Atlantic Editor Inadvertently Included in Top Secret Group Chat of Trump Officials: A Mistake of the Head and not the Heart

If it is a mistake of the head and not the heart, don't worry about it. That's the way we learn.

Earl Warren

 In the evening of my life, I am painfully aware of the mistakes I made when I was young, and I've grown more tolerant of mistakes made by others.

A few weeks ago, someone in the Trump administration. Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic, was inadvertently included in a group chat attended by President Trump's top administrative advisors, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President J.D. Vance, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Director Tulsi Gabbard, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

This elite inner group of Trump's senior advisors was discussing military attacks on Yemen's pesky Houthis, and Goldburg had no business listening in. Oops!

This was a serious mistake, and Trump's enemies pounced. Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democrats' chief jackal, described the error as a "stunning" breach of military intelligence, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called for a congressional investigation. Jeffries also accused Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of being "the most unqualified person to lead the Pentagon in American history."

Like most Americans, I can distinguish a mistake of the head from a mistake of the heart. Someone obviously goofed in granting Jeffrey Goldberg access to a secret intelligence discussion, but good people occasionally make mistakes in military matters. The United States sent a ship packed with mustard gas to Italy during World War II, which was bombed by the Germans, leading to hideous injuries to American soldiers. Winston Churchill made lots of errors during that war, including a military misadventure in Greece.

When mistakes are made, we must soldier on. President Trump is on the edge of success in bringing the Ukraine war to an end, something President Biden never could have done. And he got American hostages out of Gaza. 

At the end of the day, what's more important, the security breach that allowed a Trump hater to listen in on sensitive military discussions or peace in Eastern Europe?

Slimy Chuck Schumer has one answer to that question, but I have another.

Note: Most of the information cited in this essay is from a Racket News report written by Greg Collard and James Rushmore, titled "Timeline: The Houthi Attack Chat on Signal That Includes a Journalist."

"The status quo sucks." Trump's enemies would rather prolong the Ukraine war than let Trump get credit for ending it.

 Someday, the Ukraine war will end, and the outcome is predictable. Russia will retain Crimea and much of the Donbas. Ukraine will not join NATO but will get security guarantees from the United States and many Western European countries. Russia will promise not to invade its Western neighbors again.

The war can end now on these terms, or the war can stretch on for several years. In the end, however, after the killing has stopped, Russia will hold Crimea and much of the Donbas.

President Trump moved the peace process forward by forcing Ukrainian President Zelensky to face reality. The U.S. is not going to prop up the Ukraine military forever. 

Trump also pressured the Europeans to take more responsibility for their defense and actively participate in peace negotiations. Indeed, the Europeans recently put forward their own peace proposal.

In the U.S., the slimy D.C. swamp dwellers are doing all they can to prevent Trump from getting a peace deal. As I wrote yesterday, President Zelensky met with Senator Chris Murphy only a few minutes before going to the Oval Office to sign a mineral rights agreement with President Trump.

I do not know what was said between Zelensky and Senator Murphy, but the upshot of that meeting was that Zelensky went to the Oval Office, spoke rudely to President Trump, and refused to sign the mineral rights deal.

President Trump's political enemies, led by Senators Murphy, Blumenthal, and Schumer, prefer the status quo in Ukraine to peace. But, as the comedian George Carlin once remarked, "The status quo sucks."

Most Americans support President Trump's efforts to bring peace to Ukraine. If his efforts fail, they will place the blame where it belongs--on the insidious Democrats in the U.S. Senate.

As for Zelensky, he needs to realize that he will be jeopardizing his own safety if the war drags on. Russia launched a new hypersonic missile into Ukraine a while back, a weapon that the Russians claim is nearly impervious to Ukraine's anti-missile defenses. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he might aim his new missile at "decision-making centers" in Ukraine. What do you suppose he meant by that remark?

Senator Chris Murphy plays the demagogue. Photo credit: The Irish Times