The Real Scandal Is Bombing Yemen, Not the Group Chat
On this episode of The Time of Monsters, Matt Duss on the contradictions of Trump’s foreign policy.
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The Real Scandal is Bombing Yemen, Not the Group Chat | Time of Monsters
This week Washington was abuzz with a security scandal over a group chat planning the bombing of Yemen accidentally included magazine editor Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic. Lost amid the finger pointing about operational security was the fact that the bombing of Yemen is illegal, immoral, and ineffective.
To take up the actual scandal of the war, Jeet Heer spoke with Matt Duss, executive vice president of the Center for International Policy. We also discuss the actual contents of the group chat which real important fissures within Trump’s foreign policy team between neo-conservatives who favor fighting as many wars as possible and unilateralists who insist there has to be a prioritizing of conflicts. This fissure opens the path to a much different foreign policy, one that the left can play a role in shaping.
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Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe (C) speaks as Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard (L) and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Jeffrey Kruse listen during an annual worldwide threats assessment hearing at the Longworth House Office Building on March 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. The hearing held by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence addressed top aides inadvertently including Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic magazine, on a high level Trump administration Signal group chat discussing plans to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Getty Images)This week, Washington is abuzz with a security scandal over a group chat planning the bombing of Yemen accidentally included Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg. Lost amid the finger pointing about operational security was the fact that the bombing of Yemen is illegal, immoral, and ineffective.
To take up the actual scandal of the war, I spoke with Matt Duss, executive vice president of the Center for International Policy. We also discuss the actual contents of the group chat that reveal important fissures within Trump’s foreign policy team between neoconservatives who favor fighting as many wars as possible and unilateralists who insist there has to be a prioritizing of conflicts. This fissure opens the path to a much different foreign policy, one that the left can play a role in shaping.
Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.
The Nation Podcasts
Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
After Iran War, Can America Still Be Trusted? w/ Annelle Sheline | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
The US/Israel war against Iran has been devastating to many US allies, both in the Middle
East and the wider world. It could easily lead to a Global Depression. Even before the
war, Annelle Sheline of the Quincy Institute noted that countries such as Qatar and
Saudi Arabia had good reason to wean themselves away from a close reliance on the
US. I talked to Annelle about the current state of the war and why it will only intensify
the alienation of traditional US allies.
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