Amna Nawaz
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WATCH: Sen. King questions Hegseth about torture and rules of war
Posted
January 14, 2025
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January 14, 2025
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7:39Now PlayingSen. Angus King, I-Maine, questioned defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth during his confirmation hearing Tuesday about the use of torture in the military and his belief in the Geneva Convention, which governs the conduct of war.
King said that Hegseth had previously stated that the U.S. should not fight under the rules of the Geneva Convention.
“Are you saying that the Geneva Convention provisions, which which clearly outlaw torture of prisoners, do not — should not — apply in the future?” Hegseth said.
Hegseth called the Geneva Convention “incredibly important” but said that wars now are fought differently than when the convention was written.
“We would all have to acknowledge that the way we fought our wars back when the Geneva Conventions were written are a lot different than the asymmetric, non-conventional environment of counterinsurgency that I confronted in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth is a military veteran and conservative media personality. President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary has faced allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking, and been criticized as a nominee for his controversial views on diversity and religion in the military.
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