Yesterday President Trump called Xi Jinping; CTH noted the pattern. The reason – today President Trump would be messaging toward Beijing. [There is a difference between talking to Xi Jinping, and talking to Beijing.] Well, did anyone notice President Trump referencing the post WWII “Marshall Plan” today during…
Defense & Security
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Rocket Man – I Think It’s Gonna Be a Long, Long Gas Line…
President Donald J. Trump issued a new nickname for North Korean potbellied dictator Kim Jong-un via Twitter Sunday morning. After speaking with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, President Trump said he asked how “Rocket Man” was doing, an apparent nickname for Kim Jong-un. I spoke with President Moon of South Korea last night…
On Criminal Justice, Sessions Is Returning DOJ to the Rule of Law…
Two former top Obama-appointed prosecutors co-author a diatribe against Trump attorney general Jeff Sessions for returning the Justice Department to purportedly outdated, too “tough on crime” charging practices. Yawn. After eight years of Justice Department stewardship by Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch, and…
Navy Relieves Two More Commanders in 7th Fleet After Deadly Collisions…
The Navy relieved two more commanders in 7th Fleet on Monday amid fallout from two deadly collisions involving the destroyers USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain. Task Force 70 commander Rear Adm. Charles Williams and Destroyer Squadron 15 commander Capt. Jeffrey Bennett were both relieved of command by 7th Fleet…
In Wake of Airstrike, U.S. Military Moves to Establish Communication with Russian Forces in Syria…
The Pentagon is taking additional steps to ensure that U.S. and Russian battlefield commanders are able to directly communicate with one another after an airstrike on U.S. proxy forces near Deir al-Zour, Syria, that wounded several fighters Saturday, the United States’ highest -ranking military officer said…
Navy Deploys Cyber Security Team to Investigate USS John McCain Collision…
The U.S. Navy has deployed a team of cyber security experts to join the military’s ongoing investigation into the fatal collision of the USS John McCain off the coast of Singapore last month, according to the deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare. Vice Adm. Jan Tighe, who serves as the director of naval…
2 Dead, 23 Injured in Training Incidents at Fort Hood, Fort Bragg, Camp Pendleton…
Two soldiers died and 23 servicemembers were injured in three days during training exercises at Fort Hood, Fort Bragg and Camp Pendleton, defense officials said. Staff Sgt. Alexander P. Dalida was killed during the exercise at Fort Bragg, according to Lt. Col. Rob Bockholt, a spokesman for the U.S. Army’s Special…
U.S. and the U.K. Suggest Delaying Iraqi Kurdistan Region Independence Referendum…
On Thursday, officials from the UN, the US, and the UK met with President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani to propose a plan to delay an independence referendum – scheduled on September 25 – for two years, according to Kurdish sources. The sources said that the US, the UN and the UK are […]
Taliban Attacks NATO Convoy in Afghanistan with SVBIED, Claims 7 NATO Soldiers Killed…
On Friday, a Taliban suicide bomber driving a VBIED targeted a convoy of NATO forces near the Kandahar airbase in the Trank Pul area of Kandahar province. Kandahar provincial governor spokesman Fazal Bari Baryalai said that the attack “totally destroyed” a vehicle in the convoy that was carrying Romanian soldiers…
GOP Senators Urge Trump to Expel Cuban Diplomats from U.S….
Five prominent GOP senators are calling on the Trump administration to expel Cuban diplomats from Washington immediately and even close the U.S. embassy in Havana if the Cuban government is not more forthcoming about mysterious “acoustic” attacks that have seriously harmed U.S. diplomats. Republican Sens…
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North Korea Launches Missile, Japanese Residents Urged to Take Cover…
The unidentified projectile was heading east, according to published reports, after leaving the launchpad around 6:57 a.m. local time. The missile flew for about 20 minutes until falling into the Pacific Ocean at 7:16 a.m. about 2,000 kilometers east of Hokkaido, NHK reported citing Japanese government officials…
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War on Transparency: How the CIA Successfully Fought to Remain Unaccountable…
Declassified files provide a troubling insight into the US Government Accountability Office’s ill-fated efforts to audit the Central Intelligence Agency, with even the most routine queries batted away with claims relevant information was classified as protected as an intelligence source or method. Such was the CIA’s…
Reagan Documents Shed Light on U.S. ‘Meddling’ by Robert Parry…
“Secret” documents, recently declassified by the Reagan presidential library, reveal senior White House officials reengaging a former CIA “proprietary,” The Asia Foundation, in “political action,” an intelligence term of art for influencing the actions of foreign governments. The documents from 1982 came at a turning…
The Democrats’ Farfetched, Laughable, Thoroughly Ridiculous and Possibly Successful DACA Lawsuit by Byron York…
President Trump’s decision to rescind DACA was only hours old when the Democratic attorneys general of 15 states filed a lawsuit to stop him. The president’s move is “cruel, short-sighted, inhumane, and potentially devastating to hundreds of thousands of immigrants and millions of people who work with, study…
Homeland Security Issues Waivers to Ramp Up Improved Border Fencing…
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday it has issued waivers of environmental and historical preservation laws to speed construction of fencing between California and Mexico. The waivers protect border barriers near Calexico, Calif., from federal regulations such as Endangered Species Act…
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Bombshell Report Catches Pentagon Falsifying Paperwork for Weapons Transfers to Syrian Rebels…
A new bombshell joint report issued by two international weapons monitoring groups Tuesday confirms that the Pentagon continues to ship record breaking amounts of weaponry into Syria and that the Department of Defense is scrubbing its own paper trail. On Tuesday the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)…
2 More Americans Affected by Mysterious ‘Sonic Attacks’ in Cuba…
Late last year, reports began surfacing that US diplomatic personnel in Cuba were beginning to experience strange and inexplicable symptoms including dizziness, nausea, memory lapses, difficulty hearing and loss of balance. Initial reports attributed the symptoms to a “acoustic attack,” but neglected…
U.S. Won’t Issue Some Visas in Four Nations in Deportation Crackdown…
The U.S. State Department on Wednesday will stop issuing certain kinds of visas to some citizens of Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea and Sierra Leone because the nations are not taking back their citizens the United States wants to deport. The new policies, laid out in State Department cables sent on Tuesday and reviewed…
Clinton State Department Silenced Them on Benghazi Security Lapses, Contractors Say…
Security at the State Department’s Benghazi compound was so dire that another contractor was brought in to clean up the mess just two weeks before the 2012 terror attack – and was later pressured to keep quiet by a government bureaucrat under then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to two men from the American…
Dozens of Groups Urge Congress to Stop Transfer of Military Items to Cops…
Dozens of groups are urging Congress to suspend a program that allows the transfer of surplus military equipment to state and local law enforcement agencies. In a letter to both House and Senate leaders, the groups said they are “disturbed” by the decision of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to lift…