FACT CHECK: Image Does Not Show Leaked US CENTCOM Memo

An image shared on Facebook claims to show a leaked U.S. CENTCOM memo about U.S. military commitment to Israel.

Verdict: False

There is no evidence that this memo exists. The National Guard Bureau denied that the memo was genuine.

Fact Check:

The U.S. has moved 2,000 Marines, several ships and other forces towards Israel after Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel and killed over 1,000 Israeli civilians, according to ABC News. The White House communications team published an image of President Joe Biden meeting with special operations forces before it was deleted, the Messenger and the Daily Caller reported.

Social media users are claiming that a leaked memo shows that the U.S. military is not willing to fight for Israel. The post’s caption read, “1) American Troops do not want to die for Israel. 2) CENTCOM was caught off-guard and does not have enough assets to support Israel in case of intervention or conflagration of a regional war.3) CENTCOM does not believe Israel will be able to handle a multi-front war.”

However, there is no evidence for this claim. If there was such a leaked memo, media outlets would have covered it, yet none have. A wider internet search also did not yield any results for this alleged memo. (RELATED: Video Of Pakistani Air Force Is Old)

The CENTCOM public affairs office directed Check Your Fact to an Oct. 16 statement from the National Guard Bureau. The statement reads, “An email circulating with Gen. Daniel Hokanson’s name that supposedly calls into question US commitment to Israel is categorically false. He did not write it. He did not send it.”

“I find it hard to believe that the Chief of the Guard Bureau would be weighing in on these issues. And whoever wrote this is actually wrong: If Hezbollah were to enter this conflict, CENTCOM would, in fact ‘be able to support Israel’ if told to do so, and Israel would ‘be able to defend themselves.’ Finally, no one in the U.S. armed forces is being asked to ‘put their lives on the line’ for Israel,” David A. Ochmanek, a senior international/defense researcher at the Rand Corporation, told Lead Stories.

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