US intelligence group chat blunder as funny as 1935 Canada invasion plan leak

The manner in which secret US Government talks were exposed displays historic ineptitude

In the annals of American journalism, there have been many fine scoops. The Washington Post’s Watergate exposé that helped bring down President Richard Nixon involved lots of old-fashioned investigative techniques, long days, late nights and meetings in a car park with a dubiously codenamed source.

However, sometimes a great story just falls in your lap, as The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, discovered when he was mistakenly invited to join a group chat with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice-President JD Vance and others about US airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen. As has been pointed out by various sensible commentators, this is deeply concerning etc.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, seen with Donald Trump, discovered operational security was not quite as 'clean' as he thought (Picture: Anna Moneymaker) | Getty Images

But it is also quite funny, particularly as Hegseth told the group – and Goldberg – “we are currently clean on OPSEC [operational security]”. Oops. In fact, it’s about as funny as that time in 1935 when the US accidentally published secret testimony about its “War Plan Red”, handing the New York Times a story about a possible American invasion of Canada.

Given Donald Trump’s insistence that Canada should become the 51st state, the next leak might be rather familiar...