MaddowBlog-Key U.S. admiral parts ways with Hegseth's Pentagon amid controversial boat strikes

[LetMyPeopleVote]

As the head of U.S. Southern Command steps down at a critical moment, a key senator is raising alarm about “instability within the chain of command.”

As the head of SouthCom steps down at critically important time, don’t miss the scope of the broader military purge under Trump/Hegseth.

Dem Sen. Jack Reed was right to raise alarm about “instability within the chain of command.” www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-10-17T12:59:30.175Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/key-us-admiral-parts-ways-hegseths-pentagon-controversial-boat-strikes-rcna238150

Indeed, just in recent days, the White House has authorized new intelligence operations in Venezuela and reportedly flown an elite Special Operations aviation unit near the Venezuelan coast. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that Venezuela is “moving troops into position on the Caribbean coast and mobilizing what President Nicolás Maduro asserts is a millions-strong militia in a display of defiance against the biggest American military buildup in the Caribbean since the 1980s.”

The head of Southern Command, in other words, has a critically important job right now. So it’s significant that the Navy admiral in this leadership post announced that he’s stepping down. The New York Times reported:

The officer, Adm. Alvin Holsey, is leaving his job as head of the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees all operations in Central and South America. ... It was unclear why Admiral Holsey is suddenly departing, less than a year into what is typically a three-year job, and in the midst of the biggest operation in his 37-year career.

Naturally, there’s been a great deal of speculation about what may have prompted the admiral to quit, though the mystery appears to have an answer. The Times referenced two sources who said Holsey “had raised concerns about the mission and the attacks on the alleged drug boats.” CNN ran a related report, noting that the SouthCom chief had privately expressed reservations about the legality of the Trump-approved strikes......

The broader purge also includes Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh, who was both the head of U.S. Cyber Command and the director of the National Security Agency; Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. James Slife, former vice chief of staff of the Air Force; Adm. Linda Fagan, the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard; Adm. Lisa Franchetti; Lt. Gen. Jennifer Short; Lt. Gen. Joseph B. Berger III, the Army’s top military lawyer; Lt. Gen. Charles Plummer, the Air Force’s top military lawyer; and Navy Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, the only woman on NATO’s military committee.

Each of these instances is important in its own right, but let’s not miss the forest for the trees: A scandal-plagued former Fox News host appears to be destabilizing the U.S. military.

Toward the end of his unsettling speech to the nation’s generals and admirals a few weeks ago, in which his argument boiled down to the assertion that testosterone is the key to modern warfare, Hegseth delivered an unsubtle message to his audience. “If the words I’m speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign,” the secretary said.

Those words continue to resonate for a reason.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. trump lying about these murders may explain why this hero had to leave

The White House insists there’s evidence to justify the president’s extrajudicial military strikes. It just doesn’t want to share that evidence with anyone.

Maddow Blog | As deadly boat strikes continue, Trump suggests evidence is unimportant www.msn.com/en-us/news/p...

— Jim's Blue 🌊🌊 Politics, ANTI Trump/Musk‼️⚡⚡8647 (@jimdjimp1959.bsky.social) 2025-10-17T17:14:57.419Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/deadly-boat-strikes-continue-trump-suggests-evidence-unimportant-rcna238051

The Associated Press reported last week, “The Trump administration has yet to provide underlying evidence to lawmakers proving that alleged drug-smuggling boats targeted by the U.S. military in a series of fatal strikes were in fact carrying narcotics.”

Asked for some kind of explanation, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted that Trump has been “very transparent about these strikes.” But she appears to have missed the point: Trump has been transparent about the existence of these strikes, but he’s kept the underlying evidence (such as it may be) about the strikes under wraps.

It was against this backdrop that The New York Times reported:

Trump was asked about members of Congress who were concerned that they did not receive enough information about who was actually on the ships targeted in the Caribbean. Trump said the boats were ‘loaded with drugs, and that’s the thing that matters.’ He added that there was ‘fentanyl dust all over the boat’ after the attack.

The whole policy, in other words, is rooted in a “trust me” defense.

Q: There are Republicans and Democrats concerned that they are not getting information about who is on those ships


TRUMP: Well, but they are given information that they are loaded up with drugs, and that's the thing that matters

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-10-15T20:13:13.675Z

......What’s more, it’s not just the White House’s usual critics who have taken notice. NBC News reported this week that members of Congress from both parties are “growing concerned” over a lack of information from the administration “about the intelligence and strategy underlying its strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean.”

The report added, “Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have left briefings about the strikes frustrated with the lack of information. ... Some have asked for unedited video of the strikes, reflecting the kind of basic information they seek, but the administration has so far refused to provide it.”

Something to keep in mind the next time Trump and his allies try to peddle silly boasts about his embrace of “transparency.”