Signal | Pakistan

The Pentagon’s independent watchdog said US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the commercial messaging app Signal to discuss strikes on Yemen could have put American troops at risk, US media reported on Wednesday. The probe by the inspector general’s office concluded that Hegseth did not, however, violate rules on classification because he has the authority to declassify information, the reports said, citing sources familiar with the results of the investigation. The watchdog’s conclusion — which has been transmitted to Congress — is nonetheless likely to reignite debate over conduct by Hegseth, who is already under fire over US strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats that experts say amount to extrajudicial killings. The probe was sparked by the Atlantic magazine’s revelation in late March that its editor-in-chief was inadvertently included in a Signal chat in which US officials, including Hegseth and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz, discussed strikes on Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels. Th...