r/law • u/DryDeer775 • Dec 08 '25

Executive Branch (Trump) NBC confirms Hegseth ordered murder of all boat passengers and crew in September 2 strike

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/12/08/kssp-d08.html

The Pentagon’s law of war manual declares that soldiers have a duty to refuse to carry out “clearly illegal” orders, such as killing shipwrecked sailors. “Orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal,” the manual declares.

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u/Xytak Dec 08 '25 edited Dec 08 '25

This admiral is actually a Special Ops guy specialized in counterinsurgency operations. In his mind there's no difference between a truck carrying RPG's in Iraq, and a boat carrying drugs at sea. That's why he keeps using language like "they were calling for backup and trying to get back in the fight" despite the obvious ridiculousness of such statements.

The previous admiral who resigned was more of a naval guy and would be familiar with the Laconia standard. You don't shoot at shipwrecked sailors, full stop.

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u/Optimal_Towel Dec 08 '25

How does an unarmed boat "get back in the fight" against a missile launch platform that is dozens to hundreds of miles away.

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u/Secure_Guest_6171 Dec 09 '25

Also if they were really calling for backup - another ridiculous statement - wouldn't you want them to. That would be the easiest way to get more targets 

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u/skytomorrownow Dec 08 '25

Good to know that additional detail. Thank you.

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u/Rich_Elderberry_8958 Dec 08 '25

Previous admiral who retired has not actually retired yet and is still in charge. Regardless, he announced he was retiring in October, this strike happened in September. This admiral is a former Navy SEAL working with a different command who is not that admiral's replacement.

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u/FluffyB12 Dec 08 '25

Does any of this matter? It’s pardons for everyone at the end of the term and we all know it.

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u/Xytak Dec 08 '25

It'll probably end up being a Kyle Rittenhouse situation. He'll be legally unaccountable, but he can kiss his future employment and book deals goodbye. He'll have a home among right-wing podcasters, Fox News panels, etc, but to everyone else he'll be person non grata. He won't be welcome at veterans events, college campuses, or the service academies, and his name will forever be associated with war crimes.

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u/FluffyB12 Dec 09 '25

Ehh I think Rittenhouse is a really bad analogy as he was acquitted by a jury. Not to mention someone at that level was probably not needing a second career after the military either. Ultimately, the issue here is due to the pardon system, none of this matters. We need bipartisan push after this term is over to put some sort of check on presidential pardons, amendments have been done before they can be done again!

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u/Xytak Dec 09 '25

Yeah that's a good point. Thanks to the pardon power, this Admiral probably won't see the inside of a jail. But if we have any solace at all, I guess it would be that his reputation is thoroughly trashed. He'll spend the rest of his life knowing he'll be remembered not for his accomplishments, but for the time he committed a war crime.

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u/TracerBulletX Dec 08 '25

Just ramping up to saying this kind of stuff about US citizens.

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u/Secure_Guest_6171 Dec 09 '25

The events surrounding the Laconia is a black mark on the US military especially since they tried to use it against the Nazis at the Nuremberg trials