Bezos-Owned Washington Post Publishes CLASSIFIED Pentagon Orders Book During Active Combat With Iran — Pentagon Calls It a Crime and a “Betrayal of the Force”
Bezos-Owned Washington Post Publishes CLASSIFIED Pentagon Orders Book During Active Combat With Iran — Pentagon Calls It a Crime and a “Betrayal of the Force”
August 31, 2026
The far-left Washington Post just did what the legacy media always does when American troops are in harm’s way and a Republican is running the Pentagon.
They published material from a classified Secretary of Defense Orders Book, the document that maps warships, aircraft, weapons systems, and personnel worldwide, and dressed it up as a hit piece on Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
The Washington Post reported Sunday that several senior military leaders warned War Secretary Pete Hegseth that maintaining a force of more than 50,000 American troops in the Middle East is unsustainable and could weaken the United States’ ability to respond to threats elsewhere.
The newspaper acknowledged that its reporting was based on information contained in the classified Aug. 14 edition of the Secretary of Defense Orders Book, or SDOB.
The classified orders book reportedly details the worldwide availability and allocation of American warships, aircraft, weapons systems, and military personnel. It also contains sensitive assessments submitted by America’s senior commanders.
According to the Post, some troops deployed to the Middle East were ordered to remain through September, while others could remain into 2027.
Four senior commanders reportedly submitted formal “non-concurs” expressing disagreement with the proposed extensions:
- Adm. Daryl Caudle, Chief of Naval Operations
- Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, Commander of U.S. European Command
- Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Commander of U.S. Southern Command
- Adm. Samuel Paparo, Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
A “non-concur” does not mean that a commander is refusing to follow an order. It records a commander’s professional disagreement while acknowledging that the order will still be executed.
Washington Post military affairs reporter Dan Lamothe eagerly amplified the purported contents of the classified document.
“Four-stars all non-concurring with prolonging operations against Iran as they are into 2027, per this Washington Post exclusive,” Lamothe wrote, before listing the four commanders.
But DataRepublican, whose real name is Jennica Pounds and who began serving as a Special Government Employee at the Department of War in July, fired back with a brutal response.
DataRepublican argued that the commanders’ assessments were not the most alarming part of the story. The real scandal, she said, was that someone apparently handed information from one of the Pentagon’s most sensitive force-allocation documents to the Washington Post.
DataRepublican wrote:
“Hello Mr. Lamothe,
Four generals’ analysis is not the important point here. The article says that the information comes from Aug. 14 Secretary of Defense Orders Book (SDOB).
As that article explains, the SDOB is classified and lays out the worldwide availability of warships, aircrafts, weapons systems, personnel, along with assessments from senior commanders. That includes which leaders “non-concurred” which you are amplifying.
This is one of the most serious leaks I have ever seen, and you are using this to score partisan points against Hegseth.
You and your miltwitter journalist sphere spent a whole week hammering a DOGE-affiliated analyst for refusing to leak sensitive documents, accusing her of violating “ethics.”
Perhaps the ethics were just arbitrary conveniences all along. Perhaps the professional code exists to protect the true raison d’etre that you and the rest of legacy Pentagon press corps exist by:
By your twisted morality, it’s fine to handle materials that might very well undermine an active war and publish whatever you’d like from them in order to score political points against Pete Hegseth. Just as long as you “disclose,” that makes it fine for WaPo to protect traitors running in our midst.
And in your personal case, “disclosing” apparently doesn’t extend to fellowships at CNAS and other engagement heavily funded by the military-industrial complex.
The United States is engaged in active combat operations. WaPo holds material that may very well undermine the safety of Americans in harms way. WaPo took routine discussion of a serious internal force-allocation problem, and elevated that into cheap partisan shots.
The one without ethics here is the entire staff of the Washington Post who did not immediately turn in this traitor as soon as they received the material.”
Hello Mr. Lamothe,
Four generals’ analysis is not the important point here. The article says that the information comes from Aug. 14 Secretary of Defense Orders Book (SDOB).
As that article explains, the SDOB is classified and lays out the worldwide availability of warships,…
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) August 30, 2026
Sean Parnell, Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs, also hammered Lamothe and the Washington Post.
Parnell wrote:
“Publishing highly classified assessments from the Secretary’s orders book is a crime.
It’s a betrayal of the force. And much of what they’re publishing is inaccurate.
Of course, we demand candid military advice. Non-concurs are standard. The Secretary sees them constantly. That’s how you run a real military.
We are in great shape around the world. This story isn’t about readiness.
It’s TDS and PDS — they hate President Trump and Secretary Hegseth more than they love America.”
Lamothe responded by wrapping himself in the banner of “independent journalism.”
“Fact check: Independent journalism is not a crime,” Lamothe wrote. “It’s also especially important at a time when government officials are withholding key details and concerns about a war being fought on behalf of the American people with their taxpayer dollars.”
The Washington Post also defended its actions.
“We’re confident in our reporting, our sourcing and the constitutional protections that guarantee the rights of news organizations to publish information in the public interest that holds officials accountable,” Washington Post spokesperson Olivia Petersen said in a statement.
“The assertion that such publication is a crime is both incorrect and irresponsible.”
They always say “public interest” when the target is Trump or Hegseth. They never say “public interest” when the leak would embarrass a Democrat administration or expose how Biden’s team hid Abbey Gate documents in safes.
But the Post’s statement conveniently sidestepped the most important question: Who had access to the classified Secretary of Defense Orders Book, and who handed its contents to the newspaper?
The legal protections claimed by the Post do not automatically shield the government employee or military official who allegedly provided the classified information. That person could face serious criminal exposure if an investigation determines the disclosure was unauthorized.
The post Bezos-Owned Washington Post Publishes CLASSIFIED Pentagon Orders Book During Active Combat With Iran — Pentagon Calls It a Crime and a “Betrayal of the Force” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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