Trump Says He Wouldn’t Object to Releasing Video of Contested US Strike If Declassified

A video showing a U.S. military follow-up strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat — a strike that reportedly killed two survivors of an earlier attack — could be made public if the Pentagon declassifies it, President Donald Trump said. He added that the footage shows "nothing remarkable," while Democrats pressed the administration to release the recording amid questions about the operation’s legality.

Eleven people died in the 2 September operation. According to reports, two men who survived the initial strike clung to wreckage for about an hour before being killed in a subsequent attack. A Washington Post report quoted an alleged order to "kill them all," a claim that has prompted intense scrutiny and accusations of possible war crimes.

Senior officials respond: Admiral Frank Bradley of the U.S. Navy, who oversaw the operation, told lawmakers there was no such order. The Pentagon has defended the operation as lawful and says it reviewed the incident. Several officials, including Senator Tom Cotton — who supports tough measures against suspected drug smugglers and has backed President Trump’s approach — were briefed on the strikes.

"I think it’s really important that this video be made public. It’s not lost on anyone, of course, that the interpretation of the video … broke down precisely on party lines," said Representative Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. "Having reviewed many videos of lethal action, this one was profoundly shaking."

Mr. Trump said he had no objection to releasing the video if the Pentagon declassifies it. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said officials were still reviewing the declassification process to ensure that releasing the footage would not compromise sensitive information and did not commit to immediate public release.

Other headlines

The Kremlin praised Mr. Trump’s new national security strategy as an encouraging shift and broadly aligned with Russian thinking. A White House document published on Friday criticized the European Union, warned that Europe faces a risk of "civilisational erasure," and signaled interest in improving ties with Moscow.

Separately, Mr. Trump’s eldest son told a Middle East conference that his father might withdraw U.S. support for the war in Ukraine, criticizing the rationale for continued fighting and describing how Ukraine’s wealthy elite had fled the country. Back home, the president attacked Representative Henry Cuellar of Texas for deciding to run for re-election as a Democrat shortly after receiving a pardon; Mr. Cuellar and his wife have faced bribery allegations.

A federal judge temporarily blocked prosecutors from accessing materials held by a key associate of former FBI Director James Comey, complicating the criminal case against Comey. Representative Ilhan Omar condemned remarks by Mr. Trump about the Somali community in her Minnesota district as "completely disgusting," warning that dehumanizing language can inspire dangerous acts.

Outgoing GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said Republicans privately mocked Mr. Trump before ultimately uniting behind him after he secured the party’s 2024 nomination. The fiancée of a Jamaican-born decorated U.S. Army veteran facing deportation under the Trump administration hopes his case will spur lawmakers to restore immigration protections for former service members.

Finally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the first phase of a U.N.-backed Gaza ceasefire plan is nearly complete and that the second phase must focus on disarming Hamas; he said next steps will be discussed in Washington with Mr. Trump later this month.

Catching up? Here’s what happened on 6 December 2025.