WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she was deeply troubled by a Washington Post report alleging that the military launched a second strike on Sept. 2 to kill survivors clinging to the wreckage of their suspected drug boat.
"That effectively makes you a war criminal," she said. "I mean, there are rules of war. We don't do that.”
Some of her colleagues on Thursday viewed a video of the Sept. 2 attack. Murkowski said the situation is far from clear.
“I have heard from two different individuals who viewed that same video, that they viewed it differently,” she said.
The White House and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed this week that there was a second strike, though they say it was legal and dispute key parts of the Post story. Hegseth said he watched the first strike live and then left the room.
“I did not personally see survivors but I stand – because that thing was on fire," he told reporters after a White House Cabinet meeting. "It was exploded. Fire and smoke ... This is called the fog of war.”
The Pentagon Law of War Manual says "Persons who have been incapacitated by wounds, sickness, or shipwreck are in a helpless state, and it would be dishonorable and inhumane to make them the object of attack."
Hegseth and President Trump say they stand by the commander of the operation. Adm. Frank Bradley was at the Capitol Thursday to brief a select group of Congress members, which did not include the Alaska delegation.
Several Republicans watched the video in a closed-door briefing and emerged sounding confident the strikes were legal and justified. But Democrats had a different take. One House member called the footage “one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever seen in my public service.”
The chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee is calling for an inquiry into the "double-tap" incident, and this could prove to be a rare moment when a number of Senate Republicans publicly disagree with Trump.
Murkowski is already there. She has been critical of the strikes and voted with Democrats in October on a measure that would have curtailed military attacks on suspected drug boats without congressional approval. She also crossed the aisle to vote on a similar war powers resolution last month. The strikes, she said, have now killed more than 80 people without trials.
“I have questioned the legality, and I wanted to know specifically, what's the end goal here,” she said.
Sen. Dan Sullivan declined an interview request this week but his office sent a statement saying he’s seeking more information.
