〰〰 After a report published by The Washington Post that described senior commanders’ concerns about a war with Iran, the U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) removed classified documents—dating back decades and including orders from the defense secretary—from a covert military network.

This set of documents (SDOB) contains information about U.S. forces, warships, weapons, and their deployments, and also allows senior commanders to formally object to Pentagon orders through the “disagreement” mechanism.

Several senior commanders, including the heads of the Europe, South, and Indo-Pacific commands, as well as the head of Navy operations, have recently warned through this document set that large-scale, long-term operations against Iran could weaken the United States’ readiness to counter threats in other regions.

It is not yet clear whether the removed documents are accessible through other classified systems. Former officials have warned that limiting access to these documents could make military planning and the transfer of forces between commands slower and more difficult.