President Trump and several members of his administration denied that classified material was shared with The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief. Clearly, journalist Jeffrey Goldberg has more regard for truth and national security than Trump and his cohort.

Secretary of Defence Peter Hegseth said, “Nobody was texting war plans. And that’s all I have to say about that.” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard stated, “There was no classified material that was shared in that Signal group.” CIA Director John Ratcliffe said his communications in the compromised security group were permissible, lawful, and devoid of classified material. America’s Commander-in-Chief asserted, “It wasn’t classified information.”

In the initial story, The Atlantic withheld specific information related to weapons and to the timing of attacks when the USA launched deadly air and naval attacks against Yemen, a country populated mostly by Arab Muslims. After remarks by Trump and his officials, The Atlantic demonstrated their clear dishonesty.

With British assistance, the American military had attacked and killed Yemeni people, including innocent women and children. In the past decade, thousands have died in Yemen during attacks by the USA and its allies. Observers can wonder if American raids result from security needs or anti-Muslim bias. Hegseth’s Islamophobic tattoos suggest the latter.

Yemen is a poverty-stricken nation where half of the children and 40 percent of the population are undernourished. Oxfam says Yemen is the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. People of this nation are unable to defend themselves against attacks by foreigners, except for ineffective efforts to retaliate against targets that include Aircraft Carrier Strike Group components.

Americans have two aircraft carriers and strike groups involved in Yemen. The U.S. Navy’s latest carrier cost C$20 billion and takes about C$1 billion a year to operate. Imagine if a fraction of the cost of military weapons directed at Yemen was used instead for food, housing, healthcare, education, and other humanitarian aid. Sadly, that is impossible when the military-industrial complex demands to be fed.

In his 1961 farewell address, WW2’s Supreme Commander and outgoing President Dwight Eisenhower stated a warning that has been mostly ignored:

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

The USA spends about C$1.2 trillion on its military each year. According to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the country expends almost 40 percent of the world’s total military spending.

When a war machine consumes trillions of dollars, its existence is threatened by peace. If it wants taxpayers to fund another $20 billion aircraft carrier, it must promote threats to the national interest. Impoverished states such as Yemen are safe targets.

The truth is often a victim when warriors decide that false stories better suit their purpose. Not long ago, Donald Trump accused Ukraine of starting the war, even though it was Russia that invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Once-classified documents made clear that government officials deceived the public about events in the Gulf of Tonkin that were used to justify the costly escalation of American involvement in the Vietnam War.

When it comes to issues of war and peace, lies and misinformation can have deadly consequences. Journalists have a duty to be skeptical and demand solid evidence so the public can critically evaluate the case for war. 

And there is ample reason for journalists to question official US government claims…  

Government Has a History of Lying the U.S. Into War

Americans say that military service is about protecting freedom. Professor Joseph Stiglitz believes that is not a simple matter:

Any discussion of freedom must begin with a discussion of whose freedom we’re talking about. The freedom of some to harm others, or the freedom of others not to be harmed? Too often, we have not balanced the equation well...

Freedom—understood as having inherent ties to notions of equity, justice, and well-being—is itself a central value. And it is this broad notion of freedom that has been given short shrift by powerful strands in modern economic thinking—notably the one that goes by the shorthand term neoliberalism…