In the world of military operations, secrecy is paramount, as any slip-up can jeopardize national security and global stability.
However, in an astonishing breach of protocol, several high-ranking officials from the Trump administration, including Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, have found themselves embroiled in a major blunder.
The officials used the commercial chat app, Signal, to discuss secret military plans for recent US attacks on the Houthi armed group in Yemen while also including Jeffrey Goldberg, the Editor of the Atlantic magazine, in the group.
Goldberg revealed the breach in an article, saying that the messages started with a discussion about when the action should be launched while Goldberg followed along.
The strikes were carried out and the principals congratulated themselves on a job well done during a brief after-action discussion before Goldberg removed himself.
The report was confirmed by Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the national security council, said, “This appears to be an authentic message chain, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain.”
“The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to troops or national security.”
Brian Hughes
Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he was unaware of the incident. “I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of the Atlantic,” Trump said.
Hegseth, in his first comments on the matter, attacked Goldberg but did not shed light on why Signal was being used to discuss the sensitive operation or how Goldberg ended up on the message chain.
Hegseth said in an exchange with reporters after landing in Hawaii as he began his first trip to the Indo-Pacific as Defense Secretary, “Nobody was texting war plans and that’s all I have to say about that.”
Security and intelligence commentators in the US described the breach of operational security as unprecedented – both for the use of a commercial chat service and for the inclusion of Goldberg.
Signal is not approved by the US government for sharing sensitive information.
In the US military, the highest political echelon and intelligence services operate under strict rules for communication of classified material and for the discussion of issues concerning operational security where lives and outcomes could be compromised by disclosure.
While Signal is regarded as a secure encrypted chat service, its weakness is that phones on which it is installed can themselves be vulnerable.
Bipartisan Outrage
The catastrophic leak has triggered bipartisan outrage, sparking calls for a congressional investigation and stinging condemnation of government officials.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer called it “one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very, very long time.”
Among those aghast at the breach was the Democratic representative Pat Ryan, an army veteran who sits on the House armed services committee who described it using the second world war-era epithet “Fubar” – meaning “fucked up beyond all recognition.”
“If House Republicans won’t hold a hearing on how this happened IMMEDIATELY, I’ll do it my damn self.”
Pat Ryan
Former Defense Secretary and CIA Director Leon Panetta told a news agency, “Somebody needs to get fired.” He stated, “How the name of a journalist was added to that list – this is just a serious blunder.”
He noted that if it had been someone other Goldberg, they “could reveal this information immediately to the Houthis in Yemen that they were about to be attacked and they in turn could have… attacked US facilities in the Red Sea, causing casualties of our troops.”
Citing the “calamitous risks of transmitting classified information across unclassified systems,” Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said that he was “horrified” by the news.
“If true, these actions are a brazen violation of laws and regulations that exist to protect national security, including the safety of Americans serving in harm’s way.”
Jim Himes
However, Republican House Speaker, Mike Johnson downplayed the significance of the incident, telling a news agency, “What you did see, though, I think, was top level officials doing their job, doing it well, and executing on a plan with precision.”
“Apparently an inadvertent phone number made it onto that thread. They’re going to track that down and make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Mike Johnson
The incident is likely to further raise concerns over the Trump administration’s trustworthiness with intelligence sharing.
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