Tabatabai's move to a role where she won't have access to classified information about special programs, the current location of U.S. special forces, intelligence assessments, and much more, is considered by some observers as essentially a demotion and a tacit admission that she was, in fact, the leaker, and they are working to contain the damage while the investigation continues. //

According to counterterrorism analysts who spoke to RedState in October 2023, Tabatabai's been a subversive force at the Pentagon since she arrived from the State Department in 2022:

"[C]ounterterrorism analysts speaking to RedState on condition of anonymity, whose reports would have crossed Tabatabai's desk, say that for at least the past year their product has been watered down, misquoted, or outright quashed. Tabatabai had the opportunity to shape the intelligence to meet her needs, the analysts say, and they say it's likely that the overt intel collected during that period went to Iran."

Tabatabai's position at State was as a policy adviser to disgraced Iran envoy Robert Malley, who's accused of mishandling classified information himself. As the Washington Free Beacon reported, Tabatabai has been a frequent guest at the White House courtesy of Phil Gordon, who's Kamala Harris' national security advisor and who's collaborated with Tabatabai on multiple opinion pieces "argu[ing] against sanctions on the Iranian regime": //

Anyone who would be appointed as DoD's chief learning officer at this point is undoubtedly woke and likely not extremely helpful in terms of readiness and quality training, but having Tabatabai there is an insult. She should be nowhere near the Pentagon due to her relationship with the Iranian regime, but this is a very slight move in the right direction.