Pentagon Chief Suspected of War Crimes

The Pentagon chief is suspected of war crimes. The Washington Post, citing its sources, reports that U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin verbally gave the order to "kill everyone" during the first strike on a ship transporting drugs for the U.S. on September 2.

After the initial missile strike, two of the 11 people on board the ship survived. U.S. military drones detected them clinging to the wreckage of the vessel. Subsequently, the commander of the military operation ordered a second strike, which resulted in the deaths of the survivors.

Some experts classify such strikes as illegal, given that drug trafficking does not pose an immediate military threat to the United States. Former military lawyer Todd Hanthun states that even if the U.S. is waging a war against individuals engaged in illegal drug trafficking, the command to kill them would be considered a war crime. Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton, a former Marine, agrees, stating that Americans will eventually be held accountable for either war crimes or murder.

To date, more than 80 people have died as a result of strikes on ships suspected of transporting drugs for the U.S.