<\/p>\n
After Pentagon press<\/span> secretary Kingsley Wilson declared the War Department was certain about the identities of supposed drug smugglers killed in boat strikes, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., had some questions about the intelligence. When Houlahan called on Wilson to appear before Congress, however, the outspoken<\/a> and controversial<\/a> spokesperson suddenly went silent.<\/p>\n \u201cI can tell you that every single person who we have hit thus far who is in a drug boat carrying narcotics to the United States is a narcoterrorist. Our intelligence has confirmed that, and we stand by it,\u201d Wilson said<\/a> on Tuesday during a pseudo Pentagon press briefing where attendance was limited to media outlets that have agreed to limits on the scope of their reporting.<\/p>\n \u201cOur intelligence absolutely confirms who these people are,\u201d she said. \u201cI can tell you that, without a shadow of a doubt, every single one of our military and civilian lawyers knows that these individuals are narcoterrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n In exclusive comments to The Intercept, Houlahan expressed her doubts and demanded proof.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there is intelligence that \u2018absolutely confirms\u2019 this \u2014 present it. Come before the House or Senate Intelligence committees and let Congress provide the proper oversight and checks and balances the American people deserve,\u201d said Houlahan, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. \u201cPut the whispers and doubts to rest once and for all. If there is intelligence to \u2018absolutely confirm\u2019 this, the Congress is ready to receive it. Until we all see it, you can surely understand why we are skeptical.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Both the House Armed Services Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, both of which Houlahan serves on, routinely receive classified briefings from the military.<\/p>\n Wilson \u2014 who touted<\/a> a \u201cnew era\u201d of working to \u201ckeep the American people informed and to ensure transparency\u201d on Tuesday \u2014 did not respond to questions or requests for comment from The Intercept about Houlahan\u2019s remarks or appearing before Congress.<\/p>\n In past classified briefings to lawmakers and congressional staff, the military has admitted that it does not know exactly who it\u2019s killing in the boat strikes<\/a>, according to seven government officials who have spoken with The Intercept.<\/p>\n Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., also a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said that Pentagon officials who briefed her admitted that the administration does not know the identities of all the individuals who were killed in the strikes.<\/p>\n \u201cThey said that they do not need to positively identify individuals on the vessels to do the strikes,\u201d Jacobs told <\/a>The Intercept in October. \u201cThey just need to show a connection to a DTO or affiliate,\u201d she added, using shorthand for \u201cdesignated terrorist organizations<\/a>,\u201d the Trump administration\u2019s term for the secret list of groups with whom it claims to be at war.<\/p>\n The military has carried out 21 known attacks, destroying 22 boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September and killing at least 83 civilians<\/a>. It has not conducted a strike on a vessel since November 15.<\/p>\n Since the strikes began, experts in the laws of war and members of Congress from both parties<\/a> say the strikes are illegal extrajudicial killings <\/a>because the military is not permitted to deliberately target civilians \u2014 even suspected criminals \u2014 who do not pose an imminent threat of violence.<\/p>\n The summary executions mark a major departure from typical practice in the long-running U.S. war on drugs<\/a>, where law enforcement agencies arrest<\/a> suspected drug smugglers.<\/p>\n A double-tap strike during the initial September 2 attack \u2014 where the U.S. hit an incapacitated boat for a second time, killing two survivors clinging to the wreckage \u2014 added a second layer of illegality to strikes that experts and lawmakers say are already tantamount to murder. The double-tap strike was first reported by The Intercept<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nTwenty-One Attacks<\/h2>\n