Image: watson/imago/keystone
analysis
The US Secretary of Defense is looking for a scapegoat for his war crimes.
12/02/2025, 4:42 p.m12/02/2025, 4:42 p.m
On March 16, 1968, American soldiers killed 350 people in a Vietnamese village, most of them civilians and many of them children, women and the elderly. The My Lai massacre is considered the worst American war crime since World War II. The responsible officer, William Calley, was court-martialed and convicted, but given a very light sentence (three years of house arrest).
What happened in the Caribbean Sea on September 2, 2025 is not of the dimensions of My Lai, but the attack by members of the US Navy Seals 6 on a small boat has sparked discussion about war crimes. In this attack, nine crew members – allegedly all drug smugglers – were killed.
Rambo wannabe Pete Hegseth.Image: X
However, two were able to save themselves on the wreckage and swam helplessly in the sea. They were attacked a second time and also killed. These killings cannot be justified in any way. Because even in the internal instructions of the US armed forces it is written that it is not permitted to cause further damage to a defenseless enemy and one is even obliged to provide him with first aid.
When the Washington Post made the events of September 2 public, a storm of indignation broke out, especially when it became known that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth not only knew about this action, but had expressly ordered it with the words “Kill them all.”
If this turns out to be true, Hegseth has not only committed a horrible act, but possibly even a war crime. Even some Republicans are no longer comfortable with the matter. The defense minister will probably have to justify himself before a committee of inquiry and testify under oath.
So it’s no wonder that Hegseth gets cold feet. He cannot deny that he ordered the first attack, as he bragged on Fox News that he watched the action in real time. In addition, Karoline Leavitt, the White House spokeswoman, expressly confirmed this again on Monday. In her statement, she added that Admiral Frank M. Bradley was responsible for the second attack and that he acted “within his authority and the law.”
What sounds like a whitewash of the admiral is setting alarm bells ringing in the military. Is one of their own being made a scapegoat here? Does the defense minister want to avoid responsibility?
Does he have to play the scapegoat? Admiral Frank M. Bradley.Image: keystone
The military is rightly suspicious. Hegseth mostly messed up in his first year in office. Although he likes to be photographed doing push-ups with other soldiers in a T-shirt, he mostly caused chaos in the Pentagon. His vanity causes ridicule and contempt, for example when it became known that he had his own TV studio set up for himself. As a record, he only has the rank of major in the National Guard. When he called together all of America’s top generals around the world in the summer just to tell them they were too fat, he was unlikely to have won their hearts.
Admiral Bradley, on the other hand, is considered a model soldier and war hero. The fact that he should now answer for the dubious act is therefore very poorly received by the military. “Now we are being thrown under the bus,” an unnamed senior military officer told the Washington Post.
It’s not just the killing of two defenseless people on the high seas that is causing great excitement. So far, 83 people have been killed in the actions against alleged drug couriers from Venezuela. However, these actions are controversial under international law and the constitution. In principle, soldiers are not allowed to attack civilians, even if they are criminals. US President Donald Trump quickly declared the actions of his soldiers in the Caribbean a “war on drug gangs”. However, a war would have to be approved by Congress. He has so far refrained from doing that.
However, the approach corresponds to the ideals that Hegseth instills in his military. He has asked them several times to pay no attention to the rules and to act as fearsome killing machines. All of this could blow up in his face if he ever has to appear before a committee of inquiry. This is considered likely, as Republican representatives and senators are now also calling for this.
Hegseth can hardly expect any support from the president. Trump has stated that he believes him and stands behind him “100 percent.” But football presidents also say the same thing before the immediate dismissal of a coach. Basically, Trump claims to have known nothing about the campaign.
The affair comes at the worst possible time for the White House. In conjunction with Fox News and other conservative media, Trump has just launched a campaign against six Democratic senators and representatives. These are former soldiers and CIA agents. In a video, they reminded the members of the army that they have the right to refuse illegal orders. For Trump, they have allegedly committed “treason” and should be punished with death for it.
A war hero indeed: Senator Mark Kelly.Image: keystone
Trump specifically targeted Mark Kelly, Democratic Senator from Arizona. However, Kelly is also a real hero. As a jet pilot he flew combat missions in Iraq and as an astronaut he was in space. The fact that the would-be Rambo Hegseth now wants to drag the hero Kelly before a military court is just embarrassing in view of the recent revelations.
It is also embarrassing that Trump launched a war against drug lords – and at the same time pardoned one of the worst drug lords of all time, Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras. He served a 45-year prison sentence for helping to smuggle at least 4,000 tons of cocaine into the USA. Perhaps the numerous rumors about the president’s mental and physical health are more than just speculation after all.