WASHINGTON — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said he didn’t order the second strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat — but he would have, in new comments about the decision to target survivors of a Sept. 2 US attack.

“I fully support that strike,” Hegseth said during his remarks at the Reagan National Defense Forum on Saturday. “I would have made the same call myself.”

Pete Hegseth addressed the strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats at the Reagan National Defense Forum Saturday. REUTERS

Last week, House and Senate lawmakers were briefed in a classified setting by Admiral Frank Bradley about the strikes. Democrats said they came away horrified by what they learned, while Republicans in the briefing largely stood by Hegseth.

President Trump has supported releasing footage of the stri

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