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shadowkatSo, I decided to subscribe to The Atlantic - to support a free press, and the Atlantic had the guts to post Full Signal Chat Messages Showing Military Plans About US Strikes in Yemen.
[In case you don't know this already? The editor-in-chief to the Atlantic was included/invited to a top security Signal Chat by accident. The idiots who included him, then declared no top secret information was released, and they caught it quickly, and The Atlantic was lying about it. So the Atlantic decided to publish what they found out and let readers make up their own minds.]
In The Atlantic’s initial story about the Signal chat—the “Houthi PC small group,” as it was named by Waltz—we withheld specific information related to weapons and to the timing of attacks that we found in certain texts. As a general rule, we do not publish information about military operations if that information could possibly jeopardize the lives of U.S. personnel. That is why we chose to characterize the nature of the information being shared, not specific details about the attacks.
The statements by Hegseth, Gabbard, Ratcliffe, and Trump—combined with the assertions made by numerous administration officials that we are lying about the content of the Signal texts—have led us to believe that people should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions. There is a clear public interest in disclosing the sort of information that Trump advisers included in nonsecure communications channels, especially because senior administration figures are attempting to downplay the significance of the messages that were shared.
Experts have repeatedly told us that use of a Signal chat for such sensitive discussions poses a threat to national security. As a case in point, Goldberg received information on the attacks two hours before the scheduled start of the bombing of Houthi positions. If this information—particularly the exact times American aircraft were taking off for Yemen—had fallen into the wrong hands in that crucial two-hour period, American pilots and other American personnel could have been exposed to even greater danger than they ordinarily would face. The Trump administration is arguing that the military information contained in these texts was not classified—as it typically would be—although the president has not explained how he reached this conclusion.
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.
Late yesterday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emailed a response: “As we have repeatedly stated, there was no classified information transmitted in the group chat. However, as the CIA Director and National Security Advisor have both expressed today, that does not mean we encourage the release of the conversation. This was intended to be a an [sic] internal and private deliberation amongst high-level senior staff and sensitive information was discussed. So for those reason [sic] — yes, we object to the release.” (The Leavitt statement did not address which elements of the texts the White House considered sensitive, or how, more than a week after the initial air strikes, their publication could have bearing on national security.)
A CIA spokesperson asked us to withhold the name of John Ratcliffe’s chief of staff, which Ratcliffe had shared in the Signal chain, because CIA intelligence officers are traditionally not publicly identified. Ratcliffe had testified earlier yesterday that the officer is not undercover and said it was “completely appropriate” to share their name in the Signal conversation. We will continue to withhold the name of the officer. Otherwise, the messages are unredacted.
he 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)”
Let us pause here for a moment to underscore a point. This Signal message shows that the U.S. secretary of defense texted a group that included a phone number unknown to him—Goldberg’s cellphone—at 11:44 a.m. This was 31 minutes before the first U.S. warplanes launched, and two hours and one minute before the beginning of a period in which a primary target, the Houthi “Target Terrorist,” was expected to be killed by these American aircraft. If this text had been received by someone hostile to American interests—or someone merely indiscreet, and with access to social media—the Houthis would have had time to prepare for what was meant to be a surprise attack on their strongholds. The consequences for American pilots could have been catastrophic.
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.”
For the rest of the article? Go Here.
I'm currently subscribing to New York Magazine, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic. I may cancel New York at some point and jump to Vanity Fair.
Still sleeping poorly, last night is was due to a muscle spasm in my lower back and hip. I figured it out, when I finally caved and put a heating pad on it. It relaxed the muscle. I'm on an anti-inflammatory diet for the most part (have been on one for a long time) - I rarely eat red meat any longer (no appetite for it) - have lamb chops in the fridge, but they disagreed with me on Sunday, and I've not had the appetite for them since. Not crazy about poultry either. I don't know if this is a side effect of the medication that I'm taking, or just a change in appetite? It's problematic - because I need protein, and there's a lot of protein substitutes I can't eat. I may start using the protein powder in the fridge. It's also more than possible that I got glutened this week. "Glutened" is celiac short hand for accidentally digesting gluten without realizing it. And it's possible - that the strawberry-rubarb pie had trace amounts in it. I felt off IBS wise since I ate it. (Sigh). Oh well, it will work it's way out of my system.
Aching now, took an aleve, took a hot shower, have a heating pad on my lower back, and drew the poor man that I saw on the subway today. He was wearing a hospital bracelet. Ever since I was in the hospital getting tests done and got my own - I've been noticing them on other people on the subway, usually folks that look homeless, but may not be. This poor man was trying to put himself together. Putting on his shoes and socks over swollen feet, and had scratches on his face. He looked out of it. Everyone was giving him a wide berth, some folks couldn't bear to sit in the seats opposite him, like I was doing. I kept repeating in my head, but there for the grace of god, go I. My heart bled for the poor man. The world is not fair, equal or kind. And I'm reminded of this daily.
Feeling kind today - I let an older Bengali or Pakistani man with just two tomatoes skip in front of me in line. He also seemed a little lost. Poor man. Later, when I was entering my apartment complex, a nice man held the door open for me. And the elevator was right there. So there may be some truth to the adage, what goes around comes around.
Work is work - I've decided I'm too efficient for my own good. Everyone is behind me, and needs to catch up. So I'm creating spreadsheets to track information, financial and otherwise. Also doing a lot of negotiation meetings. So far without the contractor, so they just go in a circle and go nowhere.
Ah, I hear a Mister Softee Truck in the distance. It is officially spring.
[In case you don't know this already? The editor-in-chief to the Atlantic was included/invited to a top security Signal Chat by accident. The idiots who included him, then declared no top secret information was released, and they caught it quickly, and The Atlantic was lying about it. So the Atlantic decided to publish what they found out and let readers make up their own minds.]
In The Atlantic’s initial story about the Signal chat—the “Houthi PC small group,” as it was named by Waltz—we withheld specific information related to weapons and to the timing of attacks that we found in certain texts. As a general rule, we do not publish information about military operations if that information could possibly jeopardize the lives of U.S. personnel. That is why we chose to characterize the nature of the information being shared, not specific details about the attacks.
The statements by Hegseth, Gabbard, Ratcliffe, and Trump—combined with the assertions made by numerous administration officials that we are lying about the content of the Signal texts—have led us to believe that people should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions. There is a clear public interest in disclosing the sort of information that Trump advisers included in nonsecure communications channels, especially because senior administration figures are attempting to downplay the significance of the messages that were shared.
Experts have repeatedly told us that use of a Signal chat for such sensitive discussions poses a threat to national security. As a case in point, Goldberg received information on the attacks two hours before the scheduled start of the bombing of Houthi positions. If this information—particularly the exact times American aircraft were taking off for Yemen—had fallen into the wrong hands in that crucial two-hour period, American pilots and other American personnel could have been exposed to even greater danger than they ordinarily would face. The Trump administration is arguing that the military information contained in these texts was not classified—as it typically would be—although the president has not explained how he reached this conclusion.
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.
Late yesterday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emailed a response: “As we have repeatedly stated, there was no classified information transmitted in the group chat. However, as the CIA Director and National Security Advisor have both expressed today, that does not mean we encourage the release of the conversation. This was intended to be a an [sic] internal and private deliberation amongst high-level senior staff and sensitive information was discussed. So for those reason [sic] — yes, we object to the release.” (The Leavitt statement did not address which elements of the texts the White House considered sensitive, or how, more than a week after the initial air strikes, their publication could have bearing on national security.)
A CIA spokesperson asked us to withhold the name of John Ratcliffe’s chief of staff, which Ratcliffe had shared in the Signal chain, because CIA intelligence officers are traditionally not publicly identified. Ratcliffe had testified earlier yesterday that the officer is not undercover and said it was “completely appropriate” to share their name in the Signal conversation. We will continue to withhold the name of the officer. Otherwise, the messages are unredacted.
he 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)”
Let us pause here for a moment to underscore a point. This Signal message shows that the U.S. secretary of defense texted a group that included a phone number unknown to him—Goldberg’s cellphone—at 11:44 a.m. This was 31 minutes before the first U.S. warplanes launched, and two hours and one minute before the beginning of a period in which a primary target, the Houthi “Target Terrorist,” was expected to be killed by these American aircraft. If this text had been received by someone hostile to American interests—or someone merely indiscreet, and with access to social media—the Houthis would have had time to prepare for what was meant to be a surprise attack on their strongholds. The consequences for American pilots could have been catastrophic.
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.”
For the rest of the article? Go Here.
I'm currently subscribing to New York Magazine, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic. I may cancel New York at some point and jump to Vanity Fair.
Still sleeping poorly, last night is was due to a muscle spasm in my lower back and hip. I figured it out, when I finally caved and put a heating pad on it. It relaxed the muscle. I'm on an anti-inflammatory diet for the most part (have been on one for a long time) - I rarely eat red meat any longer (no appetite for it) - have lamb chops in the fridge, but they disagreed with me on Sunday, and I've not had the appetite for them since. Not crazy about poultry either. I don't know if this is a side effect of the medication that I'm taking, or just a change in appetite? It's problematic - because I need protein, and there's a lot of protein substitutes I can't eat. I may start using the protein powder in the fridge. It's also more than possible that I got glutened this week. "Glutened" is celiac short hand for accidentally digesting gluten without realizing it. And it's possible - that the strawberry-rubarb pie had trace amounts in it. I felt off IBS wise since I ate it. (Sigh). Oh well, it will work it's way out of my system.
Aching now, took an aleve, took a hot shower, have a heating pad on my lower back, and drew the poor man that I saw on the subway today. He was wearing a hospital bracelet. Ever since I was in the hospital getting tests done and got my own - I've been noticing them on other people on the subway, usually folks that look homeless, but may not be. This poor man was trying to put himself together. Putting on his shoes and socks over swollen feet, and had scratches on his face. He looked out of it. Everyone was giving him a wide berth, some folks couldn't bear to sit in the seats opposite him, like I was doing. I kept repeating in my head, but there for the grace of god, go I. My heart bled for the poor man. The world is not fair, equal or kind. And I'm reminded of this daily.
Feeling kind today - I let an older Bengali or Pakistani man with just two tomatoes skip in front of me in line. He also seemed a little lost. Poor man. Later, when I was entering my apartment complex, a nice man held the door open for me. And the elevator was right there. So there may be some truth to the adage, what goes around comes around.
Work is work - I've decided I'm too efficient for my own good. Everyone is behind me, and needs to catch up. So I'm creating spreadsheets to track information, financial and otherwise. Also doing a lot of negotiation meetings. So far without the contractor, so they just go in a circle and go nowhere.
Ah, I hear a Mister Softee Truck in the distance. It is officially spring.