War Secretary Pete Hegseth signaled his “100% support” on Monday to Adm. Mitch Bradley, who the White House confirmed ordered the second follow-up strike on an alleged drug-trafficking vessel on Sept. 2.
Hegseth made headlines on Friday after the Washington Post reported that he gave the order for a second strike on a vessel after the first one left survivors. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday that it was in fact Bradley, not Hegseth, who ordered the second strike.
“Let’s make one thing crystal clear: Admiral Mitch Bradley is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support. I stand by him and the combat decisions he has made — on the September 2 mission and all others since,” Hegseth said in a post on X.
“America is fortunate to have such men protecting us. When this @DeptofWar says we have the back of our warriors — we mean it,” Hegseth concluded.
Leavitt told White House reporters that Hegseth tapped Bradley to lead the Sept. 2 mission and that the admiral “worked well within his authority in the law.”
WHITE HOUSE INSISTS ‘DOUBLE TAP’ ON BOAT-STRIKE SURVIVORS IN CARIBBEAN WAS LEGAL
“He directed the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat of narco-terrorists to the United States was completely eliminated,” Leavitt said.
Bradley, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, is a Navy SEAL officer and a 1991 physics graduate of the Naval Academy.
