Pentagon launches mass polygraph inquiry over munitions leaks

Classified data leaked to the press regarding the depletion of US military ammunition stockpiles has triggered a comprehensive inspection within the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

According to a report by The New York Times citing officials familiar with the matter, investigators questioned approximately 50 personnel serving at the headquarters of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff by subjecting them to lie detector examinations.

The inquiries under the investigation were not limited to commissioned officers; civilian personnel at the headquarters were also subjected to the test.

Staff were asked whether they had leaked classified information to journalists and whether they had provided the press with details concerning dwindling ammunition stockpiles.

Sources speaking to the newspaper stated that this measure was aimed not only at identifying the source of the leak, but also served as an act of intimidation designed to deter other employees who might consider passing similar information to the media in the future.

The New York Times emphasised that such mass polygraph testing within the senior echelons of the US military has not been witnessed in modern military history and that the scale reached by the investigation is unprecedented.

Initial reports indicating that the American military was experiencing an ammunition deficit began surfacing in the media in August. A report by CNN television, citing sources familiar with internal Pentagon assessments, stated that throughout the five-month war conducted with Iran, the US had consumed nearly 80% of its THAAD air defence system interceptor missiles and approximately half of its Patriot missiles.

In another report based on its own sources, the Reuters news agency reported that the US military had expended “almost all” of its stockpiles of long-range, precision-guided ATACMS missiles and next-generation Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM).

According to information reported by The Washington Post, US President Donald Trump demanded an explanation regarding the ammunition deficit from Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth.

Trump voiced the view that the secretary had misled him regarding the existing quantity of ammunition. NBC television noted that Trump experienced disappointment because the ammunition shortage emerged as an obstacle to plans for expanding the military operation in Iran.

Adopting a different posture in public despite these leaks, Trump repeatedly reiterated that the US possesses “far more ammunition than any other country in the world.”

The US president also threatened that “the individuals who leaked these treasonous disclosures to the press” would face prison sentences.