Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) used an appearance on MSNBCs All In to demand that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth be held to account for what he described as a disturbing pattern of disregard for civilian lives.
According to Breitbart, host Chris Hayes opened the segment by highlighting new reports and images from Iran that appear to show U.S.-deployed landmines scattered in an area near suspected missile launch sites but still essentially civilian. Hayes told viewers, Theres reporting that, theres images in Iran that appear to show landmines that have been, I think, dropped out of airplanes and scattered in a part of Iran, its possibly near the near the site of where missiles might be launched, but in essentially civilian area. This is the first time in years that this has been deployed by the U.S. Do you have concerns about that?
Kim responded that he was deeply troubled by the reports and insisted Congress must investigate the administrations conduct. Absolutely. I mean, it highlights why we need to have public hearings to be able to understand what exactly we are doing, whether its these weapons, if they are in fact land mines that are American, it is the first time in years, he said, stressing that such weapons are shunned precisely because of their indiscriminate nature.
The New Jersey Democrat acknowledged that landmines pose a grave risk to innocents and undermine any claim of precision targeting. And theres a reason we dont want to use these: the potential for civilian harm and for not targeting precision with military targets. And it would be a huge step backwards, he continued, warning that the alleged deployment fits a broader pattern under Hegseths leadership.
Kim then linked the landmine controversy to other incidents he blames on the Pentagons current posture, including deadly strikes inside Iran. But again, this has been a pattern, Chris, a pattern that weve seen, Secretary Hegseth, whether its the boat strikes, whether its the attack on that school, that killed over 160 people in Iran, as well as, you know, I pushed for legislation a couple years ago that started the Civilian Protection Center at the Pentagon, he said, invoking his own role in creating safeguards meant to limit collateral damage.
He charged that those safeguards have been systematically dismantled by the current Defense Department leadership. This is something that was trying to minimize civilian casualties, as we saw in Iraq and Afghanistan. And now, Secretary Hegseth over the last year has gutted it, you know, reduced the staff, right down to the very bottom, has not been pushing forward on the funding and look at what were getting, Kim argued, portraying the alleged Iranian casualties as the predictable result of that policy shift.
Kim concluded by asserting that the moral and strategic burden now rests squarely on the United States, and on Hegseth in particular. So this is looks like a pattern of very clear, not just neglect but disregard by this Secretary of Defense when it comes to civilian casualties, which is on us now that we own that as a country and that is something that he needs to be accountable for, he said, underscoring the need for transparency and accountability in the use of American military power abroad.
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