CNN: Hegseth Words Violate International Law, Warn of Endless Holy War

Nicholas Spinnato
March 16th, 2026 5:59 PM
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During Monday’s CNN This Morning, host Audie Cornish and a group of CNN panelists warned how the comments from Secretary Pete Hegseth of “no quarter, no mercy” violate illusory international law as they showed an odd desire for soldiers to be marshalled to an international court to face the wrath of the world against Trump administration actions. 

The panel, especially CNN analyst Kim Dozier and Washington Post Pentagon reporter Tara Copp, focused on Hegseth’s “Christian messianic language” as Copp also warned of a “holy war.”

Cornish’s show teased a segment on Hegseth’s presser comment multiple times before the segment started 40 minutes into the show, with connections of “no quarter, no mercy” to an “illegal order” and “American crusade.”

 

 

Cornish opened the panel discussion with continued complaints over Hegseth's rhetoric in approval of “lethality.”

“Why is this - is this ‘no quarter, no mercy’ comment a big deal? And is it also not unexpected, given how Hegseth has constantly talked about the lethality of the US Army?” she huffed.

It should be noted that rhetoric delivered in a morning press conference to boost morale was not military directives or orders.

Dozier smugly explained how Hegseth did not understand what he’s doing. She then moved to allude to the idea that the US was illegally prosecuting the war:

(...) we want to make sure that our soldiers get the kind of treatment that we would want them to get. And we, therefore, treat people humanely, but also, our international partners cannot join us in fights where they think we are conducting the war illegally.

CNN senior writer Zachary Wolf was then asked by Cornish to explain Hegseth’s views on rules of engagement, as he went to talk about imaginary international law again by going to their favorite old story to smear the Trump Admin, Caribbean drug boat strikes:

You know it is a general disdain for the concept of international law, I think. Taking out a - kidnapping essentially one world leader, assassinating essentially another one, you know. Taking out boats in the Caribbean.

Where was CNN’s out rage at Iran’s violations of “international law?”

 

 

The Washington Post’s Copp then decided to claim soldiers who follow orders from Hegseth and Trump will not be able to be pardoned from the international court of law:

And any troop will understand that ‘no quarter’ is an illegal order under the UCMJ. And whether they are protected just because Hegseth ordered them to or the president protected them through a pardon later on, that doesn't protect them in the international court of law.

To continue CNN’s message of the rise of “Christian nationalism” seen in their unaired documentary, Cornish called Hegseth’s moves his “crusade,” as Dozier then complained:

And he's used, sort of, Christian messianic language in some of his speeches, which makes you think that he's somehow dehumanized the enemy.

 

 

In close of the segment, Copp warned Hegseth’s goal was a Holy War:

(...) the religious undertones in what we've been hearing from both the Pentagon and the White House, you know. Secretary Hegseth has said this won't be an endless war. He came from a generation of soldiers that fought those endless wars. But if you don't want an endless war, don't make it a holy war, because holy wars are endless wars.

If CNN truly had a concern for international law, maybe they would not be partying with the Iranian regime officials in the United Kingdom. Where was their concern for the Iranian people and international law then?

The transcript is below. Click "expand":

CNN This Morning

March 16, 2026

6:11:56 AM Eastern

AUDIE CORNISH: (...) Coming up on CNN This Morning. We want to talk about this phrase that we heard: “No quarter, no mercy.” So did Secretary Pete Hegseth just give what would be called an illegal order?

(...)

6:28:29 AM

CORNISH: Now, straight ahead on CNN This Morning, we're going to turn to this. Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose long advocated for a kind of American crusade. So is he about to get what he wants?

(...)

6:42:00 AM

CORNISH: I want to turn now, bringing in Kim Dozier, CNN global affairs analyst, to join the group chat. I wanted to talk about this because we care about the intelligence. We also care about how a war is prosecuted in our name as voters and of family members of people who are at war, right? The soldiers and our service members. 

Why is this - is this “no quarter, no mercy” comment a big deal? And is it also not unexpected, given how Hegseth has constantly talked about the lethality of the US Army?

KIM DOZIER: Yeah, and fired a large portion of the JAG corps. He's railed against any sort of limits on military power as if he doesn't understand that we're not fighting in a vacuum. 

Yes, as Cedric mentioned, one of the issues is we want to make sure that our soldiers get the kind of treatment that we would want them to get. And we, therefore, treat people humanely, but also, our international partners cannot join us in fights where they think we are conducting the war illegally.

CORNISH: Well, doesn’t understand or doesn’t believe in that? Zach, you were looking at his past writings. He's always talked about how he felt like the rules of engagement were problematic and that he was going to - he would do it differently.

ZACHARY WOLF: Well, he brought that up, I think, in one of his first press conferences about these attacks, how there would be, you know, no silly - I think he said silly rules of engagement. 

You know it is a general disdain for the concept of international law, I think. Taking out a - kidnapping essentially one world leader, assassinating essentially another one, you know. Taking out boats in the Caribbean.

CORNISH: When you looked at his past writing, what was your sense of how he thought of the Middle East and how war should be handled there?

WOLF: He doesn't think that the US Military should be inhibited by anything, you know, any sort of international law, that they should be able to do what they need to do to obtain their objectives. And I think that there, you know, unintended consequences of, you know, frustrating the local population is not something that seems to come into his [inaudible].

CORNISH: Is there - Yeah, go ahead.

TARA COPP: This also shouldn't be a surprise. “No quarter” started with that first boat strike in the Caribbean, where they went back for the double tap to kill survivors clinging to the wreckage. 

So, I think this administration has seen that it has been effective not to have prisoners. And the use of “no quarter,” I mean, that was on purpose. And any troop will understand that “no quarter” is an illegal order under the UCMJ. And whether they are protected just because Hegseth ordered them to or the president protected them through a pardon later on, that doesn't protect them in the international court of law.

CORNISH: Yeah. Is this part of his crusade, so to speak? Sort of how he approaches, how he thinks about the US Civilization, Western Civilization, which you hear a lot of conversation about in conservative circles.

DOZIER: And he's used, sort of, Christian messianic language in some of his speeches, which makes you think that he's somehow dehumanized the enemy. But, I have to say, the UCMJ, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, is there also to protect the troops themselves prosecuting this fight. 

Because I have been in groups with people, you know, I got injured in Iraq a long time ago. And so I've met other people in those situations who still live with the nightmares of things that they were ordered to do when they were following legal orders. I shudder to think how many people, especially if they get into some sort of close-quarters combat. The people who launched the strike against the girls' school, thinking it was good information-

CORNISH: Right.

DOZIER: How they’re going to live with that. 

(...)

6:47:53 AM 

COPP: And just to get back to Kim's point, the religious undertones in what we've been hearing from both the Pentagon and the White House, you know. Secretary Hegseth has said this won't be an endless war. He came from a generation of soldiers that fought those endless wars. But if you don't want an endless war, don't make it a holy war, because holy wars are endless wars.

(...)

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