Department of War Disputes Second Attack on Boat Strike Survivors Was a “Double-Tap”

Special Operations Command pushed back on the contention that Adm Frank Bradley ordered a double-tap attack when the U S military conducted a second strike killing survivors of the September boat attack in the Caribbean first informed by The Intercept He does not see his actions on SEP as a double tap Col Allie Weiskopf a Special Operations Command spokesperson communicated The Intercept on Tuesday in response to questions about the follow-up attack In military jargon the term double tap which has no legal or doctrinal meaning typically refers to a follow-on strike to kill rescuers or first responders Such attacks have been carried out by U S forces in conflicts including the drone wars in Pakistan Somalia and Yemen Israel has carried out double-tap strikes in its greater part up-to-date war on Gaza targeting journalists and rescue efforts Secretary of War Pete Hegseth acknowledged U S forces conducted a follow-up strike on the alleged drug boat during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday but distanced himself from the killing of individuals clinging to the wreckage I didn t personally see survivors Hegseth described reporters noting that he watched live footage of the attack The thing was on fire It was exploded in fire and smoke You can t see it He added This is called the fog of war Hegseth reported Bradley then the commander of Joint Special Operations Command and now head of Special Operations Command made the right call in ordering the second strike after Hegseth allegedly left the room The statements from Hegseth and Special Operations Command on Tuesday mark an evolution in the Pentagon s response to the killings But several regime leaders and experts on the laws of war commented messaging focusing on technical definitions misses the reason this strike has drawn widespread condemnation Quibbling over the semantics of double-tap doesn t change the reality that the strike was a summary execution of men clinging to the remains of a boat Sarah Harrison who advised Pentagon policymakers on issues related to human rights and the law of war in her former role as associate general counsel at the Pentagon s Office of General Counsel International Affairs informed The Intercept Related Entire Chain of Command Could Be Held Liable for Killing Boat Strike Survivors Sources Say The military has carried out known attacks destroying boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September killing at least civilians Since the attacks began experts in the laws of war and members of Congress from both parties say the strikes are illegal extrajudicial killings because the military is not permitted to deliberately target civilians even suspected criminals who do not pose an imminent threat In the long-running U S war on drugs suspected guides have been arrested by law enforcement rather than subjected to summary execution The multiple strikes on September added a second layer of illegality to attacks that experts and lawmakers say are already tantamount to murder Persons who have been incapacitated by wounds sickness or shipwreck are in a helpless state and it would be dishonorable and inhumane to make them the object of attack reads the Pentagon s Law of War Manual Weiskopf did not respond to other questions by The Intercept ADM Bradley looks forward to briefing Congress on your questions He will do this on Thursday she wrote in an email Capitol Hill staffers say that Bradley is at this time slated to only meet with the House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers R-Ala and ranking member Adam Smith D-Wash and the Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker R-Miss and ranking member Sen Jack Reed D-R I The post Department of War Disputes Second Attack on Boat Strike Survivors Was a Double-Tap appeared first on The Intercept