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THE MOST INCOMPETENT AND UNQUALIFIED SECRETARY OF DEFENSE IN HISTORY. THE ONLY ONE WHO HAD TO PLEDGE TO STOP DRINKING IN ORDER TO WIN SENATE CONFIRMATION, KEEPS CHANGING HIS STORY, AND WE DON'T KNOW IF HE STOPPED DRINKING WHEN PUBLICLY SUSPECTED OF MURDER. CHANGING YOUR STORY IS CAUSE FOR INCREASING SUSPICION OF GUILT. AND WHEN YOUR CHANGE STORY IS WORSE THAN YOUR FIRST FALSE ACCOUNT, THEN YOUR STORY CANNOT SURVIVE A REAL INVESTIGATION. AND NOW, PETE HEGSETH STORY HINGES ON A NEW LIE. THE FOG OF WAR. HE'S CLAIMING THE FOG OF WAR. BUT YOU CANNOT HAVE THE FOG OF WAR WITHOUT A WAR. AND PETE HEGSETH DOES NOT HAVE A WAR.
PETE HEGSETH HAS GONE FROM SAYING HE COULD SEE VERY CLEARLY WHAT WAS HAPPENING WHEN HE AUTHORIZED THE KILLING OF 11 PEOPLE IN A SMALL BOAT RUNNING ON OUTBOARD MOTORS THAT POSED NO THREAT TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN ANY WAY. BOAT THAT WAS ABOUT 1200 MILES AWAY FROM THE NEAREST POINT IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. HE'S NOW CLAIMING THAT HE COULDN'T SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON ON THAT BOAT BECAUSE OF THE FOG OF WAR. VIETNAM COMBAT VETERANS CAN TELL YOU ABOUT THE FOG OF WAR. THEY CAN TELL YOU ABOUT NOT KNOWING WHICH DIRECTION THE GUNFIRE WAS COMING FROM WHEN IT WAS KILLING THEIR TEAMMATES, SOLDIERS IN REAL COMBAT SITUATIONS IN ANY WAR CAN TELL YOU ABOUT THE FOG OF WAR, BUT THERE IS NO FOG IN PENTAGON OFFICES WHERE PETE HEGSETH WAS WATCHING THAT BOAT. AND THERE IS NO FOG IN THAT VIDEO THAT WE HAVE SEEN OF THAT SMALL BOAT DESTROYED BY AN AMERICAN MISSILE UNDER DONALD TRUMP AND PETE HEGSETH AUTHORITY. AND UNDER THEIR ORDERS, HERE IS REPUBLICAN SENATOR RAND PAUL'S SUMMARY OF PETE HEGSETH PERSONAL FOG OF WAR.
"THERE'S A VERY DISTINCT STATEMENT WAS SAID ON SUNDAY. SECRETARY HEGSETH SAID HE HAD NO KNOWLEDGE OF THIS AND IT DID NOT HAPPEN. IT WAS FAKE NEWS. IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. AND THEN THE NEXT DAY, FROM THE PODIUM OF THE WHITE HOUSE, THEY'RE SAYING IT DID HAPPEN. SO EITHER HE WAS LYING TO US ON SUNDAY OR HE'S INCOMPETENT AND DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HAD HAPPENED."
SENATOR PAUL KNOWS THAT HE DOESN'T HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN LYING AND INCOMPETENT. PETE HEGSETH HAS PROVED HE'S CAPABLE OF BOTH. GEORGE WILL IS THE DEAN OF CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL WRITERS IN THIS COUNTRY, AND THE BEST PROSE STYLIST OF ALL OF THEM. IN HIS NEW WASHINGTON POST COLUMN, GEORGE WILL SAYS DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH SEEMS TO BE A WAR CRIMINAL WITHOUT A WAR. THERE WAS A TIME WHEN GEORGE WILL WAS THE THOUGHT LEADER OF THE SMARTEST REPUBLICANS IN OUR GOVERNMENT, BUT HE HAS MOSTLY GIVEN UP HOPE OF INFLUENCING WASHINGTON REPUBLICANS IN THE TRUMP ERA. AND NOW, WITH THE WASHINGTON POST REPORTING THAT PETE HEGSETH AUTHORIZED A SECOND MISSILE STRIKE AIMED AT THE WRECKAGE OF THAT SMALL BOAT BECAUSE THERE WERE STILL TWO PEOPLE ALIVE CLINGING TO THAT WRECKAGE. GEORGE WILL WROTE THE KILLING OF THE SURVIVORS BY THIS MORAL SLUM OF AN ADMINISTRATION SHOULD NAUSEATE AMERICANS THE MORAL SLUM OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.
DONALD TRUMP IS DOING WHAT HE ALWAYS DOES WHEN HE'S IN TROUBLE. HE'S PRETENDING HE DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT, EXCEPT THAT HE KNOWS FOR SURE THAT HE WAS NOT INVOLVED IN IT WHEN DONALD TRUMP WAS NOT CLOSING HIS EYES AND APPARENTLY NODDING OFF IN TODAY'S ABSURD REALITY SHOW THAT HE CALLS A CABINET MEETING, DONALD TRUMP INSISTED THAT HE'S THE ONLY PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES IN HISTORY INCAPABLE OF OBTAINING INFORMATION ABOUT A MILITARY ATTACK UNDER HIS AUTHORITY.
"AS FAR AS THE ATTACK IS CONCERNED, I DID. YOU KNOW, I STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN A LOT OF INFORMATION BECAUSE I RELY ON PETE. BUT TO ME, IT WAS AN ATTACK. IT WASN'T ONE STRIKE, TWO STRIKES, THREE STRIKES. SOMEBODY ASKED ME A QUESTION ABOUT THE SECOND STRIKE. I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE SECOND STRIKE. I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT PEOPLE I WASN'T INVOLVED IN. I KNEW THEY TOOK OUT A BOAT. BUT I WOULD SAY THIS. THEY HAD A STRIKE. I HEAR THE GENTLEMAN THAT WAS IN CHARGE OF THAT IS EXTRAORDINARY, EXTRAORDINARY PERSON. LET PEACE SPEAK ABOUT HIM. BUT PETE WAS SATISFIED. PETE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT SECOND ATTACK HAVING TO DO WITH TWO PEOPLE."
OH, SO THAT'S THEIR NEW STORY TODAY. PETE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE SECOND ATTACK. SO DONALD TRUMP, WHO SAYS HE HASN'T GOTTEN A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THIS, THEN GIVES YOU THE CRUCIAL INFORMATION, WHICH SOUNDS LIKE A NEW INVENTION THAT PETE HEGSETH DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT. THE SECOND ATTACK COULD HAVE SAID THAT ON SUNDAY, COULD HAVE SAID THAT WHEN THE STORY BROKE. THE ATTACK OCCURRED ON SEPTEMBER 2ND AND 91 DAYS LATER, DONALD TRUMP, THE OBLIVIOUS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, IS TRYING TO STAY AWAKE IN THE CABINET ROOM AND TELLING YOU HE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE SECOND ATTACK UNTIL THE WASHINGTON POST TOLD HIM ABOUT IT. BY PRINTING THEIR STORY THAT PETE HEGSETH FIRST LIED ABOUT AND SAID WAS TOTALLY FALSE.
NOW, PETE HEGSETH HAS, IN EFFECT, CONFIRMED EVERY ELEMENT OF THE WASHINGTON POST STORY EXCEPT THAT THE SECOND STRIKE WAS HIS IDEA, THE WASHINGTON POST REPORTS. DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH GAVE A SPOKEN DIRECTIVE, ACCORDING TO TWO PEOPLE WITH DIRECT KNOWLEDGE OF THE OPERATION, THE ORDER WAS TO KILL EVERYBODY, ONE OF THEM SAID. TODAY, PETE HEGSETH CAME UP WITH THE NEW STORY THAT HE HAD MOVED ON TO HIS NEXT MEETING BEFORE THE SECOND STRIKE OCCURRED.
"I WATCHED THAT FIRST STRIKE LOT. AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, AT THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR, WE GOT A LOT OF THINGS TO DO. SO I DIDN'T STICK AROUND FOR THE HOUR AND TWO HOURS, WHATEVER, WHERE ALL THE SENSITIVE SITE EXPLOITATION DIGITALLY OCCURS. SO I MOVED ON TO MY NEXT MEETING. A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER, I LEARNED THAT THAT COMMANDER HAD MADE THE WHICH HE HAD THE COMPLETE AUTHORITY TO DO. AND BY THE WAY, ADMIRAL BRADLEY MADE THE CORRECT DECISION TO ULTIMATELY SINK THE BOAT AND ELIMINATE THE THREAT. HE SUNK THE BOAT, SUNK THE BOAT AND ELIMINATED THE THREAT. AND HE WAS THE RIGHT CALL. WE HAVE HIS BACK. AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE SAFER BECAUSE NARCO TERRORISTS KNOW YOU CAN'T BRING DRUGS THROUGH THE WATER AND EVENTUALLY ON LAND, IF NECESSARY, TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, WE WILL ELIMINATE THAT THREAT AND WE'RE PROUD TO DO IT. SO YOU DIDN'T SEE ANY SURVIVORS, TO BE CLEAR, AFTER THAT FIRST STRIKE? PERSONALLY, I DID NOT PERSONALLY SEE SURVIVORS, BUT I STAND BECAUSE THE THING WAS ON FIRE THAT WAS EXPLODED. AND FIRE OR SMOKE, YOU CAN'T SEE ANYTHING. YOU GOT DIGITAL. THIS IS CALLED THE FOG OF WAR."
THAT IS NOT A FOGGY REGION OF THE CARIBBEAN. AND PETE HEGSETH DIDN'T MENTION THAT FOG, THAT FOG OF WAR WHEN HE FIRST TALKED ABOUT IT ON SEPTEMBER 3RD, THE DAY AFTER.
"I WATCHED IT LIVE, WE KNEW EXACTLY WHO WAS IN THAT BOAT. WE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE DOING, AND WE KNEW EXACTLY WHO THEY REPRESENTED. AND THAT WAS TREND DE ARAGUA, A NARCO TERRORIST ORGANIZATION DESIGNATED BY THE UNITED STATES TRYING TO POISON OUR COUNTRY WITH ILLICIT DRUGS."
YOU CAN STILL SEE THAT BOAT AFTER THAT STRIKE THAT HE WAS SO PROUD OF. THERE'S NOTHING PREVENTING YOU FROM SEEING IT. AND THAT'S WHAT HE SAID THE DAY AFTER THE STRIKE, WHEN HE WAS SO PROUD TO SHOW THAT VIDEO OF THAT MURDER. HE'S TRYING. HE'S LYING. OF COURSE HE'S LYING ABOUT WHO WAS IN THE BOAT HE CAN'T GIVE A SINGLE NAME OF WHO WAS IN THE BOAT. HE CAN'T GIVE A SINGLE AGE. HE DOESN'T KNOW IF THEY WERE ALL MEN. HE DOESN'T KNOW IF THEY IF THEY WERE ALL ADULTS. HE DOESN'T KNOW IF THERE WAS A 12 YEAR OLD BOY THERE OR 14 YEAR OLD. HE HAS NO IDEA. AND HE MADE SURE THAT ALL THE EVIDENCE OF WHO WAS ON THAT BOAT AND WHAT WAS ON THAT BOAT WAS DESTROYED BY HIS TWO MISSILES. THEY ARE EVIDENCE DESTROYING MISSILES USED IN THE COMMISSION OF WHAT APPEARS TO BE A CRIME, AND THEN USED FOR THE COVER UP. USE THE MISSILES TO MAKE SURE YOU DESTROY ALL THE EVIDENCE.
THE WASHINGTON POST REPORTS THE PROTOCOLS WERE CHANGED AFTER THE STRIKE TO EMPHASIZE RESCUING SUSPECTED SMUGGLERS IF THEY SURVIVED STRIKES, ACCORDING TO THREE PEOPLE. IT IS UNCLEAR WHO DIRECTED THE CHANGE IN PROTOCOL AND WHEN EXACTLY IT TOOK SHAPE. THE PENTAGON'S WAR MANUAL CLEARLY STATES THE REQUIREMENT TO REFUSE TO COMPLY WITH ORDERS TO COMMIT LAW OF WAR VIOLATIONS, APPLIES TO ORDERS TO PERFORM CONDUCT THAT IS CLEARLY ILLEGAL, OR ORDERS THAT THE SUBORDINATE KNOWS IN FACT ARE ILLEGAL. FOR EXAMPLE, ORDERS TO FIRE UPON THE SHIPWRECKED WOULD BE CLEARLY ILLEGAL, AND SO FIRING ON THOSE TWO SURVIVORS WAS ILLEGAL WHEN THEY DID IT. WHY WOULD YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR PROTOCOL SO THAT IT WOULD COMPLY WITH THE PENTAGON MANUAL QUOTE ORDERS TO FIRE UPON THE SHIPWRECKED WOULD BE CLEARLY ILLEGAL. SO THERE IS NO DOUBT IF THE WASHINGTON POST REPORTING IS TRUE, THAT THE FIRING OF THAT SECOND MISSILE WAS ILLEGAL, ACCORDING TO THE ACTUAL WORDS OF THE PENTAGON'S OWN MANUAL.
THERE IS NO HOPE FOR REAL CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATIONS THIS YEAR BECAUSE THE DEMOCRATS TAKE OVER THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NEXT YEAR, AND THAT CONDUCT WILL BE INVESTIGATED EVEN FURTHER. BUT RIGHT NOW, THE HOPE FOR CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATIONS THIS YEAR DEPENDS ON THE REPUBLICAN CHAIRS OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEES CONDUCTING THOSE INVESTIGATIONS. AND THIS IS WHAT THE SENATE REPUBLICAN ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN, ROBERT WICKER. ROGER WICKER SAID TODAY.
"WERE THERE SURVIVORS WHO WERE KILLED IN THAT ATTACK?"
"I DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION."
"DO YOU WORRY?"
"BUT I DO. I DO THINK WE'LL GET THAT INFORMATION. AND WE'RE CERTAINLY GOING TO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AVAILABLE TO US ALL OF THE AUDIO AND ALL OF THE VIDEO. AND AT THAT POINT, I'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE A MORE INFORMED CONVERSATION WITH THE PRESS."
"DO, I THINK, BE A WAR CRIME."
"IF THE."
"SURVIVORS ARE KILLED?"
"THANK YOU ALL. WE'RE GOING TO FIND OUT WHAT THE TRUE FACTS ARE, AND THEN THERE'LL BE A DETERMINATION ABOUT THAT."
AND TODAY, THE WASHINGTON POST REPORTS THAT THE WHITE HOUSE'S COMMENTS YESTERDAY, THAT IT WAS ADMIRAL BRADLEY WHO ORDERED THE SECOND STRIKE, QUOTE, ELICITED A FURIOUS BACKLASH WITHIN THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT, WHERE OFFICIALS DESCRIBED FEELING ANGRY AT THE UNCERTAINTY OVER WHETHER HEGSETH WOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS ALLEGED ROLE IN THE OPERATION OR LEAVE THE MILITARY AND CIVILIAN STAFF UNDER HIM TO FACE THE CONSEQUENCES. THIS IS PROTECT PETE, BS, ONE MILITARY OFFICIAL WHO, LIKE OTHERS, SPOKE ON THE CONDITION OF ANONYMITY TO DISCUSS INTERNAL CONVERSATIONS, TOLD THE POST PRESS SECRETARY LEAVITT'S STATEMENT LEFT IT UP TO INTERPRETATION. WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SECOND STRIKE THAT KILLED THE TWO SURVIVORS, A SEPARATE MILITARY OFFICIAL SAID. ONE OFFICIAL SAID OF LEAVITT'S STATEMENT, IT'S THROWING US THE SERVICE MEMBERS UNDER THE BUS. ANOTHER PERSON SAID SOME OF HEGSETH TOP CIVILIAN STAFF APPEARED DEEPLY ALARMED ABOUT THE REVELA