CNN broke reporting on the truly bizarre and unsettling request that was sent out to US military analysts last week. According to a source familiar with the message, a CENTCOM intelligence branch officer pushed out a message reading, "We are looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran," to United States troops. "Now what we’re doing is we’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation," Trump told reporters over the weekend. Timothy Hawkins said in a statement: "US Central Command has a long history of thinking and working in innovative ways. Admiral Cooper, in particular, reaches out to members of our great team, regardless of rank, to achieve the highest levels of operational performance possible."