In August 2025, the Department of Defense issued an execute order containing targeting instructions that required reasonable certainty rather than positive identification of a target.
Posted by Behind the Bastards, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 85%
Behind the BastardsOct 3, 2026
A 2026 federal court opinion quoting the execute order states that the August 5, 2025 Hegseth EXORD did not require positive identification of any individual and instead required DOD to 'determine with reasonable certainty' that the boat carried adult males affiliated with a designated terrorist organization.
Our two reads of who says this, and how, disagree, so it counts as the post's own claim.
What was said
… It's fake, and violence seems to be the point of these boat strikes for the Trump administration. Sorry to digress. Anyway, in mid-2025, Trump signed a classified directive that authorized the military to use force against a secret list of 24 Dto's. Not to be left behind, HEGSA followed this up with an execute order in August 2025 that contained targeting instructions that didn't require positive identification of a target, instead, quote unquote, reasonable certainty that a person is a member of or affiliated with a DTO, per The Washington Post. I want to stop right here and say that under Obama, the standard for drone strikes in the Middle East was quote unquote near certainty, and they still struck a marriage …
Behind the Bastards · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The SDNY opinion (ACLU FOIA case) states that on August 5, 2025, Secretary Hegseth issued an 'execute order' whose targeting guidelines did not require positive identification of any individual but required DOD to 'determine with reasonable certainty' that the boat contained adult males affiliated with a designated terrorist organization.[1]
Supports. The Courthouse News copy of the same order carries identical language on the August 5, 2025 execute order and the reasonable-certainty standard, though it is the same document as the court opinion rather than an independent record.[2]
Supports. WOLA reports that the August 5, 2025 EXORD's targeting instructions 'do not require positive identification of any individual but rather reasonable certainty,' citing The Washington Post.[3]
Supports. Al Mayadeen reports that the Aug. 5 EXORD requires not positive identification but only 'reasonable certainty' that adult males are members of or affiliated with a DTO, citing a Washington Post report.[5]
Supports. A Substack piece citing five current and former U.S. officials reports that the Aug. 5 execute order contains targeting instructions that do not require positive identification but rely on 'reasonable certainty' of DTO affiliation.[4]
Context. The claimant's own podcast passage repeats the same account, but it is the claimant's words and is not used as corroboration.[6]
Sources
6 sources: 1 primary, 4 not rated, 1 rated low
- 1Microsoft Word - ACLUSept29FINAL - cleanwp.nysd.uscourts.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 2ACLUSept29FINAL - clean - Courthouse News Servicecourthousenews.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 3Killing Spree: Extrajudicial executions in the U.S. boat strikes campaignwola.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4catherine05.substack.com › p › stephen-millers-hard-line-mexicoStephen Miller’s hard-line Mexico strategy morphed into deadly...catherine05.substack.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Trump's boat strike campaign accused of executing people at seaenglish.almayadeen.net · rated low for factual reporting by Iffy.news · cited for: supports
- 6US Military Boat Strikes in the Caribbean and Pacificiheart.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- In August 2025, the U.S. military issued an execute order requiring reasonable certainty that a target is affiliated with a drug trafficking organization to authorize a strike.True
- In mid-2025, Donald Trump signed a classified directive authorizing the military to use force against a list of 24 drug trafficking organizations.True
- The Justice Department signed a secret opinion in the summer of 2025 justifying boat strikes by stating the United States was in an armed conflict with narco-terrorists.Mixed
- U.S. military personnel in Iraq were required to complete a 15-6 investigation after engaging targets with weapons.Can’t tell
- On September 2, 2025, a U.S. military strike killed nine people on a boat in the Caribbean.True