The DSR Network The Daily Blast: Hegseth Defense in Total Collapse as Leaks on Strike Grow More Damning
Dec 9, 2025
In this discussion, Tess Bridgeman, co-editor-in-chief of Just Security and former national security lawyer under Obama, dissects the fallout from Pete Hegseth's defense of a controversial airstrike. She argues that videos showing survivors raising their hands undermine his position, highlighting the legal violations behind the strikes. Bridgeman explores the implications of the boat’s true destination and the growing Republican pushback, suggesting a path to accountability through congressional oversight and legal avenues.
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No Legal Basis For Military Strikes
- The U.S. is not at war with drug traffickers, so transporting drugs is not a lawful basis for military strikes.
- Tess Bridgeman argues these killings are domestic crimes and extrajudicial executions, not lawful wartime actions.
Second Strike Matched A Clear Illegal Order
- Striking shipwrecked, defenseless survivors violated the law of armed conflict and matched DoD's example of an illegal order.
- Tess says the commanders and lawyers should have recognized the duty to rescue and blocked the second strike.
Waving Indicates Noncombatant Status
- Video reportedly shows two survivors waving, which indicates surrender or a plea for rescue, undermining any claim they remained combatants.
- Tess emphasizes there was no battle for them to be surrendering from and the strike was therefore unjustifiable.