By Lee Fang, Substack, 4/4/25

The Signal chat controversy is far from over. National security adviser Mike Waltz did more than simply invite the Atlantic editor-in-chief to his war-planning Signal chat to discuss bombing strikes on Yemen. Waltz’s staff also set up similar Signal chats for Ukraine, China, Gaza, Africa and European national security issues, according to a new report.

The unfolding story has led to calls for resignations over the mishandling of classified information and improper record keeping. From the halls of Congress to the skits lampooning the scandal on Saturday Night Live, the story has almost entirely been one of clumsy communications.

The overwhelming focus on information handling issues, while relatively noteworthy, misses the forest for the trees.

Far from following the Trump commitment to end the “forever wars,” Waltz spent much of his time in Congress pushing for more military intervention abroad, more wars, and extended occupations of foreign countries – a pattern that remains unchanged.

Before his time in office, Waltz served as an aide to Dick Cheney and following his military career, helped found a defense contractor cited for fraud in Afghanistan – a company that later enriched him handsomely. (More on that below…)

Since joining the administration, Waltz has appeared on network news programs to beat the drums of war. He has repeatedly threatened war with Iran with euphemisms about all options “on the table” and suggested that the strikes on Yemen’s leadership are part of an effort to hold “Iran responsible.”

Many of the officials who joined Trump’s administration have taken a step back from their previous positions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has pivoted away from his more neoconservative viewpoints, especially on Ukraine.

Waltz, apparently, has not. I previously wrote an investigation of Waltz’s defense contractor that reaped financial rewards from the war in Afghanistan, a conflict he hoped to continue for one hundred years.

The fact that Waltz’s war pumping beliefs are still very much a part of his role in the White House is far more troubling than the sloppy handling of classified information. The latter is a victimless violation of the law and demonstrates a reckless regard towards operational security — a war with Iran threatens millions of lives, will spark regional bloodshed, and threaten the closure of oil and gas flows to much of the world, leading the global chaos.

Waltz is among the voices in Washington who view the strikes in Yemen as a stepping stone to greater conflict with Iran. Years of brutal war and fighting, from the Bush and Obama years to more recently, have not dislodged the government in Yemen. And there’s little hope that the latest strikes will change any of the political leadership in Yemen. Yet the war-first mentality persists, especially as some see it as an opportunity to expand the fighting to Iran by pulling the U.S. into a greater proxy battle.