For many generations, the United States has played a major role in maintaining peace around the world, but after just two months in power, the highest levels of the Trump administration have been exposed as being incapable of admitting to, or learning from, their mistakes over a national security breach, raising fresh fears that a Washington fallen to fools and charlatans may no longer be a trustworthy ally.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA director John Ratcliffe answer questions about the security bungle.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA director John Ratcliffe answer questions about the security bungle.Credit: AP
In a scandal dubbed “Signalgate”, the Trump administration amateurishly compromised its highest level of security by inviting an outsider into the encrypted messaging app Signal as they planned major military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. The vice president, secretary of defence and the White House chief of staff were all involved in the chat, which came to light only because one of the members, national security adviser Michael Waltz, accidentally and idiotically added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg.
Goldberg subsequently published a story about the security breach. Waltz stonewalled initially, then took responsibility and abused Goldberg. President Donald Trump, too, attacked Goldberg and assured no classified information was shared.
With such presidential clearance, Goldberg then published the full text of military attack plans shared in the chat. Strikes were discussed and mundanity put on parade: “Godspeed to our warriors,” said Defence Secretary Peter Hegsmith; Vice President JD Vance promised to say a prayer for victory while there were complaints about “bailing out Europe again”.
“There is a clear public interest in disclosing the sort of information that Trump advisers included in non-secure communications channels, especially because senior administration figures are attempting to downplay the significance of the messages that were shared,” Goldberg and his colleague Shane Harris wrote this week after the scandal broke.
The Herald’s North America correspondent, Michael Koziol, said the scandal had ramifications for Australia – a Five Eyes intelligence partner of the US – and other allies who might wonder if the Trump administration can be trusted to handle secret intelligence if top officials are so careless.
Despite Trump’s attempt to stare down the unravelling scandal, the incompetence exposed by the Signal group chat leak undermines confidence among the US forces. Already the wife of an active duty service member deployed near Yemen has slammed Trump and his team for attempting to downplay the leak.
“I don’t think it’s fair for politicians in extremely cushy jobs, never at any risk themselves, to be making these kinds of decisions and [deploy] people while simultaneously dismissing the danger they’re put in by incompetent fools who can’t follow basic security laws,” Kendall Brown told the Beast.
Any US military personnel who made such egregious mistakes as the Signal group chat would be dragged before a court-martial. Those who send them into battle are not held to the same standard.
These men should show leadership and own up to their mistake. That way, they will learn and perhaps assure a worried world. We all know and fear they have their finger on the button.
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