Tammy Duckworth labels double-tap Caribbean boat strike 'essentially murder'

WASHINGTON, DC: The political scene in the country is tense due to several factors, but the most attention-grabbing issue is the controversial double-tap strike on a vessel in the Caribbean.

Now, Senator Tammy Duckworth described the military operation, which killed 11 alleged d**g traffickers, including two who initially survived, in early September as “essentially murder.”

“It is a war crime. It’s illegal. However you put it, it’s all illegal,” she added. In a recent interview, she didn’t hold back, firmly expressing her opinion and pushing back against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s operational comparisons in the Caribbean.

Tammy Duckworth says 'the whole operation is illegal to begin with'

Tammy Duckworth, during a Sunday, December 7, interview on CNN’s 'State of the Union', said, “Well, there was actually a vote by Congress to put us at war in Iraq and Afghanistan. There was no such vote, there was no such debate here in this situation.”

She praised the troops, calling them “the utmost professional," before stating, “The problem is, they have not been authorized to be at war.” Duckworth also broke down why the operation was so different. For starters, the folks targeted in the alleged d**g boat “were not even aimed at the United States.”

“So, everything that they have done has been illegal. It’s illegal under international law. It’s illegal under the Geneva Convention. And it certainly is even illegal under domestic law,” she said. “It was essentially murder with that double-tap strike.”

Talking from experience, she added, “Look, I have been shot down behind enemy lines. Under the laws of war, if a pilot bails out, he gets shot down, he bails out, he’s in a rubber dinghy in the middle of the ocean, under all the international laws of warfare, you are supposed to help render aid to that individual.”

She went on to explain that even if the person has a radio calling for help, or even if “you know they’re going to conduct future operations against you."

“And so everything that they did here was illegal. In fact, the two survivors were clinging to half of a boat in the middle of the ocean and had no access to a radio, per the admiral’s briefing. And so, yes... the whole operation is illegal to begin with,” she claimed.

Pete Hegseth stands by Trump’s military strikes on d**g cartels 

Hegseth spoke at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Saturday, backing recent attacks on boats tied to d**g cartels. He said Trump had the authority to act whenever necessary to protect the nation.

"If you're working for a designated te**orist organization and you bring drugs to this country in a boat, we will find you, and we will sink you. Let there be no doubt about it," Hegseth said.

"President Trump can and will take decisive military action as he sees fit to defend our nation's interests. Let no country on earth doubt that for a moment," he stressed.