WASHINGTON: Atlantic magazine has released further details regarding the Trump administration’s military plans concerning Yemen.
Recently, senior officials of the Trump administration accidentally included Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of the American magazine, in a group tagged as Houthi PC small group. Goldberg claimed that while the world learned about the U.S. bombing in Yemen on March 15 at 2 PM Eastern Time, he received the information about potential attacks two hours earlier.
According to The Atlantic, after the first phase of the plan was announced, a journalist asked Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan why he shared the war plan on the Signal messaging app. In response, Shanahan claimed that no one was sending messages about military plans in that chat.
When Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Gabbard stated that no classified information was shared in the Signal group, while Ratcliffe asserted that all their chats were lawful and non-classified. When President Trump was asked about it, he also insisted that the information was not classified.
The magazine reported that some information shared in the Signal group was withheld, especially regarding weapons and timing of attacks, because publication of military operation details could endanger U.S. soldiers’ lives.
The Atlantic concluded that if statements from Shanahan, Gabbard, Ratcliffe, and Trump are combined with claims from many other administration officials stating that the magazine was lying about the content of the chat, it led the publication to decide that readers should see the material for themselves and make their own judgments.
According to The Atlantic, the editor-in-chief was informed about the attacks in Yemen two hours before the targets were hit. If this information, specifically regarding U.S. aircraft flying toward Yemen, had fallen into the wrong hands, it could have posed even greater risks to American pilots and personnel.
Experts have indicated that sharing such sensitive information on a Signal chat poses a threat to national security.
The Atlantic reported that it sought permission from the CIA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Security Council, the Department of Defense, and the White House to see if they would object to the publication of all material from the Signal chat. Most of those contacted failed to respond.
Caroline Levitt, the White House press secretary, responded via email that no classified information had been shared in the group, but that did not mean they encouraged the public release of that conversation. Sensitive information was discussed, and they objected to its publication.
According to the magazine, a CIA spokesperson demanded that the name of Ratcliffe’s chief of staff, who was included in the Signal group, not be disclosed.
