Atlantic Publishes Some Signal Messages About Attack on Houthis in Yemen
The Atlantic published a few Signal messages about the attack on the Houthis in Yemen.
“There was no classified material that was shared in that Signal group,” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told the Senate Intelligence Committee.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the same thing: “My communications, to be clear, in the Signal message group were entirely permissible and lawful and did not include classified information.”
Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg did not release the Yemen part of the messages in his initial piece.
I’m guessing the publication conversed with its legal department before publishing the messages.
The Atlantic did not include everything:
As we wrote on Monday, much of the conversation in the “Houthi PC small group” concerned the timing and rationale of attacks on the Houthis, and contained remarks by Trump-administration officials about the alleged shortcomings of America’s European allies. But on the day of the attack—Saturday, March 15—the discussion veered toward the operational.At 11:44 a.m. eastern time, Hegseth posted in the chat, in all caps, “TEAM UPDATE:”The text beneath this began, “TIME NOW (1144et): Weather is FAVORABLE. Just CONFIRMED w/CENTCOM we are a GO for mission launch.” Centcom, or Central Command, is the military’s combatant command for the Middle East. The Hegseth text continues:•“1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)”•“1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)”But due to the administration denying claims they shared classified information, The Atlantic insisted it had to release the messages so people could “reach their own conclusions.”—The Hegseth text then continued:•“1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)”•“1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets)”•“1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.”•“MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)”•“We are currently clean on OPSEC”—that is, operational security.•“Godspeed to our Warriors.”Shortly after, Vice President J. D. Vance texted the group, “I will say a prayer for victory.”
The Atlantic claimed it reached out to the administration for permission to release the information:
Yesterday, we asked officials across the Trump administration if they objected to us publishing the full texts. In emails to the Central Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Security Council, the Department of Defense, and the White House, we wrote, in part: “In light of statements today from multiple administration officials, including before the Senate Intelligence Committee, that the information in the Signal chain about the Houthi strike is not classified, and that it does not contain ‘war plans,’ The Atlantic is considering publishing the entirety of the Signal chain.”We sent our first request for comment and feedback to national-security officials shortly after noon, and followed up in the evening after most failed to answer.
Vice President JD Vance responded this morning:
Look, it was a huge mistake. It’s not good and shouldn’t have happened.
But as RedState’s Bonchie points out, the administration should have just admitted the mistake and moved on.
I also agree with him that if you didn’t call for resignations after the Afghanistan withdrawal, you shouldn’t say anything.
Also, don’t forget that former President Barack Obama killed an American citizen and his teenage son with drones.
Anwar al-Awlaki was a terrorist. He was also an American citizen. No matter where you are and what you’re accused of, you deserve due process if you are a citizen of America. You are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Even if you’re okay with the al-Awlaki killing, the drone also killed his teenage son.
So if you weren’t outraged over that, don’t freak out about the Signal messages.
Breitbart’s Joel Pollak agrees. The administration should make changes. Signal is more secure than text messages and other apps but is imperfect.
Granted, this was a user error, NOT a Signal error. A persona has to add someone to a group.
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