Hegseth’s Defense Is the Same Script Used to Sell Torture
Defense Secretary Hegseth’s press conference Tuesday was a textbook play to make potentially unlawful violence sound acceptable.
Pete Hegseth, in a recent Pentagon press conference, defended a controversial U.S. military strategy by employing tactics reminiscent of those used to justify torture. The eight articles of impeachment, introduced by Republican Representative Thomas Massie, allege unauthorized military operations, disregard for civilian protection laws, and extrajudicial killings during U.S. strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
Massie claims at least 243 people were killed in these operations. Despite the impeachment process being blocked, Hegseth's speech was a clear example of a 20-year-old script designed to justify potentially unlawful violence. Hegseth's arguments mirrored those used to defend torture after 9/11, including renaming the acts, claiming success, standing behind the troops, and turning law into politics.
These tactics aim to shift the focus from legality to partisan allegiance, ultimately undermining accountability and normalizing unlawful behavior.
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