The controversy over Trump administration officials using the Signal app to discuss a military attack on Houthi rebels has raised concerns about their experience and judgment. The accidental inclusion of journalist Jeffrey Goldberg led to the exposure of sensitive messages, which contained informal language and emojis. This has sparked doubts among former defense and intelligence officials about the competence of those handling national security decisions.

“In my experience from the standpoint of having served as an appointee in the Pentagon and as secretary of the Navy, using such an unsecured channel to coordinate plans is unheard of and would never have occurred in previous administrations,” says University Professor Sean O'Keefe. “I'm certain there's a lot more information involved here than anybody has acknowledged.

“I've seen nothing in my experience of the nature what they've said here,” O'Keefe explains. “The terminology, the very casual discussions, the emojis—it just speaks to a very sophomoric approach to this situation. As if somehow they're playing some damn video game as opposed to conducting the real-life business of the nation. People out in the world are going to get killed when they're discussing these circumstances, and you'd expect them to handle it with more sobriety and severity,” says O'Keefe.

Read more in the Washington Examiner article, “National security veterans vexed by Trump team’s Signal use on Yemen operation.”