10 Years of War on Yemen: Leaked Chats Expose U.S. Bombing History

Yemen War and U.S. Involvement

• 🎯 The U.S. has been backing the Saudi-led war on Yemen for 10 years, with the current conflict marking its anniversary.
• 💥 The U.S. has been involved in bombing campaigns in Yemen, with recent strikes on March 15th resulting in the deaths of approximately 53 Yemenis, including children.
• ⚠️ The Pentagon has a track record of denying civilian casualties until evidence emerges from the ground, a pattern observed in previous U.S. administrations.

Leaked War Plan Chats

• 📱 Democratic lawmakers are demanding the resignation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz over discussions of bombing Yemen in a Signal group chat.
• 📰 The chat, accidentally including The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed classified information and discussions about strikes that killed dozens in Yemen.
• 📉 Vice President J.D. Vance initially expressed concerns about the strikes, citing the impact on European trade and potential oil price spikes, but ultimately supported the team's consensus.
• 🇺🇸 Waltz responded to the first wave of bombings with emojis: a fist, an American flag, and fire.

Accountability and Legal Rationale

• ⚖️ National security experts suggest that using Signal for classified information likely violates the Espionage Act and Federal Records Law.
• 🗣️ Critics, like Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, highlight the disproportionate focus on the group chat leak compared to the actual bombing campaign and its consequences.
• 🏛️ Branko Marcetic argues that there was no legal constitutional rationale for the strikes, as only Congress has the authority to declare war, not unilaterally launch attacks to protect international shipping.

Houthi Attacks and U.S. Response

• 🚢 The current U.S. attacks on Yemen are a response to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea, which the Houthis claim are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
• 🚨 The Houthis stated they would cease attacks if aid to Gaza was allowed to resume, but preemptive U.S. strikes began when aid was halted.

Security Lapses and Cover-ups

• 🔍 Republicans are attempting to shift blame by suggesting Jeffrey Goldberg hacked the Signal chat, a claim dismissed as an obvious tactic to deflect from officials like Mike Waltz.
• ❓ The presence of Goldberg's number in Waltz's phone raises questions about discord within Trump's team and attempts to cover up security lapses.
• 📜 Signal chats, being ephemeral, mean there is no official record for the National Archives, complicating accountability for planned attacks.
• 🌍 Safa Al Ahmad points to a past incident where a U.S. special ops team left behind a backpack with laminated names, including classified dog names, highlighting a pattern of security oversights and lack of accountability.