The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) sailed through the House last night. It’s a $900 billion bill. It should be one of those easy layups for any administration. It’s probably one of the easiest votes for any member of Congress. And yet, these clowns are mucking it up. There’s a provision in the legislation regarding the ongoing anti-narco-terrorist operations in the Caribbean—Congress wants to see the footage of the strikes. If not, a substantial chunk of travel funds for Secretary of War Pete Hegseth might be withheld (via Politico):
Congress is using its marquee defense bill to force the Pentagon into turning over videos of strikes against suspected drug-smuggling boats off the coast of Latin America.
Lawmakers plan to withhold a quarter of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel budget until the Pentagon provides them with the videos. The demand, quietly tucked into the final draft of the annual defense policy bill, calls for “unedited video of strikes conducted against designated terrorist organizations in the area of responsibility of the United States Southern Command” to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.
[…]
Hegseth on Saturday wouldn’t say whether he would release the video, citing potential safety concerns for troops. But President Donald Trump has said he would have “no problem” doing so. The Pentagon chief has publicly backed the decision to kill the survivors, although said that Adm. Frank Bradley — head of U.S. Special Operations Command — made the final call on the second strike.
Bradley and Joint Chiefs Chair Dan Caine last week briefed top lawmakers on national security committees and showed the unedited footage of the operation. But lawmakers disagreed about what the video revealed. Some top Republicans who viewed the unedited footage contend it vindicates the administration’s position. Democrats have called on the Pentagon to release it more broadly.
[…]
The provision creates a new wrinkle in how Congress will proceed with an investigation. House Armed Services ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said the footage contradicts how Hegseth and other Republicans have described it.
“If they release the video, then everything that the Republicans are saying will clearly be portrayed to be completely false,” he said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
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Yeah, I don’t trust Democrats. Also, what Smith said is irrelevant. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, said, “It’s done,” regarding boatgate:
The Republican chair of the House Armed Services Committee said he doesn’t see the need to further investigate a controversial military strike that killed survivors of an attack on an alleged drug running vessel in September.
But committee members are still set to hear from the commander who ordered the strike and see the unedited video of the incident in the coming days.
“It’s done,” Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) told reporters Tuesday when asked about his next moves to probe the incident. “I’ve got all the answers I needed.”
This operation—Operation Southern Spear—gained new controversy when reports emerged that we struck a narco boat twice, one disabling it, essentially destroying it, and a second that wiped out the rest of the terrorists. Democrats predictably said this was a war crime. It was not. Civilian and military lawyers have greenlighted these strikes. These surviving terrorists were trying to radio for help. They had to go.
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