the State Department announced Wednesday. The president’s name has already been added to the facade of the building.
What should be on your radar, if it isn’t already.
Delhi welcomes Putin. Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Thursday, where he was welcomed on the red carpet by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who described the friendship between the two countries as “time-tested” and “greatly benefited our two peoples.” Modi’s welcome to Putin comes at a time when India’s relations with the United States are experiencing tremendous tension, partly due to India’s purchases of Russian oil, due to which Trump has imposed some of the world’s highest tariffs on New Delhi.
Although India has since reduced its imports of Russian oil, the two countries could deepen their already important defense ties, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirming that potential Indian purchases of new Russian fighter jets and ballistic missiles will be on the agenda this week.
He filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon. the New York Times The US Department of Defense filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon on Thursday, accusing the department of violating journalists’ constitutional rights through press restrictions it imposed earlier this year. The newspaper said that these restrictions seek to “restrict journalists’ ability to do what journalists always do: ask questions of government employees and gather information to publish stories that take the public beyond official statements.” Most Pentagon press staff surrendered their badges and walked out two months ago rather than sign the new policy, which threatens to revoke the credentials of journalists who seek and report information not approved for public release by the department.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon held a news conference on Tuesday with those who agreed to the restrictions — a group that included far-right influencer Laura Loomer and former Republican lawmaker Matt Gaetz, who withdrew his bid to become Trump’s attorney general last year over allegations of sexual misconduct, which Trump has denied. Gaetz, who now hosts a show on the right-wing One America News Network, wore his old congressional jacket to the news conference, which had his former title of “representative” stitched on the front above his name.
Children play in the Nuseirat camp for displaced Palestinians in the central Gaza Strip on December 2.Iyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images
On Thursday, SitRep spoke with Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees. Duckworth is calling for more answers from the administration regarding the Sept. 2 attacks and access to video of the incident. Admiral Bradley briefed the chairs and members of each chamber’s Armed Services and Intelligence committees, but Duckworth said the information should be available to all members of Congress.
Based on what she has learned so far, Duckworth said she believes the September 2 strike was “unlawful.” She said survivors of the initial strike were “in the water clinging to the wreckage,” rejecting the administration’s justification that they were continuing the mission.
Duckworth said this “contraries every international law of war” and “even the most basic ethics I had as a young Army officer.”
When asked if Hegseth was likely to be held accountable over the controversy and Signalgate, Duckworth said it depends on how Trump calculates it. “It’s all about Donald Trump’s personal self-preservation — deciding whether this is too much now or not and Hegseth should go. But Hegseth is also very good at sucking up to Donald Trump and throwing others under the bus, which is what he does with Admiral [Bradley] “At this point,” she said.
Saturday 6 December The launch of the Doha Forum in Qatar. John will be on the ground, as will our editor-in-chief Ravi Agrawal, who is interviewing former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on stage on Sunday.
Monday 8 December The start of the United Nations Environment Assembly.
Wednesday 10 December Ukraine hosts European Affairs Ministers to discuss Ukraine’s path to EU membership.
The Nobel Prize award ceremony takes place.
49-The percentage of Americans who express a “great deal of confidence” in the U.S. military, according to the most recent annual Reagan National Defense Survey, which collected responses from more than 2,500 people. Even by less than half, the military still performed better than other American institutions such as law enforcement (32%), the presidency (26%), and Congress (11%).
“You take any country you want, if someone is selling drugs in that country, it doesn’t mean you arrest the president and put him in prison for the rest of his life.”
Trump tells reporters why he pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted of drug trafficking.
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2025-12-04 23:17:00
