Full Signal Chat Reveals US Officials Celebrated Bombing a Residential Building in Yemen

 

Mike Waltz said the strike targeted the Houthis' 'top missile guy' when he entered a building where his girlfriend lived

by Dave DeCamp March 26, 2025 at 12:24 pm ET 

CategoriesNewsTagsYemen

The full Signal chat between Trump administration officials discussing bombing Yemen revealed that top US officials celebrated an airstrike that flattened a residential building, which likely killed many civilians.

Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was included in the chat, apparently by accident, and published its full contents on Wednesday after Trump administration officials insisted it didn’t contain classified information. But the chat did include details about when the strikes on Yemen would start on March 15.

After the US bombings started, US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who added Goldberg to the chat, said one of the strikes targeted a “top missile guy” for the Houthis after he entered a building where his girlfriend lived.

“The first target – their top missile guy – we had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend’s building, and it’s now collapsed,” Waltz said.

Screenshot from the Signal chat

Vice President JD Vance, who previously warned against bombing Yemen in the chat, replied to Waltz by saying, “Excellent.”

Other administration officials celebrated the destruction of the residential building, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, US Middle Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

Gabbard previously opposed US intervention against the Houthis in Yemen, which she called “genocidal” during President Trump’s first term in office. But she has supported the new bombing campaign in Yemen, which hasn’t been authorized by Congress, and replied to the news of the residential building being hit by saying, “Great works and effects!”

The Trump administration’s bombing campaign against Yemen has had a heavy civilian toll. The Yemen Data Project said in a report on Tuesday that at least 25 civilians were killed in just the first week, more than were killed by US-UK strikes on Yemen from January 2024 to 2025 under the Biden administration.

The US launched the bombing campaign after the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, announced they would reimpose a blockade on Israeli shipping in response to Israel violating the Gaza ceasefire by cutting off the entry of aid and all other goods into Gaza. The Houthis had ceased their attacks on Israel and shipping in the region when the Gaza truce went into effect on January 19 but warned they would resume if Israel violated the deal.

In his argument against bombing Yemen in the Signal chat, Vance framed his opposition as related to Europe, which is far more reliant on Red Sea shipping than the US. “3 percent of US trade runs through the suez. 40 percent of European trade does. There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary. The strongest reason to do this is, as POTUS said, to send a message,” Vance said.

Vance ultimately agreed to go along with the bombing campaign and said in the chat that he would pray for its success as it started. Since the US airstrikes on Yemen started on March 15, the region has exploded. Israel restarted its genocidal war in Gaza a few days later, and the Houthis began targeting US warships and firing missiles at Israel.

The Israeli news site Ynet reported that the US has told Israel not to worry about retaliating against the Houthis for their recent missile attacks, saying US forces will handle it.

https://news.antiwar.com/2025/03/26/full-signal-chat-reveals-us-officials-celebrated-bombing-a-residential-building-in-yemen/