Andreas Kluth: Hegseth and his War Department have lots of explaining to do

He “could count by twos and tie his shoes.” That’s the opening line in episodes of Franklin, a children’s TV series about an eponymous turtle that goes on to do a lot of learning. The same thing, minus the learning, could be said about Pete Hegseth, who has now adopted Franklin as an improbably martial alter ego in his evolving fantasies about “lethality” — a mental trajectory that could end his career and even culminate in accusations, against him or other top brass, of war crimes.

Here’s a partial list of Hegseth’s accomplishments since being confirmed in January as U.S. Secretary of Defense (or, as he insists, of War) by one single vote — that of Vice President JD Vance: He has counted by twos and tied his shoes, done lots of pushups with the troops and shamed queer and “woke” folks in the military. He has purged the Pentagon press corps of established media brands in favor of activists and right-wing outlets friendly to him. He has leaked sensitive details about ongoing military strikes against the Houthis in Yemen on a Signal chat that also included a journalist. And he has given orders to bomb boats of suspected (but not proven) narco-traffickers in the Caribbean, killing the civilians on board.

That latter campaign may now tip the turtle on its back. Many military and civilian lawyers have argued since September, when the Caribbean operations began, that these strikes violate domestic and international laws of war. At least one strike may even amount to a war crime, if new allegations prove correct.

According to the Washington Post, Hegseth launched the first attack on Sep. 2 with a spoken order “to kill everybody.” When the video feed after the strike revealed two survivors in the water holding on to debris, the commander — Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley — ordered a second volley, allegedly to comply with Hegseth’s order.

Hegseth has responded twofold: He has denied being in the room when the second strike was ordered, while accusing the Washington Post and all media outlets reporting on the bombing of peddling fake news. Rather than retreating, he has also doubled down, with snark. “We have only just begun to kill narco-terrorists,” he posted. Two days later, he put up a cartoon of Franklin the turtle, now dressed as though starring in Apocalypse Now and blowing up boats in the tropics. All of this, you see, is fun.

But Hegseth misread his situation. Republicans in Congress never liked him (during his confirmation, three voted with Democrats against him), even if they have so far been subservient enough to President Donald Trump not to make a fuss. The strike reports have changed that.

The chairs of the armed-services committees in both the Senate and House, Roger Wicker and Mike Rogers, have joined their ranking members in promising “vigorous oversight.” Admiral Bradley is to appear in the Senate this week. Other Republicans, such as Representative Mike Turner, have stipulated that if the reports prove correct, “that would be very serious and ... an illegal act.”

At least as bad from Hegseth’s vantage, his boss also seems to have had enough. “Pete said he did not order the death of those two men,” Trump said, adding that “I believe him, 100 percent.” But then he injected the twist. “I wouldn’t have wanted that,” Trump said. “Not a second strike.”

Both Hegseth and Bradley, and possibly others, are now on notice. In the backhanded way that one does these things, Hegseth seems to be preparing to throw Bradley (“an American hero”) under the bus (he “has my 100% support”). How encouraging for Bradley, and all other military commanders under Hegseth.

Since the American-led Nuremberg Trials after World War II, domestic and international law has been clear that “just following orders” is no defense against accusations of war crimes. That is true whether the order comes from the commander-in-chief, the secretary of defense or any officer. Whether a war crime was committed remains to be seen. But Hegseth has already, and for much longer than his time in the Pentagon, made clear that he questions the very idea of law and morality as limiting factors in war.

During Trump’s first term, Hegseth, a pundit on Fox & Friends at the time, lobbied the president on behalf of two soldiers and a Navy SEAL who were accused or convicted of war crimes. (Trump pardoned the soldiers and reversed the demotion of the SEAL.) Currently, the secretary is threatening to court-martial Mark Kelly, a sitting senator and former naval aviator and astronaut, for appearing in a video message to service members that simply reminds them of existing law, which says that they must obey lawful orders but refuse unlawful ones. (Hegseth, as it happens, once said exactly the same thing.)

Unbowed and uncowed, Kelly is returning fire. Hegseth “runs around on a stage like he’s a 12-year-old playing army,” the senator said, wondering how a man posting turtles with rocket-propelled grenades could end up in the command chain to launch nuclear weapons. “This is not a serious person,” Kelly said. “He should have been fired after Signalgate. And then every single day after that.”

Republicans, including the president, may not be ready yet to speak as clearly, even if they share the sentiment. But they are getting closer. However long Hegseth remains in the Pentagon, though, his fate will not be of much consequence once he is gone.

What matters is how the United States, which emerged from World War II as both a military and a moral superpower, will reckon with this turtle episode. How will America hold its warriors, its leaders and itself accountable? Is lethality what makes America great, or its belief in justice and law? By the looks of it, that discussion is now ready to begin, on both sides of the aisle.

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This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Andreas Kluth is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering U.S. diplomacy, national security and geopolitics. Previously, he was editor-in-chief of Handelsblatt Global and a writer for the Economist.