Retired Air Force Gen. Blaine Holt weighed in on Newsmax's "Wake Up America Early," Tuesday, as some U.S. senators called for an investigation into a September airstrike on a suspected Caribbean drug boat.
The controversy includes allegations that a "second hit" killed two survivors.
Responding to questions about the operation, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the strike as lawful, saying that "presidentially designated narco-terrorist groups are subject to lethal targeting in accordance with the laws of war."
Holt said the controversy turns on the facts of the engagement, including the precise details of the strike and the rules of engagement governing it.
"And if there's even a tinge of blood in the water in the swamp, then the politics behind it are just going to inflame like they are right now. But that doesn't mean that the administration shouldn't be transparent," Holt said.
Holt framed the dispute as a question of compliance with the law of armed conflict, urging officials to "let the sunlight in" by providing records, and to pursue accountability if wrongdoing is found, while minimizing distractions for U.S. personnel conducting ongoing operations in the Caribbean.
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