Hegseth Isn't Sure Video of Strike Will Be Released

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Saturday again defended a second missile strike on a boat in the Caribbean, but he would not commit to making the footage public. "We're reviewing the process, and we'll see," Hegseth told reporters at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, reports CBS News. "Whatever we were to decide to release, we'd have to be very responsible about reviewing that right now." His comments come days after President Trump said he'd have "no problem" releasing the full video, notes the New York Times.

• During his remarks, Hegseth also disputed a report last month that he gave a verbal order to kill everyone on the suspected drug boat before the operation began. "You don't walk in and say, 'Kill them all.' It's just patently ridiculous," he said, asserting that the story was "meant to create a cartoon of me and the decisions that we make."
• Lawmakers who have seen the video say it shows a second strike on two men clinging to the overturned boat, and the military commander who ordered the missile maintains it was justified because they could have continued with a drug-running mission. Hegseth on Saturday said that he does "fully support" the decision. "I would have made the same call myself."
• In his speech at the forum, Hegseth said President Trump "can and will take decisive military action as he sees fit to defend our nation's interests," per the Guardian. "Let no country on earth doubt that for a moment."