Pentagon subjects senior military officials to lie-detector tests after leak

The Pentagon subjected about 50 US military personnel, including some of the highest-ranking officers in the US armed forces, to lie-detector tests in August in an effort to find the source of leaks about ammunition shortages.

The New York Times revealed the operation this week. Those tested included members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Pentagon support personnel. The goal was to determine whether anyone had deliberately leaked information to the press about rationing certain missiles because of a shortage caused by the war in Iran. The Trump administration denies that information.

Lie-detector tests are routinely used for purposes such as renewing security clearances. But their use on such a broad scale to investigate leaks is described as unprecedented at this level. Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper told Bloomberg that he had never seen an operation of comparable size.

“I had never seen anything like this; it seems unprecedented to me in its magnitude. But no administration likes leaks, and this one in particular. There is a lot of concern about classified information on ammunition. But in reality, think tanks, journalists and even former Pentagon officials have published it for a long time. So we will see what happens,” Esper said.

CBS reported that nobody failed the lie-detector test. The Pentagon declined to comment on the procedure, but said it takes leaks and the security of classified information seriously.

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I had never seen anything like this; it seems unprecedented to me in its magnitude. But no administration likes leaks, and this one in particular. There is a lot of concern about classified information on ammunition. But in reality, think tanks, journalists and even former Pentagon officials have published it for a long time. So we will see what happens