The True Signal Controversy

The news has been abuzz with the “Signal Gate” scandal, with various sources reporting the story and offering a range of reasons to be outraged. Depending on the news source, you’re supposed to be angry about the use of an app to discuss war plans, the Vice President’s perceived meanness to Europe, or the alleged sabotage of the President by adding a journalist who has attacked him in the past. It’s reasonable to be upset about this event for many reasons, but there’s something deeper that should resonate in the heart of any Christian who examines this story: the flippant and callous attitude by which this attack was planned.

Although I spent 20 years in the United States Air Force and participated in foreign operations, I am decidedly anti-war because I understand the human cost and devastation they cause. I support the defense of our country and our people. I don’t believe these government actions fall into that category, regardless of the President presiding over them. That being said, our past presidential administrations at least appeared to grapple with the reality of these attacks.

In the past, these same officers met in a situation room, often throughout the entirety of the attack. They witnessed the bombs land and were aware of the resulting casualties. Those images possess a haunting gravitas, and you can feel the weight of it. Having been in a war zone, I understand the hollowness conveyed in those images.

While stationed in Iraq, we frequently came under rocket attacks, our sentries had shots fired at them while on guard at the gates, and our aircraft took fire from guerrilla forces that surrounded our location. This experience created some of the most vivid memories from my life.  When we were attacked, our response was to take cover, and then the base would often retaliate with artillery fire and sometimes air-to-ground attacks—we always emerged victorious. However, our response to enemy attacks was never met with celebration, unlike what you see in the movies, where soldiers raise their arms and cheer as jets scream overhead, returning aggression to our enemies. It was just a feeling of emptiness echoing in our chests in unison with the explosions of artillery fire, knowing that more loss was yet to come.

I hope and pray that the days of these military operations weighing upon the individuals planning them are not behind us.  I’ll give some credit to the members of that Signal chat, in that it is difficult to interpret tone from text, but I won’t give them much. Using emojis to celebrate, in fact celebrating at all at ending so many lives demonstrates that these men and women have zero regard for life.

Among their worst sins was determining their cause as righteous! Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth typed ‘Godspeed to our warriors,’ followed shortly by the Vice President’s, ‘I will say a prayer for victory.’ The leaked texts revealed that the target had entered his girlfriend’s apartment building, which has now collapsed. The Vice President responded to the killing of innocent people in an attack on non-military targets with, “Excellent.” Is this righteous? Hitting a military target with missiles after it enters a civilian area? We all know that if someone waited until one of our generals entered their apartment building to kill them with a missile or bomb, it would be labeled as terrorism.

As Christians we believe that life is a gift from God, and that mankind has been created in His image.  Most Christian voters choose their politicians based on this principle, and the ideal of protecting life. I believe that conviction is honorable and real in those Christians that vote, they are righteous in the support of life. That is why the real controversy in these leaked messages is the lack of respect for human life. Regardless of whether you believe the attacks were justified or not, it should evoke righteous anger that our leaders described the killing of innocents, including children, as ‘excellent’!”