Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the US magazine "The Atlantic", was mistakenly included in a conversation between JD Vance / Vice President / Marco Rubio / Secretary of State / and Pete Hegseth / Secretary of Defense / in the messaging app "Signal".

Goldberg had received in advance the detailed plan for the March 15 attacks on the Houthis. He has also been given access to the scathing rants against the Europeans, who are described as "profiteers".

The White House confirmed yesterday, March 24, that the editor-in-chief of "The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly included in an ultra-confidential discussion group of senior US officials on strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.

"It now appears that the message chain reported in the article is real, and we are investigating how a number was added by mistake," said National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes. That conversation "is evidence of deep and thoughtful coordination among senior officials," he said.

Donald Trump, for his part, said he knew "nothing" about the disclosure. "This is the first time you're telling me this... I'm not a big fan of The Atlantic. That magazine is going bankrupt," the president said.

Donald Trump "continues to have high confidence in his national security team, including his national security adviser Mike Waltz," White House spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt said.

Yesterday, in a lengthy article titled - "The Trump Administration Mistakenly Sent Me Its Military Plans," Jeffrey Goldberg revealed that he had received in advance, via the Signal app, the detailed plan for the attacks carried out by the Americans against this rebel group in Yemen on March 15. "Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth sent me the attack plan" two hours before the strikes began, including "precise information on weapons, targets and timing," he wrote.

"You're talking about an underfunded and highly discredited so-called journalist who has repeatedly spread falsehoods," Pete Hegseth said in response to a journalist's question. "Nobody has sent any war plans and that's all I have to say on that," he added.

"I hate to come to the aid of the Europeans."

Goldberg clarified that it all started on March 11 with a communication with White House national security adviser Mike Waltz via the Signal app, which is very popular with journalists and politicians because of the privacy it guarantees. In the days that followed, he was invited to join a discussion group and read the messages exchanged between eighteen very high-level officials, including, he said, the head of diplomacy Marco Rubio, the head of the CIA, John Ratcliffe, and Vice President J.D. Vance.

According to The Atlantic, Vance believes it would be a "mistake" to carry out the strikes, as the operation would primarily benefit Europeans by increasing the security of shipping goods across the Red Sea.

"If you think it should be done, let's do it. I just don't feel like helping the Europeans again," JD Vance wrote to Pete Hegseth. The Secretary of Defense replies, "I completely agree, I hate the profiteering behavior of the Europeans. It's PATHETIC" but justified the attack in order to "resume naval links".

According to the journalist, after the attacks, the members of the discussion group congratulated each other on the success of the operation, using multiple emoticons. He says he had "very strong doubts" about the credibility of this discussion group until the first information about the actual strikes emerged. "I could not believe that the president's National Security Council would be so reckless as to include the editor of The Atlantic" in such confidential discussions," he writes. In his article, Jeffrey Goldberg revealed no confidential details of the attack plan and assured that he had left the discussion group after the airstrikes.

"These idiots are going to kill us all."

On March 15, the United States carried out a massive bombing campaign against rebels in Yemen. Donald Trump promised "hell" for "Houthi terrorists" and called on Iran to stop supporting these rebels, who have stepped up attacks on shipping off the coast of Yemen since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip in October 2023. The Houthis claim that about fifty people have been killed and another hundred wounded in these American strikes.

The Democratic opposition in Congress was quick to react to this accidental disclosure of confidential war plans to a journalist by the Trump administration. Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it a "failure" and called for a "full investigation" into the matter. "This is one of the most stunning military intelligence leaks I've read in a long, long time," he said from the Senate floor.

"This is frankly illegal and extremely dangerous," Senator Elizabeth Warren said in turn, condemning the "complete novices." "Every single person who runs this group has already broken the law," attacked another senator, Chris Coons. "We cannot trust anyone in this government to protect Americans," he added. "These idiots are going to get us all killed," said House Democrat Robert Garcia.

"From an operational security standpoint, this is the biggest mistake possible. These people cannot keep America safe," said Pete Buttigieg, a former secretary of state and prominent figure in the Democratic Party.

"Tell me this is a joke," tweeted Hillary Clinton, the unsuccessful candidate against Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. | BGNES