Pete Hegseth absolved of "kill everybody" allegation

The US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has had quite a week. Essentially accused of ordering a war crime, he has now been absolved of any such crime by the much-revered and exceptionally able Admiral Frank Bradley, known to all as Mitch. Bradley, formerly commander of US Joint Special Operations (JSOC) and recently promoted to commander of US Special Operations Command (the umbrella organisation for all special forces and special operations troops in the US military) gave evidence yesterday to a very select group of top politicians from the Senate and House armed services committees in which, apparently, he stated that Hegseth never told him to "kill everybody" in the drug-running boats that are being targeted by a massive armada of US Navy warships off Venezuela. According to some of the senators who attended the meeting, Bradley insisted the two survivors of a drone attack on one of the boats were subsequently killed by a second strike because they still posed a threat, ie, they were trying to clamber back onto the boat. But I thought the boat had been obliterated in the first attack and they were clinging for dear life to what remained, a bit like that chap in the Titanic film. Then there was a claim that they were trying to ring for help. Really? Wouldn't their mobiles have got somewhat wet in the first strike? Anyway, Bradley took responsibility for the second strike and said Hegseth wasm't asked for permission, although he was watching it all on video at the time. But here's a thing. If the two survivors had been left alone and then rescued and taken on board one of the US warships, what would have happened to them? They would have to have been either dropped off on Venezuelan territory or taken back to the US, charged and put through the criminal prosecution system. Surely, far less bother just to bump them off to avoid all the legal and diplomatic hassles. I'm not syaing this is what happened. But the alternative to killing them was to give them food and shelter on board ship and ring the FBI to take them into custody. Two suspected drug traffickers benefiting from US Navy hospitality? I think not. Hegseth might have drawn the line there.