National security: Pentagon boss under pressure for secret chat affairs

Defense Minister Pete Hegseth is increasingly under pressure in the affair about a explosive secret chat from the US government. After the publication of the entire course of chat around a US military strike against the Huthi militia in Yemen, the Pentagon boss vehemently defends himself against the accusation that he had disclosed secret military plans through an insecure channel and thus also put US soldiers in danger.

Hegseth argued that he had not revealed any critical information. US President Donald Trump defended his minister and simply claimed that he had nothing to do with the affair.

The background: The editor -in -chief of the US magazine “Atlantic”, Jeffrey Goldberg, was – probably accidentally – was invited by Trump’s national security advisor, Mike Waltz, to a group chat of senior government members in mid -March. There was an upcoming US military strike against the Huthi militia in Yemen. The journalist was able to read the sensitive information in the commercially operated app Signal Live and later made the security breakdown public with an article.

Delicate details about schedule and weapons systems of the attacks

After the Trump government rejected all allegations in the case and questioned Goldberg’s integrity, the magazine finally opened the entire chat-including screenshots. This also includes a passage in which Hegseth shared sensitive military information.

According to this, the Pentagon boss gave detailed information on the schedule, the sequence of the bombing and the arms systems such as the fighter jet F-18 prize shortly before the military striking against positions of the Huthi militia-even more, while a journalist was able to read everything. This causes great outrage and fueled concerns about the national security of the United States. Usually such sensitive information is only shared in particularly protected government systems, not generally accessible apps such as signal, which are far more susceptible to possible hacker and espionage attacks.

“He has nothing to do with it”

However, Hegseth dismissed the new revelations as irrelevant and argued that he had not spread any “war plans”. He posted in the group “No places, no routes, no flight paths, no sources, no methods, no secret information”. He only informed the government team in real time and kept up to date. That is his job.

Trump came to his aid. When asked whether Hegseth should resign, the US President replied: “Hegseth does a great job. He has nothing to do with it. It’s all a witch hunt.” Trump rejected the allegation of playing down the affair and giving back: “The media will be mosing it.” The actions against the Huthi militia are “incredibly successful” – the media should report on that, he warned.

Democrats, experts and ex-soldiers are outraged

The President also tried to show the miscede of his security advisor Waltz, accidentally bringing a journalist into the group chat, as a technical breakdown with the signal. “There could be a problem with the platform,” said Trump. “If there is a problem with a platform, nobody should use it.” Maybe Signal is simply “not very good”.

However, Democrats and security experts complain about a taboo break: The passing on of such concrete information on an imminent military strike through a messenger service that does not comply with the security standards for the exchange of confidential data, they have endangered the lives of involved soldiers. Former soldiers also expressed anger and incomprehension on social media.

Colleagues go at a distance

It is open whether the dramatic security breakdown will ultimately have political consequences. But it can be seen that some members of the government are trying to go to Defense Minister at a distance.

Increased service coordinator Tulsi Gabbard and CIA boss John Ratcliffe – both also part of the group chat – had to ask themselves on the second day in a row at a hearing in the congress of the democratic opposition. Among other things, the topic was the conditions under which information is considered confidential – and whether Hegseth’s news may have exceeded this threshold.

Gabard emphasized that she was not involved in the now published part of the communication and pointed out that she was not familiar with the Ministry of Defense’s confidentiality guidelines. Ratcliffe, on the other hand, had already emphasized the day before that he himself had not shared confidential information. However, he left open whether this also encountered other members of the chat group.

Foreign Minister Marco Rubio described the accidental admission of a journalist in the chat group as a “big mistake”. For this, Trump’s security advisor Waltz is responsible for this – and not Hegseth. When asked whether secret information was actually revealed in the course of the chat, Rubio also referred to the Pentagon.

Doubts to Hegseth ‘suitability

Hegseth, who, as Minister of Defense for the most powerful force in the world, is responsible for around $ 800 billion as well as central armaments projects and security policy decisions, was one of the most controversial personal details in Trump’s cabinet right from the start. He became known in the United States as a moderator for the Trump-related broadcaster Fox News. He brought political experience almost none.

After his nomination for the post, reports had arisen about alleged racist and sexist statements, alcohol abuse and sexual assault – allegations that he denied. In the US Senate there were also reservations against him from the ranks of the Republicans and his confirmation went through only very narrowly in the parliamentary chamber.

Hegseth now tried to dispel new doubts about his suitability for the weighty office. When asked about the affair, he reacted almost cute during a trip and said: “I know exactly what I do.”