Reference News Network reported on April 7 that the website of the American "Atlantic" monthly recently published an article titled "The Trump Administration Accidentally Sent Me the War Plan". The author is Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the "Atlantic" monthly. The following is the translated content:

On the afternoon of March 15 Eastern Time, the world found out that the United States was bombing Houthi targets in various parts of Yemen.

However, two hours before the first bomb exploded, I already knew that an attack might be imminent. I knew this because at 11:44 AM, Defense Secretary Pete Hengseth sent me the war plan via text message. The plan included precise information about weapon combinations, targets, and timing.

On Tuesday, March 11, I received a friend request on the "Signal" app from a user named Michael Walthers. "Signal" is an open-source encrypted messaging service software that is popular among journalists and other individuals who wish to have more privacy than other SMS services. I thought this Michael Walthers was President Donald Trump's National Security Advisor. However, I didn't realize that the person sending the request was Michael Walthers himself.

I accepted the friend request, hoping it really was the National Security Advisor, and hoping he wanted to talk about Ukraine, Iran, or other important matters.

Two days later (Thursday), at 4:28 PM, I received a notification that I would be added to a "Signal" chat group. The group name was "Houthi Principal Officials Committee Group".

The message from "Michael Walthers" to the group was as follows: "Everyone - a principal officials group is being formed to coordinate on the Houthi issue, especially in the next 72 hours. My deputy Huang Zhahan is convening a temporary task force at the level of deputies/directors of the office to follow up on today's meeting in the Situation Room and formulate an action plan, which will be issued later tonight."

This message continued: "Please provide the best contact person from your team so we can coordinate over the next few days and weekends. Thank you."

The term "principal officials committee" usually refers to a group of senior national security officials, including the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, Treasury Secretary, and Director of Central Intelligence.

A minute later, a person calling themselves "Ma'anru" - Secretary of State Marco Antonio Rubio - wrote, "Mike Nidham represents the Department of State," apparently designating the current State Department advisor as his representative. At the same time, a "Signal" user named "James David Vance" wrote: "Vice President's side is Andy Baker." A minute later, "Tuga" (possibly Representative Tulsi Gabbard or someone pretending to be her) wrote: "Director of National Intelligence side is Joe Kent."

The principal officials clearly gathered. There were a total of 18 people listed as members of this group, including several officials from the National Security Council; Steve Witkov, the Trump administration's negotiator for the Middle East and Ukraine; White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles; and a person calling themselves "Smee", which I think represents Stephen Miller. I only appeared as "Jiego" on my screen.

The Thursday group chat ended here.

After receiving Walthers' text about the "Houthi Principal Officials Committee Group", I consulted some colleagues. We discussed the possibility that these texts might be part of a disinformation campaign, initiated either by a foreign intelligence agency or more likely by a provocateur media organization trying to embarrass journalists, sometimes successfully. I strongly suspected that this chat group was not real because I did not believe that the U.S. national security leadership would discuss imminent war plans via "Signal". I also couldn't believe that the president's national security advisor would be so reckless as to allow the editor-in-chief of the "Atlantic" monthly to join such discussions with high-ranking U.S. officials (up to vice presidential level).

The next day, things became even stranger.

At 8:05 AM on Friday, March 14, "Michael Walthers" sent everyone a text message: "Everyone, you should find a summary statement and task assignment according to the president's instructions in your high-side inbox this morning." (According to government terminology, "high-side" refers to classified computers and communication systems.)

The next morning, Saturday, March 15, things got really strange.

At 11:44 AM, an account named "Pete Hengseth" posted a "group update" on "Signal". If read by America's adversaries, the information contained could potentially harm U.S. military and intelligence personnel, especially in the vast Middle East region under Central Command jurisdiction. To indicate the shockingly casual nature of the conversation on "Signal", I must say that Hengseth's "update" contained operational details about the impending strike on Yemen, including targets, weapons the U.S. would deploy, and the order of attacks.

The only response to Hengseth's latest message came from someone claiming to be the vice president. Vance wrote: "I will pray for victory." (Two other users subsequently sent prayer emojis.)

According to Hengseth's long text message, the first explosion in Yemen would occur two hours later at 1:45 PM Eastern Time. So, I waited in my car at a supermarket parking lot. I thought that if this "Signal" chat was real, the Houthi targets would soon be bombed. Around 1:55 PM, I checked on X platform and searched for Yemen. At that time, explosions could be heard throughout the capital, Sana'a.

I returned to the group chat on "Signal". "Michael Walthers" provided the latest news to the group. Once again, I won't quote this text message but will simply say that he described the operation as "performing excellently." The discussion after the operation included an assessment of the damage, including the likelihood that a specific individual had died.

I concluded that this "Signal" chat group was probably real. After realizing this, I left the group chat, knowing that this would automatically notify the creator of the group, "Michael Walthers", that I had left. It seemed that no one in the group noticed my presence. Later, no one asked why I left, or more importantly - who I was.

Earlier today, I sent an email to Walthers and a message to his "Signal" account. I also wrote to Pete Hengseth, John Ratcliffe, Tulsi Gabbard, and other officials. In one email, I outlined some of my questions: Is the "Houthi Principal Officials Committee Group" a real "Signal" group chat? Do they know I'm in this group? Was I deliberately (just in case) added to the group? If not, who did they think I was? Did anyone know who I was when I was added or when I left the group myself? Do senior officials in the Trump administration often use "Signal" to discuss confidential matters? Do officials believe using this channel would endanger American personnel?

National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes responded two hours later, confirming the authenticity of the "Signal" chat group. Hughes wrote: "This appears to be a real group chat, and we are reviewing how an unrelated account was added. The group chat reflects deep and detailed policy coordination among senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operations indicates that the military or national security has not been threatened." (Translated/By Ge Xuelai)

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7490462644558692905/

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