Reporters can spend decades going to extraordinary lengths to score a scoop that shines a light into the darkness and perhaps even alters the course of history.
Then there’s The Atlantic‘s Jeffrey Goldberg, who we like to imagine was maybe in line at Chipotle when Trump’s national security advisor wrongly added him to a group chat of cabinet secretaries sharing extraordinary deets about US plans to hit the Houthis.
Anyway, you can bet every foreign embassy in DC is right now reporting on this mess-up and what it means for our world, so here are three of the top quotes and why they matter:
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- “I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC“
That’s Defence Secretary Hegseth amen-ing VP Vance, who reluctantly goes along with the Houthi strikes (last week) despite noting, “I just hate bailing Europe out again.” His argument is that this is fundamentally Europe’s problem, because Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping put much more of Europe’s seaborne trade at risk than America’s.
Vance’s frustration isn’t new, though it’s interesting to see the chat dunk on Egypt too, presumably given it earns a cool $9B (in a good year) from Suez Canal fees yet has been pretty absent from allied efforts to end the Houthi attacks (it’s wary of antagonising Iran).
- “I think messaging is going to be tough no matter what“
That’s VP Vance weighing in not so much on how to end the Houthi threat, but on how to frame it publicly — and he disagrees with his boss (Trump), suggesting it’s inconsistent for the president to criticise Europe’s free-loading then bail it out again in the Red Sea.
Interestingly, Vance also flags that “nobody knows who the Houthis are“, suggesting a need to anchor any use of US power abroad with a war-weary public back home.
Anyway, in the end, Hegseth’s press release last week duly emphasised this was about sending an “unrelenting” message to Iran (which backs the Houthis) and defending a “core national interest” (freedom of navigation).
- “We are currently clean on OPSEC”
That’s Defence Secretary Hegseth again, assuring everyone there’s been full operational security (no leaks) — all, of course, in messages live-leaked to a high-profile journalist. And funnily enough, that same journalist then declined to republish Hegseth’s sensitive group chat updates (targets, munitions, timing) out of concern for national security.
Of course, critics are now calling for Hegseth’s resignation, particularly after he vowed on Friday to use polygraph tests to catch leakers. But the president is backing him for now.
INTRIGUE’S TAKE
We’ve all sent messages to the wrong Gary, added work Gary to the football chat, or called our teacher ‘mom’. But this saga really dials that dynamic all the way up to 11.
First, it’s a dream for foreign capitals to understand how the US makes its decisions, let alone why. And this group chat makes those dreams come true even if, in many ways, it confirms what’s already apparent (like real resentment around allied free-loading).
Second, foreign capitals value insights into key players, and they might glean something on Hegseth here — could his eagerness to share spicy updates with cabinet members, not to mention his push for an immediate move against the Houthis, be an effort to firm up his authority after eking out the slimmest of senate confirmations? (for his part, Hegseth frames it as an effort to restore US deterrence after Biden’s term).
Third, if these US hits on Houthi targets were intended to send one message (foes beware), they’ve ended up sending something else along the way, including about divisions within the White House and the West, not to mention flat incompetence.
Fourth, while this’ll all be music to an adversary’s ears, you can bet it’ll also fuel pre-existing allied doubts not only around US intent, but also US reliability (which’ll also be music to an adversary’s ears, btw).
And finally, we’ll leave you with these observations, knowing full well that Intriguers are more than capable of holding multiple things to be true at once:
- You can support a party while acknowledging its faults (leave ‘whataboutism’ to the Soviets, who wielded it to erode rather than uphold standards), and…
- You can streamline bureaucracy without, you know, pumping classified info through an unclassified app while accidentally looping in a journalist.
Also worth noting:
- Well we’ll be darned, but the directors of the CIA, FBI, NSA, DIA, and National Intelligence are all due to testify before Congress today (Tuesday).
- The group chat included 18 people such as the VP; the secretaries of state, defence, and treasury; plus the president’s national security advisor, chief of staff, director of national intelligence, and CIA chief.
- The ‘Signal’ messaging app they used is common in DC, though it’s not approved for classified info. At least one member of the chat (Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff) might’ve joined while in Moscow.
- While the US has (with the UK) led most strikes on Houthi positions, other allies like France, Italy, and Canada have also served in the coalition.
