Hegseth Says He Didn’t Watch 2nd Boat Strike, Backs Commander

WASHINGTON—Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said he watched the initial strike on a drug boat in early September, but did not see survivors or stick around for a follow-up strike on the damaged vessel. “I watched that first strike live,” Hegseth told reporters at a Dec. 2 White House Cabinet meeting. “As you can imagine, at the Department of War, we’ve got a lot of things to do … so I moved on to my next meeting,” he added. Hegseth said around two hours after the initial strike in the Caribbean Sea on Sept. 2, he learned that the commander overseeing the mission, Navy Vice Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, had ordered a follow-up strike....