Pete Hegseth dodges questions on releasing second-tap boat-strike video: 'We are reviewing it'

SIMI VALLEY, CALIFORNIA: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth found himself doing verbal gymnastics at the Reagan National Defense Forum when asked if the American public would ever see the video of the now-infamous double-tap airstrike on an alleged d**g boat in the Caribbean.

The promise to release the footage didn’t come from Hegseth, but from President Donald Trump, who assured reporters he would have “no problem” with the full tape being made public. But when Fox News moderator Lucas Tomlinson pressed for a timeline, the Pentagon chief offered a non-answer.

“After Admiral [Frank ‘Mitch’] Bradley’s meetings from Capitol Hill with Joint Chiefs, President Trump said he would have no problem if the full video of the strike is released. When can we see that video? When will you release it?” Tomlinson asked.

“We are reviewing it right now to make sure sources, methods, I mean, it’s an ongoing operation right now, TTPs,” Hegseth said. “We have operators out there doing this now. Whatever we decide, we have to be responsible, and we are reviewing it.”

Pete Hegseth slams Washington Post, defends Caribbean boat strikes

Tomlinson brought up a Washington Post report alleging that Hegseth personally ordered, “Kill them all,” including survivors of the initial strike.

“Is anybody here from The Washington Post? I don’t know where you get your sources, but they suck,” Hegseth snapped back.

The secretary continued, “Of course not! Anybody that has been in this situation room, or has been in the war room there, the secretary’s office, know you don’t walk in and say, ‘Kill them all’ It’s patently ridiculous. It’s meant to create a cartoon of me.”

Hegseth then offered a glimpse into how US operators handle missions. “What people think is cavalier or cowboy about it is the opposite. These are the most professional Americans going through specific processes about what they can and cannot do, understanding all the authorities, all the laws of war, all the capabilities, and applying it to deter our adversaries.”

He followed with his own explanation of the operation, pointing squarely at cartels, smugglers, and anyone bold enough to board a boat and attempt d**g trafficking.

“And by the way, there are not many people getting in boats right now running d***s, which is the whole point,” he said.

“We want to stop the poisoning of the American people. The catch and release program of the ‘pat them on the head and release them so they can go back to the fight’ did not work in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it’s not gonna work in the Caribbean. So, we’re putting them at the bottom of the Caribbean, which forces them to change the way they operate, and hopefully it makes the American people safer, not hopefully, it will make the American people safer in the process.” 

Pete Hegseth avoids yes-or-no on full airstrike footage

But the original question still wasn’t addressed. Tomlinson tried again, “So, Mr Secretary, you will be releasing that full video?” “We are reviewing it right now,” Hegseth repeated.

Tomlinson pressed, “Is that a yes or no?” That’s when the secretary waffled.

“That is, We’re, The most important thing to me are the ongoing operations in the Caribbean with our folks that use bespoke capabilities, techniques, procedures in the process,” he said, adding, “I’m way more interested in protecting that than anything else. So, we’re reviewing the process, and we’ll see.”