US allies alarmed by leaked group chat about Houthi attack plans

LONDON — As wake-up calls go, the alarms don’t get much louder.

Allies of the United States see the group chat between top U.S. officials about a planned attack in Yemen that accidentally included a journalist as a jaw-dropping security breach which casts doubt on intelligence-sharing with Washington and the security of joint military operations.

“Scary” and “reckless” was the verdict of one European diplomat about the discussion on the Signal messaging app about strikes on Houthi rebels . Neil Melvin, a security expert at defense think tank the Royal United Services Institute, called it “pretty shocking.”

“It’s some of the most high-ranking U.S. officials seeming to display a complete disregard for the normal security protocols,” he said.

Beyond the security concerns raised by the leaked chat, U.S. officials addressed the country’s trans-Atlantic allies with disdain as Vice President JD Vance complained about “bailing out” Europe and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed “pathetic” European “freeloading.”

The criticism is another blow to a long-standing relationship already strained by President Donald Trump’s blunt “America First” approach and disregard for friendly nations.

Melvin said that for America’s allies, “the alarm clock’s been ringing for a long time.”

In public, however, European officials insisted all was well in the trans-Atlantic relationship.

“We have a very close relationship with the U.S. on matters of security, defense and intelligence,” said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman, Dave Pares. “They are our closest ally when it comes to these matters, have been for many years and will be for many years to come.”

France’s Foreign Ministry said, “The United States is our ally, and France intends to continue its cooperation with Washington, as well as with all its allies and European partners, in order to address current challenges — particularly in the area of European security.”

Since taking office, the Trump administration has halted government funding for programs that support democratic principles around the world and presented a less welcoming face to visitors.

U.S. embassies in at least 17 countries have posted warnings for would-be travelers that engaging in behavior deemed harmful by the government could get them deported. Several European countries have issued warnings about visiting the United States after international tourists were caught up in Trump’s border crackdown.

Trump has appalled allies with his repeatedly stated aim of taking over Greenland — an autonomous Danish territory that Vance and second lady Usha Vance are due to visit this week — and his desire to make Canada the 51st state.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country has to “take greater ownership” of its own defense in the face of threats: “We have to look out for ourselves.”

Nathalie Loiseau, a member of the European parliament, told the BBC that she was “flabbergasted” by the breach.

“If I was [Russian President] Vladimir Putin, I would feel jobless. Russia has nothing more to do. … You don’t even need to spy on the U.S. administration. They leak by themselves,” she said.

US reliability questioned

The European diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, suggested the security breach could make allies question the reliability of the U.S. as a partner.

The diplomat expressed hope that the Signal lapse was due to a lack of experience in government rather than a deliberate disregard for security.

Asked if he had concerns about sharing intelligence with the U.S. after the Signal incident, Carney said, “It’s a serious, serious issue and all lessons must be taken.” He said it would be important to see “how people react to those mistakes and how they tighten them up.”

Britain could be particularly exposed by U.S. security breaches. Its intelligence network is entwined with the U.S. in the Five Eyes alliance, and the countries’ militaries work more closely than those of almost any other nations.

Britain’s Royal Air Force provided air-to-air refueling for U.S. planes during the strike on the Houthis, but U.K. Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard insisted British personnel had not been put at risk by the breach.

“We’ve got high confidence that the measures that we have got with our allies, including the United States, remain intact,” he told lawmakers.

Ed Davey, the leader of Britain’s opposition Liberal Democrats, said the lapse showed the Trump administration can’t be trusted to protect its own intelligence and “it could only be a matter of time until our own intelligence shared with them is also leaked.”

“This could put British lives at risk,” he said.

Alex Clarkson, a lecturer in European and international studies at King’s College London, said “the professionals and old hands” who “contained the damage” during Trump’s first term are largely gone.

“So what we’re having now is … a manifestation of tendencies that were held in check that we already saw in the first round,” he said.

American frustration

The U.S. has underpinned European security since World War II, and Trump is not the first president to bristle at the burden.

“From the Obama administration [onward], there’s been quite some frustrations in the U.S. security apparatus about the failure of the Europeans … to step up,” Melvin said.

Trump has gone much further than his predecessors in upending the decades-old security arrangements. He has long contended the U.S. needs to completely rethink its relationship with the rest of the world, saying other countries have been “taking advantage” of the nation’s military might by not paying enough for their own defense.

Trump has praised autocrats including Putin and sent chills through NATO during last year’s election campaign with his comment that Russia should “do whatever the hell it wants” to members that don’t meet military spending targets.

“There’s a real sense of divorce, that America is not just disinterested in the trans-Atlantic alliance but views Europe fundamentally as an adversary,” said Max Bergmann, a former State Department official who now works at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“It’s very clear at this point, abundantly clear, that it will be next to impossible to count on the United States for the cause of defending democracy in the world,” said Kevin Casas-Zamora, secretary-general of the pro-democracy group International IDEA.

NATO leaders point out that Trump’s criticism and the war in Ukraine have led to a majority of member states meeting the target of spending at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense.

Trump’s reelection and rapprochement with Putin has hastened European military plans, with nations scrambling to ramp up weapons production and create their own security structures — including a U.K.- and France-led “coalition of the willing” to help guarantee a future ceasefire in Ukraine.

Clarkson said Europe has more strength than many give it credit for, and severing the trans-Atlantic bond would hurt the U.S., too.

“One shouldn’t underestimate European military industrial capacity,” he said. “There are all kinds of things that can go wrong … but there is an element here also that the Americans are awakening a sleeping giant.”

Riccardi reported from Denver, Colorado. Associated Press writers Ali Swenson in New York, Chris Megerian in Washington. John Leicester in Paris and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed.

伦敦——要说叫醒服务，这警报声已经够响亮了。

美国的盟友认为，美国高级官员之间关于也门袭击计划的群聊意外地将一名记者也牵扯进来，这是一个令人震惊的安全漏洞，使人们对与华盛顿的情报共享以及联合军事行动的安全性产生了怀疑。

一位欧洲外交官用“可怕”和“鲁莽”来形容在Signal即时通讯应用上讨论打击胡塞武装的言论。皇家联合军种研究所（RUSI）的安全专家尼尔·梅尔文则称之为“相当令人震惊”。

他说：“似乎是一些美国最高级别的官员完全无视正常的安全规程。”

除了泄露的聊天记录引发的安全担忧之外，美国官员还对该国的跨大西洋盟友表示蔑视，副总统 JD Vance 抱怨“救助”欧洲，国防部长 Pete Hegseth 抨击欧洲“搭便车”的行为“可悲”。

这一批评对美中长期关系造成了又一次打击，而这种关系本已因唐纳德·特朗普总统直言不讳的“美国优先”政策和对友好国家的漠视而变得紧张。

梅尔文说，对于美国的盟友来说，“警钟已经敲响很久了”。

然而，在公开场合，欧洲官员坚称跨大西洋关系一切安好。

英国首相基尔·斯塔默的发言人戴夫·帕雷斯表示：“我们在安全、国防和情报领域与美国保持着非常密切的关系。在这些问题上，他们是我们最亲密的盟友，多年来一直如此，未来也将继续如此。”

法国外交部表示：“美国是我们的盟友，法国打算继续与华盛顿以及所有盟友和欧洲伙伴合作，以应对当前的挑战——尤其是在欧洲安全领域。”

自上任以来，特朗普政府停止了对世界各地支持民主原则的项目的政府资助，并且对访客表现出不那么友好的态度。

美国驻至少17个国家的大使馆已发布警告，提醒潜在旅客，从事政府认定为有害的行为可能导致被驱逐出境。在特朗普政府严厉打击边境犯罪后，一些欧洲国家也发布了前往美国的旅行警告。

特朗普一再公开表示要接管格陵兰岛——丹麦的一个自治领土，第二任总统万斯和第二夫人乌莎·万斯本周将访问该岛——以及他希望加拿大成为美国第 51 个州，这令盟友们感到震惊。

加拿大总理马克·卡尼表示，面对威胁，加拿大必须“更加重视”自身的国防：“我们必须保护自己。”

欧洲议会议员娜塔莉·卢瓦索告诉 BBC，她对这一违约行为感到“震惊”。

“如果我是普京总统，我会觉得无所事事。俄罗斯已经无事可做了……你甚至不需要监视美国政府。他们自己就会泄密，”她说。

美国可靠性受到质疑

一位不愿透露姓名的欧洲外交官表示，此次安全漏洞可能会让盟友质疑美国作为伙伴的可靠性。

这位外交官表示，他希望“信号”事件的失职是由于政府缺乏经验造成的，而不是故意漠视安全。

当被问及在“信号”事件后是否担心与美国分享情报时，卡尼表示：“这是一个非常非常严重的问题，必须吸取所有教训。” 他说，重要的是要观察“人们如何应对这些错误，以及如何改进”。

英国尤其容易受到美国安全漏洞的影响。其情报网络与美国在“五眼联盟”中紧密相连，两国军队的合作比几乎任何其他国家都更加密切。

在打击胡塞武装期间，英国皇家空军为美国飞机提供了空中加油，但英国武装部队部长卢克·波拉德坚称，英国人员并未因这次违规行为而处于危险之中。

“我们非常有信心，我们与包括美国在内的盟友达成的各项措施仍然有效，”他告诉议员们。

英国反对党自由民主党领袖埃德·戴维表示，这一失误表明特朗普政府无法保护自己的情报，“我们与他们分享的情报泄露也只是时间问题”。

他说：“这可能会危及英国人的生命。”

伦敦国王学院欧洲和国际研究讲师亚历克斯·克拉克森表示，在特朗普第一任期内“控制住损害”的“专业人士和老手”大多已经不在了。

“所以我们现在看到的是……一些我们在第一轮比赛中已经看到但一直受到抑制的趋势的显现，”他说。

美国人的挫败感

自二战以来，美国一直是欧洲安全的支柱，而特朗普并非第一个对这一负担感到不满的总统。

梅尔文说：“从奥巴马政府时期开始，美国安全机构就对欧洲人未能挺身而出感到相当沮丧。”

特朗普在颠覆沿袭数十年的安全安排方面，走得比他的前任们更远。他长期以来一直声称，美国需要彻底重新思考与世界其他国家的关系，并表示其他国家一直在“利用”美国的军事实力，却不愿为自身国防投入足够的资金。

特朗普曾赞扬包括普京在内的独裁者，并在去年的竞选活动中发表了“俄罗斯应该对不达标军费开支目标的成员国为所欲为”的言论，这番言论令北约感到不寒而栗。

“有一种真正的分裂感，美国不仅对跨大西洋联盟不感兴趣，而且从根本上将欧洲视为对手，”前国务院官员、现任战略与国际研究中心工作人员马克斯·伯格曼说道。

“这一点非常清楚，极其清楚，指望美国在捍卫世界民主事业方面发挥作用几乎是不可能的，”支持民主的组织“国际民主与选举援助研究所”（International IDEA）秘书长凯文·卡萨斯-萨莫拉说道。

北约领导人指出，特朗普的批评和乌克兰战争导致大多数成员国达到了将至少 2% 的国内生产总值用于国防的目标。

特朗普的连任以及与普京的和解加速了欧洲的军事计划，各国争相提高武器产量并建立自己的安全机构——包括由英国和法国领导的“自愿联盟”，以帮助保证乌克兰未来的停火。

克拉克森表示，欧洲的实力比许多人认为的要强，切断跨大西洋联系也会损害美国。

“不应低估欧洲的军工产能，”他说。“各种各样的事情都可能出错……但其中也存在一个因素，那就是美国人正在唤醒一个沉睡的巨人。”

里卡迪从科罗拉多州丹佛市报道。美联社记者阿里·斯文森（纽约）、克里斯·梅格里安（华盛顿）、约翰·莱斯特（巴黎）和罗布·吉利斯（多伦多）对此文亦有贡献。