Dems want release of attacks video

Demand for more transparency grows

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A US strike on 'a suspected drug vessel in international waters', at a location given as the Eastern Pacific in a screen grab from a video released Dec 4.

(REUTERS)

Top Democrats called on Sunday for the release of classified video of the US military's first operation targeting a boat in the Caribbean in early September, an attack that has faced heavy scrutiny in part for its followup strike that killed two survivors.

Democrats and Republicans have offered starkly different descriptions of the video, which was seen by some members of Congress but has not been made public. Rep Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said it was “simply not accurate” that the video of the Sept 2 strike on the boat carrying 11 individuals showed the survivors trying to flip a capsized boat, rescue its cargo and continue trafficking drugs, as Republicans in Congress have maintained.

“It seems pretty clear they don’t want to release this video because they don’t want people to see it, because it’s very, very difficult to justify,” Mr Smith, who saw the footage last week, said in an interview with ABC's This Week on Sunday.