Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the attacks on suspected drug cartel vessels during remarks at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Saturday (local time), saying President Donald Trump has the authority to take military action “as he sees fit” to defend the country, the AP reported.
Hegseth played down concerns about the strikes, which have left more than 80 dead and are now under scrutiny for possible violations of international law. He argued that the strikes were justified to protect Americans, comparing the operations to the war on terror after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
During his keynote speech at Reagan’s National Defense Forum, he declared, “If you work for a designated terrorist organization and you bring drugs into this country on a boat, we will find you and sink you. Let there be no doubt about that.”
“President Trump can and will take decisive military action as he sees fit to defend our nation’s interests. No country on earth doubts that for a moment,” he added.
The latest strike brings the campaign’s death toll to at least 87. Lawmakers have demanded more information regarding the attacks, their legal justification and whether US forces were ordered to carry out a follow-up strike after the September operation, despite the Pentagon’s knowledge of survivors.
While Hegseth compared the alleged drug traffickers to Al Qaeda terrorists, experts highlighted key differences between the two groups and the approaches used to combat them.
Hegseth’s comments came shortly after the Trump administration unveiled its new national security strategy, which portrays European allies as weak and seeks to reassert US dominance in the Western Hemisphere.
In his speech, Hegseth also addressed the need to counter China’s rise with force rather than conflict. He repeated Trump’s pledge to resume nuclear testing on par with China and Russia, a plan that has raised concerns among nuclear weapons experts.
While China and Russia have not conducted explosive tests for decades, the Kremlin has indicated it will follow suit if the US resumes tests. The remarks were made at the Reagan National Defense Forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in California, an event that brings together top national security experts from around the country. Hegseth took the opportunity to claim that Trump is Reagan’s “true and rightful heir” in terms of an assertive foreign policy.
Hegseth criticized Republican leaders since Reagan for supporting wars in the Middle East and failed democracy-building initiatives. He also condemned those who say climate change seriously threatens military preparedness.
He mentioned, “The War Department will not be distracted by democracy-building, interventionism, undefined wars, regime change, climate change, awakened moralizing, and reckless nation-building.”
