Loose Lips...
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
It may be hard to avoid hearing about the incredible security lapse that occurred during the buildup to Trump's recent attack on the Houthis, but this is one not to avoid.
Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg's report (noted as a 14 minute read) will not fail to fascinate or alarm; I am still processing this myself.
— Phil Magness (@PhilWMagness) March 24, 2025
Read the whole thing, but I think this is representative:
After receiving the [Michael] Waltz text related to the "Houthi PC [principals committee] small group," I consulted a number of colleagues. We discussed the possibility that these texts were part of a disinformation campaign, initiated by either a foreign intelligence service or, more likely, a media-gadfly organization, the sort of group that attempts to place journalists in embarrassing positions, and sometimes succeeds. I had very strong doubts that this text group was real, because I could not believe that the national-security leadership of the United States would communicate on Signal about imminent war plans. I also could not believe that the national security adviser to the president would be so reckless as to include the editor in chief of The Atlantic in such discussions with senior U.S. officials, up to and including the vice president.This should come as little surprise in the administration of someone who arguably should be in prison for mishandling national security information, and whose "move fast and break things" approach to government reform has been a similar dumpster fire of carelessness.
The next day, things got even stranger.
...
After reading this chain, I recognized that this conversation possessed a high degree of verisimilitude. The texts, in their word choice and arguments, sounded as if they were written by the people who purportedly sent them, or by a particularly adept AI text generator. I was still concerned that this could be a disinformation operation, or a simulation of some sort. And I remained mystified that no one in the group seemed to have noticed my presence. But if it was a hoax, the quality of mimicry and the level of foreign-policy insight were impressive.
It was the next morning, Saturday, March 15, when this story became truly bizarre.
...
According to the lengthy Hegseth text, the first detonations in Yemen would be felt two hours hence, at 1:45 p.m. eastern time. So I waited in my car in a supermarket parking lot. If this Signal chat was real, I reasoned, Houthi targets would soon be bombed. At about 1:55, I checked X and searched Yemen. Explosions were then being heard across Sanaa, the capital city. [bold added]
-- CAV
4 comments:
I remember several times reading Trump's cheerleaders at Hot Air, Power Line, and the like crowing that with Trump II, the adults are back in the room. I was reminded of that when this news broke, and I thought of Dr. Evil saying, "Riiiiiiight," even before that gif started spreading. Amateur hour, really.
This incident has spawned quite a few humorous gifs. My favorites have been things like Big Bird sitting in on various meeting/fantasy villains participating in hologram/palantir conversations with the heroes.
I should add that I read one commentator among the Trumpkins arguing that it was in fact an intentional job to burn Goldberg's credibility in Washington, since if he passed that on, no leaker will trust him. Sounds like someone whistling "4-D chess, 4-D chess" while strolling past the graveyard. Then there's one of the guys at Hot Air (or maybe Power Line) saying it was both a nothingburger and an unforced error. Out for a walk whistling the same tune, I suspect. That this fellow seemed perfectly okay with it is that the Libs and Dems did exactly the same sort of thing and never got punished for it. Well, yes, most likely, but I don't like them any more than I like the Trumpkins. I dislike both of them very very much, and I refuse to buy into their dynamic where they need the other people they hate so much as a screen for their own malign acts. I agree with the lefties saying it's like the Weimar Republic, but while that's true, the republic collapsed because none of the major parties supported its better political elements. And in this context that most certainly includes the lefty wing of the Dems, who now I gather are salivating at the thought that if only they could get back in power, they can use the exact same methods as Trump is using to scupper the American Republic in favor of their desired goals, which would be particularly malign.
Any time you discuss something like this with a partisan, you have to be ready to reply to "what about Biden/Trump?" with something like "Yes, he sucks, too, and it doesn't make what Trump/Biden did any better," or "I was talking about Trump/Biden. Biden/Trump doing the same thing doesn't mean it's okay: It means they both suck."
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