Pentagon Slashes Senior Officer After Controversial Israel-Related Posts
(MENAFN) The Pentagon has relieved a high-ranking officer from his duties and initiated an internal investigation after controversial social media posts surfaced, sharply criticizing Israel and U.S. Middle East policy.
Col. Nathan McCormack, who served as the Levant and Egypt branch chief in the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s J5 strategic planning directorate, has become the focal point of the dispute.
This development followed a report by the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) on Tuesday, which linked a semi-anonymous X account allegedly associated with McCormack. The posts included a statement labeling Israel as “our worst ‘ally.’”
A Pentagon spokesperson told JNS, “He will no longer be on the joint staff while the matter is being investigated,” adding that an investigative officer has been assigned to review the posts and their repercussions.
“The individual is being returned to his service while the matter is being investigated,” the official confirmed.
Initially revealed by JNS and elaborated upon by Middle East Eye, the archived posts also attacked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. McCormack described Netanyahu and his supporters as “Judeo-supremacist cronies” and accused them of aiming “to expel [Palestinians] and cleanse ‘Eretz Israel’ [Israeli territory] of ethnic Palestinians.”
A Defense Department contractor expressed shock at the remarks to JNS, saying, “This is the kind of bitter oversharing I’d expect from someone who doesn’t know better.” “But at his level and under his own name and likeness? It’s mind-boggling.”
The Pentagon stressed that McCormack’s views “do not reflect the position of the Joint Staff or the Department of Defense,” highlighting the risk such opinions pose to U.S. alliances. “Our global alliances and partnerships are vital to our national security,” the official added.
McCormack’s LinkedIn profile indicates he started his current role in June 2024.
Middle East Eye further reported that the posts accused Washington of enabling Israel’s “bad behavior,” stating, “The Western states go to great lengths to avoid criticism of Israel, much out of Holocaust guilt.”
He also wrote, “Israel’s actions over decades have prompted the accusations of ethnic cleansing and genocide.”
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