Within a group conversation bearing the revealing name “small circle of Houthi PC,” they deliberated on assault strategies, schedules, climate conditions, categories of weaponry, and even pinpointed exact targets.
Team Donald Trump. / © TSN.ua
A journalist from The Atlantic inadvertently gained entry to highly classified communications among U.S. officials concerning the military undertaking against the Houthis in Yemen—entirely due to a blunder by Trump's national security advisor, Michael Waltz, who included the editor in a private chat on Signal.
The Atlantic released segments of dialogues from a restricted group on Signal.
The conversation group, aptly named “small Houthi PC group,” conferred on assault plans, timelines, weather patterns, weapon varieties, including specific target identification. Messages surfaced instantaneously, which could have jeopardized the mission itself.
On March 15, the day of the offensive, Deputy Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth circulated an exhaustive timetable of the impending bombardments. The messages incorporated the deployment of F-18 fighter jets, the commencement of MQ-9 drone offensives, Tomahawk missile attacks, and a note on operational security: “We are OPSEC-cleared.” This was all perceived by an external observer, journalist Goldberg, who was not associated with the endeavor.
The chat highlighted that the U.S. military had already recognized the primary objective at that juncture, a leading Houthi missile specialist who was approaching his girlfriend's residence. Commanders later verified that the structure had “collapsed” after the assault. The communication encompassed not just Waltz and Hegseth, but also U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and other high-ranking figures. The operation was punctuated by endorsements and even emoticons depicting a fist, an American flag, and flames.
The Atlantic published a conversation about US strikes on the Houthis from a closed Signal chat. / © The Atlantic
Based on the Houthi Ministry of Health’s assertions, a minimum of 53 individuals perished in the offensives. This number remains unconfirmed by unbiased sources.
This circumstance has sparked worries about the potential for divulging highly sensitive data. Had the details from the correspondence fallen into the hands of adversarial factions, the Houthis could have had at least a couple of hours to brace for the strikes—potentially jeopardizing the well-being of American soldiers and thwarting the operation.
As a reminder, Trump's national security advisor, Michael Waltz, mistakenly added the editor of The Atlantic to a clandestine group conversation in Signal, where classified operations, including bombardments on the Houthis, were under discussion.
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