Pete Hegseth has got to go.
Hegseth has been mentioned in a number of threads. I think he deserves his own thread because of what seems to be going down.
First, there is the Signalgate--where Pete shared classified information about a strike in Yemen. While the Pentagon spokesman says the IG has cleared him of wrong doing, many members of Congress on both sides just do not seem to be buying it.
Then there is the issue of launching a second strike on a boat that allegedly had been carrying drugs. Our Uniform Code of Military Justice clearly states when there are survivors that pose no danger to the United States, they should be rescued and given aid. Instead, someone somewhere ordered a second strike. Hegseth says he did not do it. Which means Admiral Bailey allegedly ordered it on his own.
Again, congressmen on both sides of the aisle are not buying the explanation being proffered by Pentagon leaders. Pete says anything can happen in a fog of war, and he had left the situation room before the second strike happened. Excuse me. A single strike on a boat disabling it does not constitute a fog of war scenario in my mind. Sure, there would have been a flash but once the fire had burned down, people could clearly see there were two survivors. Were they trying to retrieve the cargo? Were they calling for assistance from compatriots? What type of assistance were they calling for? Rescue? Retrieval of contraband?
Then there is the banning of media outlets from covering the Pentagon unless the outlets sign loyalty oaths and agree to submit their articles for review before publication. No major media outlet agreed to that. Now the only media people in the Pentagon Press Corpe are far right bloggers and wingnuts. The story of the second strike would not have been released if the Washington Post had to submit it for review first.
And then there is the story of a Columbian wife who has filed a complaint with the Pan American Commission on Human Rights about the unjudicial murder of her husband who was a fisherman in one of the boat strikes
Personally, I think it is time for Pete to go. If he does not resign, Congress should move to impeach and then convict him--House does the impeachment, but it has to be agreed to by the Senate.
First, there is the Signalgate--where Pete shared classified information about a strike in Yemen. While the Pentagon spokesman says the IG has cleared him of wrong doing, many members of Congress on both sides just do not seem to be buying it.
Then there is the issue of launching a second strike on a boat that allegedly had been carrying drugs. Our Uniform Code of Military Justice clearly states when there are survivors that pose no danger to the United States, they should be rescued and given aid. Instead, someone somewhere ordered a second strike. Hegseth says he did not do it. Which means Admiral Bailey allegedly ordered it on his own.
Again, congressmen on both sides of the aisle are not buying the explanation being proffered by Pentagon leaders. Pete says anything can happen in a fog of war, and he had left the situation room before the second strike happened. Excuse me. A single strike on a boat disabling it does not constitute a fog of war scenario in my mind. Sure, there would have been a flash but once the fire had burned down, people could clearly see there were two survivors. Were they trying to retrieve the cargo? Were they calling for assistance from compatriots? What type of assistance were they calling for? Rescue? Retrieval of contraband?
Then there is the banning of media outlets from covering the Pentagon unless the outlets sign loyalty oaths and agree to submit their articles for review before publication. No major media outlet agreed to that. Now the only media people in the Pentagon Press Corpe are far right bloggers and wingnuts. The story of the second strike would not have been released if the Washington Post had to submit it for review first.
And then there is the story of a Columbian wife who has filed a complaint with the Pan American Commission on Human Rights about the unjudicial murder of her husband who was a fisherman in one of the boat strikes
Personally, I think it is time for Pete to go. If he does not resign, Congress should move to impeach and then convict him--House does the impeachment, but it has to be agreed to by the Senate.
Comments
No, I am not butchering his name or mocking what he is doing. I am simply discussing why I think he should leave based on verifiable reports.
Let me get this right. It is okay to show numerous videos of the sinking of the alleged drug boats, but if a follow-on video shows survivors clinging to an overturned hull, it is Top Secret?
Got it, Chief.
Except there is no war, and the U.S. had clear real-time images of events as they were unfolding. This is the non-fog of non-war.
In fact, the Pentagon watched the men for at least one hour before the admiral gave the kill order. There was an op ed written in the local paper that explains the rules of engagement and how what happened in the Caribbean is illegal. Here . This is written by a former Republican Idaho State Attorney General.