this post was submitted on 01 Dec 2025
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Press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed the apparent war crime was legal even as she said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth knew nothing about it.

The White House on Monday shifted the blame for killing the survivors of a U.S. military strike on an alleged drug smuggling boat from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and onto the commanding admiral.

Killing survivors of a destroyed vessel is literally an example of a war crime in the U.S. Department of Defense Law of War Manual. “For example, orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal,” the manual reads.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt, nevertheless, repeatedly stated that it was legal – even as she further claimed, as Donald Trump did Sunday, that Hegseth was unaware that it had happened.

top 48 comments
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[–] jaybone@lemmy.zip 14 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

Follow illegal orders, get thrown under the bus.

Dont follow illegal orders, get thrown under the bus.

[–] DarkSpectrum@lemmy.world 1 points 17 minutes ago

Stop the bus

[–] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 1 points 24 minutes ago (1 children)

you know I'm starting to think that maybe they should just deal with the people giving the orders

[–] khaleer@sopuli.xyz 1 points 19 minutes ago

That's very uncommon for brainwashed crowd called "military" to do so.

[–] myfunnyaccountname@lemmy.zip 19 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I can’t believe it was Joe Biden that flew the plane.

[–] Proles_Uprising_Now@lemmy.world 11 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

I heard Obama told him too

[–] regedit@lemmy.zip 4 points 35 minutes ago

Hillary coordinated it all from email!

[–] UnspecificGravity 52 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

Oh look, exactly what Mark Kelly was talking about. Shit rolls down hill guys. Remember that when someone orders you to murder people.

[–] massacre@lemmy.world 16 points 5 hours ago

The top brass who aren't full on MAGA, but didn't leave now have clear proof that they are expendable and will be scapegoated to protect Trump and his croneys. Honestly showing their hand at this stage gives me a lot of hope that any coup won't happen now and resistance will be strengthened from within. I smell leaks coming!

[–] Asfalttikyntaja@sopuli.xyz 8 points 7 hours ago

I just followed the orders.

[–] kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world 13 points 6 hours ago

As was said elsewhere, the transmitted command will have been recorded. The hard undeniable truth can be provided. Congress just needs to subpoena it, or a soldier with a conscience needs to whistleblow and leak it. Otherwise, we trust the liars' word and they get away with yet more of what are unquestionably, objectively, war crimes.

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 34 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

So we went from denial, to it happened but it wasn't us...

[–] Instigate@aussie.zone 11 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

The Narcissist’s Prayer:

That didn't happen.
And if it did, it wasn't that bad.
And if it was, that's not a big deal.
And if it is, that's not my fault. <— we are here
And if it was, I didn't mean it.
And if I did, you deserved it.

[–] ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.world 14 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

I think we're currently in the phase where it's rapidly undulating between both takes.

Give it another week and it'll devolve into "what firing on shipwrecked people? What are you talking about? Lalalala, I can't hear you!"

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 4 points 7 hours ago

When do we enter the phase that no boat was even destroyed that day?

[–] AlecSadler@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Kill. Them. All.

And I don't mean boat.

[–] Tryenjer@lemmy.world 3 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

"Burn. Them. All." , Hegseth

Mad King Aerys II vibes.

[–] DandomRude@lemmy.world 18 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

We also don't fight with stupid rules of engagement. We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill the enemies of our country. No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement, just common sense, maximum lethality and authority for warfighters.

Pete Hegseth [Source]

[–] sturmblast@lemmy.world 2 points 9 minutes ago (1 children)
[–] DandomRude@lemmy.world 1 points 1 minute ago

Indeed, and a murderer

[–] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 17 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

As a sailor, I find the whole shoddy affair most disgusting.

Yes in war (and this was by no means a war) we may seek to kill one another as enemies, but every sailor knows, it is the sea who is the ultimate enemy.

A human adrift at sea is a pitiful thing. To save them is to save ourselves.

[–] regedit@lemmy.zip 3 points 28 minutes ago (1 children)

Even in WWII, the German Navy refused Hitler's illegal orders and outright saved or radioed the location of boats they sunk and survivors in the water, even to the peril of their crew stealth. It pissed Hitler off early in the war.

[–] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 1 points 9 minutes ago

Captain Zur See Hans Langsdorff of the Graf Spee was famous for this. It did eventually cost him his ship though he saved the majority of his crew along with any Allied prisoners he had aboard.

The German submarine fleet, on the other hand, was less inclined to do this primarily due to the nature of the submarine as a weapon. Though there were exceptions.

[–] flango@lemmy.eco.br 25 points 10 hours ago

First of all, blowing up a boat like is illegal. Even if it was legal you'll have to prove that the boat contained drugs, but you just blowed your evidences! The guys that survived the attack then would have no charges over them and would be set free. Probably these guys were innocent and the boat was not a drug boat, thus they killed them as a cover up

[–] xxce2AAb@feddit.dk 149 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

And this is one of the many, many good reasons why one does not comply with illegal orders, damn it!

[–] 0_o7@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Ah, yes the most upstanding army that didn't comply to illegal orders in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria et al.

The fuck you guys smoking?

[–] xxce2AAb@feddit.dk 4 points 4 hours ago

That just underscores the point I made.

[–] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca 55 points 12 hours ago

As they should. But the fact that he chose to follow an obviously illegal order, doesn't absolve the ones who gave that order. This should in no way, take the heat off Hegseth...or Trump himself.

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 72 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Killing survivors of a destroyed vessel is literally an example of a war crime in the U.S. Department of Defense Law of War Manual. “For example, orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal,” the manual reads.

RTFM

[–] BigMacHole@sopuli.xyz 27 points 11 hours ago

It was LEGAL but ALSO Pete Hegseth DIDNT know about it AND we Fired someone Over it!

[–] HocEnimVeni@lemmy.world 25 points 11 hours ago

Hmm, I wonder why Admiral Holsey decided to retire when he did. 🤔

[–] ceenote@lemmy.world 39 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

If he ordered it, or complied with the order from above, lock him up. If not, this accusation is yet another confession.

[–] Eh_I@lemmy.world 14 points 12 hours ago

Time to make this witness cooperative.

[–] DrFistington@lemmy.world 32 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (2 children)

Ok... So common sense would read that as: ' it wasn't legal, it's a prime example of a war crime, and Pete may not have explicitly approved of that action, but probably gave a vague order like 'no survivors' , which the admiral took literally, and so it's entirely the admirals fault for not disobeying an unlawful order. '

All I want for Christmas is a military coup, cold hard justice for the traitors enabling Trump, and emergency elections, monitored by the military, and un observers

[–] UnspecificGravity 14 points 8 hours ago

Ordering that operations be conducted on the basis that there be "no survivors" is also specifically cited as an example of a war crime by the same manual: "Moreover, it is also prohibited to conduct hostilities on the basis that there shall be no survivors, or to threaten the adversary with the denial of quarter."

Page 211 https://media.defense.gov/2023/Jul/31/2003271432/-1/-1/0/DOD-LAW-OF-WAR-MANUAL-JUNE-2015-UPDATED-JULY%202023.PDF

[–] Horsecook@sh.itjust.works 19 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

All I want for Christmas is a military coup

It’s too late for that. The entire point of this is to make sure everyone left in the military understands that they’ll be executed if the dictator falls.

[–] MisterOwl@lemmy.world 16 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

When. When the dictator falls.

[–] Horsecook@sh.itjust.works 5 points 11 hours ago

Dictatorships can last for more than a lifetime. There’s no guarantee those complicit in its formation won’t die of old age before it falls.

Trump’s almost certainly going to die of old age before any meaningful amount of Democrats realize that pacifism is not a virtue, that there’s no nobility in victimhood. The question to ponder now is who Trump’s successor will be, and if they’ll be able to keep power without the cult of personality.

[–] Mastengwe@sh.itjust.works 1 points 7 hours ago

Gotta keep those trains running on time.

[–] Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world -3 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Technicality question. Doesn't the sec def make the rules for the manual. Like he can just change them on a whim. And the manual isn't law, congress didn't vote on it right? So it might technically be legal under US law. Though I doubt the airhead knows anything about that. As for war crimes and such... the US has been killing whoever it wants for a long time now. But... throwing the admiral under the bus... that could have real consequences that I can't wait to see.

[–] UnspecificGravity 6 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

The manual is the interpretation of the meaning of existing laws. Its not new law and changing the manual doesn't change the law. And neither Hesgeth or Trump have the authority to change those laws just because they want to.

[–] Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world -2 points 7 hours ago

So I looked it up. The DoD owns the manual. They can change it if they want. And it is an interpretation of international law. So technically, what was done is legal per US law. International law is pretty sketchy. Since it lacks robust enforcement, it pretty much means nothing unless a world power decides it does. So she may technically be right on that one. But of course the question shouldn't be if it was legal. It should be was it "right". Which it most certainly was not.