Earlier in his keynote remarks, Hegseth declared that President Donald Trump is the true heir to Ronald Reagan\u2019s “peace through strength” doctrine, accusing past bipartisan leaders of drifting into endless wars.<\/p>\n
After his speech, Hegseth sat down with Tomlinson for a Q&A that revealed new details about the Sept. 2 operation, which he said was the first in a series of more than 20 U.S. strikes targeting cartel-linked narco-terrorist networks across the Caribbean.<\/p>\n
He also sharply rejected reporting that he<\/a> had instructed U.S. forces to kill all individuals on the boat.<\/p>\n AS TRUMP\u2019S STANDOFF WITH MADURO DEEPENS, EXPERTS WARN THE NEXT MOVE MAY FORCE A SHOWDOWN<\/a><\/p>\n Secretary of War Pete Hegseth gives a speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum Saturday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. (Caylo Seals\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n “(Is) anybody here from The Washington Post? I don\u2019t know where you get your sources, but they suck,” Hegseth said when asked if he had ever issued such an order. “Of course not \u2026 you don\u2019t walk in and say, \u2018Kill them.\u2019 It\u2019s just patently ridiculous.”<\/p>\n Hegseth also said it took “a couple of weeks, almost a month” to build the intelligence required for the first strike. He said the Pentagon had to reorient assets that had been focused “10,000 miles around the other side of the world for a very long time.”<\/p>\n He kept strike authority<\/a> at his level only for the initial operation due to its “strategic implications.”<\/p>\n CAPITOL HILL REVOLT THREATENS TRUMP\u2019S VENEZUELA PLAYBOOK AMID CARIBBEAN STRIKE OVERSIGHT<\/a><\/p>\n Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivers the keynote address at the Reagan National Defense Forum Saturday, in Simi Valley, Calif. (Fox News\/Pool)<\/p>\n “The briefing that I received before that strike was extensive, exhaustive,” he said. “Military side, on the civilian side, lawyers, intel analysts, red-teaming \u2026 all the details you need to strike a designated terrorist organization.”<\/p>\n Hegseth said the target was part of an organization President Trump had formally designated as a terrorist group.<\/p>\n “My job was to say execute or don\u2019t execute,” he said.<\/p>\n He approved the strike<\/a>.<\/p>\n HEGSETH TO HIGHLIGHT REBUILDING THE ‘ARSENAL OF FREEDOM’ IN SPEECH AT REAGAN NATIONAL DEFENSE FORUM<\/a><\/p>\n Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivers the keynote address at the Reagan National Defense Forum Saturday, in Simi Valley, Calif. (Fox News\/Pool)<\/p>\n According to Hegseth, he viewed the mission feed “for probably five minutes or so” before moving to other tasks once the strike shifted to tactical execution.<\/p>\n Hours later, Hegseth said he was informed by commanders that a second strike was necessary.<\/p>\n “There had to be a re-attack, because there were a couple of folks that could still be in the fight,” he said, citing access to radios, a possible link-up point with another boat and remaining drugs on board.<\/p>\n “I fully support that strike,” he said. “I would have made the same call myself.”<\/p>\n He added that secondary attacks are common in combat zones and fell “well within the authorities of Adm. Bradley<\/a>,” who now oversees strike decisions. Hegseth said he no longer retains approval authority for subsequent missions.<\/p>\n Addressing questions about survivor protocols, Hegseth pointed to a later incident involving a semi-submersible drug vessel.<\/p>\n “In that particular case, the first strike didn\u2019t take it out, and a couple of guys jumped off and swam,” he said. After the vessel was struck again and sank, U.S. forces retrieved the survivors.<\/p>\n “We gave them back to their host countries,” he said, adding that the situation “didn\u2019t change our protocol” but reflected different circumstances.<\/p>\n HOUSE REPUBLICANS BACK TRUMP’S VENEZUELA MOVES FOR NOW AS ESCALATION UNCERTAINTY LOOMS<\/a><\/p>\n Fox News Channel’s Shannon Bream interviews Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought at the Reagan National Defense Forum Saturday in Simi Valley, Calif. (Fox News)<\/p>\n Hegseth argued that the operations have already had a deterrent effect.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We\u2019re putting them at the bottom of the Caribbean. <\/a>\u2026 It will make the American people safer,” Hegseth said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tomlinson pressed Hegseth on President Trump\u2019s public statement that he did not oppose releasing the unredacted video of the first strike.<\/p>\n “We\u2019re reviewing it right now,” Hegseth said, citing concerns over “sources, methods” and ongoing operations.<\/p>\n Hegseth said defense spending is one of the issues that “keeps [him] up,” adding he was recently in Oval Office meetings about the fiscal year 2026 and fiscal year 2027 budgets.<\/p>\n Asked directly whether defense spending as a share of GDP will rise, he replied, “I think that number is going up,” while declining to get ahead of President Trump.<\/p>\n “We need a revived defense industrial base,” he said. “We need those capabilities. We need them yesterday.”<\/p>\n Tomlinson also asked whether Hegseth regretted using Signal ahead<\/a> of combat operations in Yemen, referencing a recently closed inspector general review.<\/p>\n “I don\u2019t live with any regrets,” Hegseth said. “I know exactly where my compass is on our troops.” He argued that morale has surged under Trump.<\/p>\n “The revival of the spirit inside our military \u2026 the desire to join and reenlist is at historic levels,” he said.<\/p>\n Asked whether he prefers troops equipped with more AI-enabled tools<\/a> or autonomous systems replacing them, Hegseth said the modern battlefield requires both.<\/p>\n “It has to be both,” he said. “What AI is doing to ten, 100, 1,000 times the speed of sensing \u2026 is critical.”<\/p>\n![\"Secretary](\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1200\/675\/hegseth-details-venezuela-strike-at-reagan-keynote.jpg?ve=1&tl=1\")
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