Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command (Centcom), said he is "not concerned at all" about the U.S.'s munitions inventories amid reports that the Pentagon has depleted its stockpiles to fight Iran.
Page A3From§Eachthe wee small hours edition — 14 September 2026
Pentagon polygraphs staff over 'treasonous' munitions leaks; commander now says he isn't concerned at all
“They call it a leak investigation, but run the calendar: guy says "unlimited munitions," calls the reporters scum for saying otherwise, and five days later there's people hooked to a machine trying to find who talked. Then the actual four-star just tells CBS he's not concerned at all — so which is it, was there nothing to leak, or did they polygraph half the building over a fact that turned out to be true? Either way somebody's budget bought that machine, and it wasn't spent finding missiles.”
“Look, polygraphs are a standard counterintelligence tool — they use them for security clearances all the time, this isn't about punishing anyone for talking to a reporter, it's about protecting operational security, which, sure, happens to be the exact same munitions number the commander then goes on television and says isn't a concern, but that's — that's a different kind of not-a-concern. Did I just say the leak and the denial are about the same figure? Let's circle back.”
The receipts
· Pentagon issues polygraph tests in hunt for leakers of munition shortages: Report from the morgue, 5 Sep 2026
· Trump says ‘treasonous scum’ are warning about US munitions shortage from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· Trump defends handling of US munitions amid Iran conflict from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· Centcom says Iranian sea mines cleared from Strait of Hormuz transit routes from the morgue, 28 Aug 2026
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.