On October 3, 2025 Bradley was promoted. He is now the commander of the United States Special Operations Command.
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| Adm. Mitch Bradley |
Pete Hegseth has been the main one taking the heat on this and other strikes, but attention has also been turned to Bradley for giving the OK on Hegseth's unlawful order.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was careful to distance both the president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from the order. When asked by a reporter, “Does the administration deny that that second strike happened, or did it happen and the administration denies that Secretary Hegseth gave the order?” she said: “The latter is true.” She attributed the orders of September 2 to Admiral Bradley, appearing to be setting him up for "underbussing".
Underbussing refers to the act of throwing someone under the bus, often used in a context where a person blames or sacrifices another to avoid blame or responsibility. It typically involves subordinates or associates being blamed for a failure or wrongdoing by someone in a higher position.
On Monday, Hegseth pushed Bradley under the bus when he posted: “Admiral Mitch Bradley is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support. I stand by him and the combat decisions he has made—on the September 2 mission and all others since.”
Commentator Brandon Friedman promptly posted: “Hegseth is very transparently blaming a Navy admiral for his own decision. Let this be a lesson for every other military officer: The Trump administration will issue unlawful orders, then blame you for following them.”
“He is selling out Admiral Bradley and sending chills down the spines of his chain of command, who now know their boss will sell them out if he is taking heat. A case study in how not to lead,” posted Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut.
“How to point the finger at someone while pretending to support him,” posted Fox News Channel’s chief political analyst Brit Hume.
On Sunday trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, “No. 1, I don’t know that that happened.vAnd Pete said he did not want them — he didn’t even know what people were talking about. So, we’ll look at, we’ll look into it.” He also said the initial strike “was fine,” but that he “wouldn’t have wanted” a second strike.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said Bradley next week is set to brief the Senate Intelligence Committee on the September follow-up strike, which has drawn significant bipartisan scrutiny.
Warner said he and Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) are speaking on the issue and that he expects to have a preliminary conversation this week with Bradley, CNN reported.
“We’ve got to get to the bottom of this,” he said, calling on the Trump administration to release an unedited video of the strike to help determine “whether these individuals were in the water, on the boat, still combatants or not.”
The House Armed Services Committee, in a statement by chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R, Ala.) and ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (D, Wash.), said their panel is “committed to providing rigorous oversight” of the Defense Department’s operations in the Caribbean: “We take seriously the reports of follow-on strikes on boats alleged to be ferrying narcotics in the SOUTHCOM region and are taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question.”
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December 1, 2025 ~ Heather Cox Richardson, Letters From an American (Substack - You can also find her newsletters on Facebook and YouTube)
WHO TO CONTACT
Your opinion only matters if you speak up. "To be silent is to be complicit."
Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) Senate Intelligence Committee Chair
326 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2353
Rep. Mike Rogers (R, Ala.), House Armed Services Committee Chairman
2469 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-3261
Rep. Adam Smith (D, Wash.) House Armed Services Committee ranking member
2264 Rayburn Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-8901
I was unable to find an address for Admiral Bradley.
MORE CONTACTS
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