Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth replies after The Atlantic shares Yemen leaked chats: Sh** war plans
Hours after The Atlantic published what it claimed to be a leaked Signal chat involving senior US national security officials discussing an attack on the Houthis in Yemen, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth strongly refuted the allegations, labeling them as ‘hoaxes’.
On Wednesday, The Atlantic released a series of purported messages that allegedly showed Hegseth providing classified information regarding the timing of US warplane launches and bomb deployments.
According to the American magazine, these details were shared even before American forces were airborne for the March 15 strike against Houthi targets in Yemen.
Reacting to the report, Hegseth, who is also the Pentagon chief, issued a scathing rebuttal, questioning the credibility of the reported communications.
“So, let me get this straight. The Atlantic released the so-called ‘war plans’, and those ‘plans’ include: No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. And no classified information,” Hegseth said in a post on X.
“Those are some really sh**** war plans,” he said.
Hegseth further dismissed the credibility of The Atlantic’s reporting, suggesting that the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, lacked experience in assessing real military strategies. “This only proves one thing: Jeff Goldberg has never seen a war plan or an ‘attack plan’ (as he now calls it). Not even close,” he wrote.
While the Pentagon has not issued an official statement beyond Hegseth’s remarks, the controversy has reignited debate about operational security under Trump administration. The leaked messages, if authentic, could indicate a serious lapse in security protocols, raising concerns about how sensitive military discussions are safeguarded.
Hegseth, currently on a tour of the INDOPACOM region meeting with US military commanders, maintained that his focus remains on national security, not media speculation. “We will continue to do our job while the media does what it does best: peddle hoaxes,” he said.
