Defense secretary under fire as lawmakers question admiral about deadly boat strikes : NPR

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Members of Congress have now seen video of US strikes on a ship in the Caribbean. In just a few moments, we’ll hear from one of those lawmakers, Democrat Jim Himes.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

But first, let’s go back to what we know. Democrats said they were troubled by the second accident on a boat allegedly carrying drugs, which killed two men after the boat was disabled. Republicans said the strike was justified because the two people otherwise could have continued on to their destinations.

INSKEEP: This is one of two big stories focused on the Pentagon, and NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman covers both. Tom, hello.

TOM BOWMAN, BYLINE: Hey, Steve.

REGISTRATION: OK. So let’s get this other story out of the way first. The inspector general’s report is now public on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sharing information about an attack on the SMS app Signal. What did you learn from reading the report?

BOWMAN: Well, it’s said that two to four hours before the airstrikes by the U.S. F-18 pilots, Secretary Hegseth – he was receiving a classified briefing from General Eric Carillo on the upcoming attacks on the Houthi rebels. Lots of details on the number of planes, the targets, the timing. And while Hegseth was receiving this, he shared it in a Signal conversation with other officials and in another conversation with his wife, his brother, and his lawyer. None of these three men had security clearances, and all of this was secret information, according to the report.

INSKEEP: And let’s just reveal, as we do, that NPR CEO Katherine Maher also chairs the board of the Signal Foundation, which has a subsidiary that makes this app. But what was the reaction to the inspector general?

BOWMAN: Well, Secretary Hegseth’s spokesperson said the IG report exonerates him. This is not true. Nothing in the 76 pages says anything like that. He says the Pentagon should know the proper procedures for handling classified information. This is just stating facts, Steve, not what should happen next.

INSKEEP: All right. So now let’s talk about this second boat strike in the Caribbean. What are lawmakers saying, and what are you learning now that they have seen this video and heard from the commander involved?

BOWMAN: Well, Admiral Mitch Bradley, the commander in chief overseeing Central and South America, appeared behind closed doors to explain what happened. Lawmakers said he defended that second missile strike, saying that basically survivors of the initial strike were still active, trying to reach their comrades by radio, trying to gather drugs on the boat that was nearly destroyed. So Bradley, again, ordered this second missile strike to kill them, then two more to sink the boat. Secretary Hegseth said he was only there for the first missile strike on the boat and did not see the others. He had meetings, he said. Now lawmakers are wondering: Did the second missile strike result in unlawful killing, a war crime? Because, Steve, the Pentagon’s Law of War Manual defines what is an illegal order that no military member must obey, and the manual contains this example. Get this. I quote: “for example, the order to shoot the shipwrecked would clearly be illegal.”

INSKEEP: Tom, given the different interpretations, it seems like everyone came out of the closed-door video session saying that this boat was at least seriously damaged and even capsized. Any doubts about this?

BOWMAN: I don’t think that’s the case. Senator Tom Cotton said these guys, the two survivors, were trying to overturn this capsized boat. Congressman Adam Smith and others said, “Look, it was just guys shirtless, and not much on that boat was above water. That’s why it’s important, I think, for the public to see this video. He should be released.

INSKEEP: NPR’s Tom Bowman. Thank you so much.

BOWMAN: You’re welcome.

Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit the terms of use and permissions pages on our website at www.npr.org for more information.

The accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. The text of the transcript may be edited to correct errors or match updates to the audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio recording.