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CHINESE SPY CRAFT PAYLOAD LOCATED OFF WATERS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, MOSTLY INTACT: US OFFICIAL

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US military shoots down ‘object’ flying in territorial waters over Alaska

By Adam Sabes | Fox News | Published February 10, 2023 3:33pm EST

The U.S. military shot down an “object” that was flying in territorial waters over Alaska, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Friday afternoon during a White House press briefing.

“I can confirm that the Department of Defense was tracking a high altitude object over Alaska airspace in the last 24 hours. The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight. Out of an abundance of caution and the recommendation of the Pentagon, President Biden ordered the military to down the object. And they did. And it came in inside our territorial waters,” Kirby said.

Kirby added that the “object” landed on frozen waters, and that “Fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command took down the object within the last hour.”

He also added that the “object” was “much, much smaller than the spy balloon that we took down last Saturday.”

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby speaks during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Friday. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“The way it was described to me was roughly the size of a small car as opposed to a payload that was like two or three buses sized,” Kirby said.

Kirby said that he doesn’t know of any “outreach” to the Chinese government about the object, and said that the government doesn’t know who owns the unmanned object.

BIDEN SAYS CHINESE SPY FLIGHT ‘NOT A MAJOR BREACH’

“We do not know who owns it, whether it’s state owned or corporate owned or privately owned,” he said.

**President Biden speaks to reporters as he and first lady Jill Biden leave the White House and walk to Marine One on the South Lawn in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 27, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker)**

Kirby said that the object was shot down because it was flying at around 40,000 feet and could have posed a threat to civilian aircraft versus the Chinese spy craft discovered last week, which Kirby said was at 65,000 feet and posed no threat to civilian aircraft.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, said Friday afternoon that the military has located a significant amount of debris from the object, stating that it was shot down by an F-22 using an A9X missile out of Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. He said the object entered U.S. airspace on Thursday.

“Debris that’s been recovered so far is being loaded on to vessels taken ashore, cataloged, and then moved onwards to labs for subsequent analysis. And while I won’t go into specifics due to classification reasons, I can say that we have located a significant amount of debris so far that will prove helpful to our further understanding of this balloon and its surveillance capabilities,” Ryder said.

**Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)**

“We have no further details about the object at this time, including any description of its capabilities, purpose or origin,” Ryder added.

Just over a week ago, defense officials said that a Chinese spy craft was spotted over Billings, Montana. After it traveled at high altitudes around 60,000 feet, it was shot down on Saturday by an F-22 using a single A9X missile.

President Biden ordered on Feb. 3 that the spy craft should be shot down whenever the military determined that it’s safe to do so without potentially harming civilians on the ground.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said in a statement after the balloon was shot down that “President Biden gave his authorization to take down the surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon’s path.”

**U.S. forces recover debris from a shot-down Chinese surveillance balloon. (US Fleet Forces)**

“After careful analysis, U.S. military commanders had determined downing the balloon while over land posed an undue risk to people across a wide area due to the size and altitude of the balloon and its surveillance payload. In accordance with the President’s direction, the Department of Defense developed options to take down the balloon safely over our territorial waters, while closely monitoring its path and intelligence collection activities,” Austin said.

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.

Adam Sabes is a writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Adam.Sabes@fox.com and on Twitter @asabes10.

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Support building for Republican resolution to authorize military force against Mexican drug cartels, eviscerate those behind the fentanyl crisis

By: JOSEPH MACKINNON | January 21, 2023

**Photo by ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images**

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Republican congressmen introduced a resolution earlier this month to authorize American military action against the terroristic drug cartels that have overwhelmed Mexican government forces and trafficked the number one killer of adults 18-45 into the United States. That resolution is fast gaining support in the House.

Reps. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) and Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) introduced a resolution on Jan. 12 to “authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against those responsible for trafficking fentanyl or a fentanyl-related substance into the United States or carrying out other related activities that cause regional destabilization in the Western Hemisphere.”

Unmitigated crisis

TheBlaze previously reported that fentanyl is the leading killer of adults ages 18-45. 10% of the significant drop in life expectancy recently noted in the U.S. has been attributed to the corresponding spike in opioid overdoses, which exceeded 80,000 in 2021. Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) said in September that “It’s equivalent to one 737 (jet) every day going down, no survivors. It’s a mind-boggling number of deaths.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 2019 to 2020, opioid-involved death rates increased by 38% and synthetic opioid-involved death rates went up by 56%. The Congressional Joint Economic Committee concluded last year that the financial damage of the opioid crisis, after adjusting for inflation, carried a cost to the U.S. economy in 2020 of approximately $1.47 trillion, representing a $487 billion increase over 2019 and a 37% increase from 2017.

Waltz said in a statement, “It’s time to go on offense.”

“Not only are these paramilitary transnational criminal organizations responsible for killing an unprecedented number of Americans, but they are actively undermining our sovereignty by destabilizing our border and waging war against U.S. law enforcement and the Mexican military,” added the Florida Republican.

Crenshaw claimed that the cartels are at war with the U.S., “poisoning more than 80,000 Americans with fentanyl every year, creating a crisis at our border, and turning Mexico into a failed narco-state.”

“It’s time we directly target them,” said Crenshaw. “We cannot allow heavily armed and deadly cartels to destabilize Mexico and import people and drugs into the United States. We must start treating them like ISIS – because that is who they are.”

The “Authorization for Use of Military Force Cartel Influence Resolution” would enable the president to lay waste to the cartels. According to the legislation, the criminal groups fit for annihilation include the: Sinaloa cartel; Jalisco New Generation cartel; Gulf cartel; Los Zetas cartel; Northeast cartel; Juarez cartel; Tijuana cartel; Beltran-Levya cartel; and La Familia Michoacana or Knight Templar cartel.

Yuma County Supervisor Jonathan Lines told Fox News earlier this week that some of these Mexican cartels effectively control vast stretches of the U.S. southern border.

“Unless this situation changes and we take back control from the cartels, for the trafficking coming across our border, it will only get worse,” said Lines.

The cartels whose drugs have killed hundreds of thousands of Americans are getting increasingly brazen, especially as the efforts by Mexican military and police force repeatedly prove wanting, despite receiving billions of dollars in assistance from the U.S. since 2006.

The Council on Foreign Relations noted in a report last year that Mexico has seen over 360,000 murders since 2006, when the government declared war on the cartels.

At least 10 Mexican military personnel and one Culiacan policeman were slain earlier this month after authorities arrested the son of Sinaloa drug cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

Parts of the country were transformed into warzones.

Sinaloa Cartel firing a .50 Cal Barrett anti-materiel rifle at a plane of the Mexican Air Force near the Culiacán Airport following the arrest of El Chapo’s son Ovidio pic.twitter.com/tF7PX6aeDE
— Sara A. Carter (@SaraCarterDC) January 6, 2023

Waltz told Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures” earlier this month, “They are defeating the Mexican army. These are paramilitary entities with billions and billions at their disposal.”

Extra to dealing in death and violence, the cartels have also exacerbated the crisis at the border. Arizona Republic reported in December that cartels “have increased their involvement in migrant smuggling over the past decade, transforming the operation into a multibillion-dollar enterprise.”

They have played a significant role in violating American sovereignty by helping to smuggle illegal aliens into the U.S. U.S. Customs and Border Protection indicated that so far, this fiscal year, over 717,660 illegal aliens have stolen across the border. 2.37 million were encountered crossing the border last year, and another 1.7 million were reported crossing the year before.

Recognizing the need to put these cartels in the ground, Reps. Jake Ellzey (R-Texas) and Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) signed on to cosponsor the legislation on Jan. 17. Just the News reported that Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) will similarly cosponsor the resolution. To go into effect, the resolution must be passed by both the House and the Senate and then signed by the president.

It is unclear what impact this war measure will have on China, America’s preeminent adversary, which is reportedly involved with the cartels’ manufacture of fentanyl. According to Craig Singleton, senior fellow at the nonpartisan Foundation for Defense of Democracies, “since approximately 2013, China has been the principal source of the fentanyl flooding America’s illicit drug market.” The Republican Study Committee in the previous Congress indicated that “a significant portion of China’s fentanyl manufacturing … moved to Mexico where cartels set up their own operations to produce fentanyl using precursor chemicals from China.”

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARINE CORPS

November 10, 2022

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Military, Patriotic

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Marine Corps birthday

DOD Is Forging a Woke K-12 Army with Race and Sex Indoctrination in Military Schools

BY: AMY HAYWOOD | OCTOBER 24, 2022

Corps promotes STEM careers at Fort Stewart — **Shocking brainwashing of military kids is taking place at overseas schools managed by the Department of Defense Education Activity.**

Author Amy Haywood profile

AMY HAYWOOD

The Pentagon’s investigation into the U.S. military in 2021 found about 100 individuals engaged in extremist activities out of a force of 2 million. It appears investigators were looking in the wrong place. The search for extremists might have yielded better results had they examined the Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA), the government agency that administers K-12 education to the children of military personnel.

The Claremont Institute’s recently released report “Grooming Future Revolutionaries” describes shocking indoctrination taking place at overseas schools. It is a must-read, especially for military parents of the nearly 70,000 children in these schools.

I am a military spouse and the mother of a former DODEA student. The particular teacher training that was the focus of Claremont’s report is the reason, in part, why I lost all trust in the system.

In May 2021, I saw that DODEA would be holding an “Equity and Access Summit” for teachers and administrators. Knowing that “equity” means different things to different people, I wanted to get a sense of what it meant at DODEA. When I managed to gain access to the recordings, I was absolutely floored by what I saw and heard.

As the Claremont report shows, the summit featured hours of teacher training steeped in critical race and gender identity theories.

Claremont released a video of summit clips in which a principal talks about a student who felt like he’d done something wrong because he’s a “young, white male.” The teacher said she didn’t know what to tell him — but she seemed pleased with the breakthrough. Perhaps she was just following the lead of DODEA’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) chief Kelisa Wing, who is currently under investigation by DOD for a history of disparaging comments toward white people.

Video Evidence of Teachers Pushing CRT

The report also highlights literature teacher Gregory DeJardin’s presentation called “Combating 1- Sided Narratives (Decolonize the Curriculum).” DeJardin insists teachers become social activists and interviewed several students in his class at Vicenza High School in Italy about their difficulties with “majority culture.” It was painfully apparent in their answers that they were parroting his dogma, as one student said: “[School] is getting better about being more diverse and not taking a very normative perspective but there are definitely issues and I feel like it is still incredibly skewed to the white, male, heterosexual and Protestant gaze.”

Betty Roberts, an educator at Robinson Barracks Elementary School in Germany, talked about critical literacy. She wants her students to look deeply into textbook versions of events to find hidden biases. She asks her students questions like: “Is the American Revolution still being fought today?” She presses further and asks if the American Revolution was just a “transition from one group of rich white men to another group of rich white men.” Roberts goes on to express her gratefulness to the teachers’ union for its training on white fragility because she recognized her need for cultural humility.

Normalizing Transgenderism

Aside from the relentless instruction on anti-racism and white privilege, a clear effort was underway to normalize transgender identities and the notion of a gender spectrum. Genevieve Chavez and Lindsey Bagnaschi, presenters of “Ally 101 — Creating an Inclusive Classroom for LGBTQ+ Students,” talked about gender transitions they have facilitated for students at their schools in Spain and Germany, respectively — sometimes without parental knowledge or consent.

And many LGBT educators apparently belong to a system-wide resource-sharing group on Schoology curated by a DODEA educator. Chavez recommends resources from the group such as “Teaching with Mx. T” and “Teaching Outside the Binary.” But there is another similar group that’s passcode protected — and it’s for students. Teachers can add students to their own LGBT chat rooms in Schoology, and parents are not invited.

If teachers run out of content from people like “Mx. T,” they can use Discovery Education, which many recommended during the summit. One of the programs is “Speak Truth to Power.” This program offers lesson plans that are “flexible, standards-aligned digital resources, designed to educate, engage and inspire the next generation of human rights defenders.” Sounds good, doesn’t it — until you see that transgender activist Jazz Jennings is one of those human rights defenders. But Discovery Education is password-protected, with one portal for students and another for teachers, so we really have no idea what’s being promoted to our children via third-party content creators who can update information in real-time.

Congress Needs to Do More

Our children deserve to learn in an environment free from divisive ideologies, and thankfully, DODEA’s activism has not gone unnoticed by Congress. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., wrote a letter to DOD asking why teachers are being trained to secretly “transition” children at overseas schools. After a year, she still had not received an answer. She also introduced H.R. 4764, the No CRT for our Military Kids Act.

In the Senate, Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., offered an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2023 to prevent DODEA schools from hiding important medical information from parents — but it was voted down.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., introduced a Servicemember Parents Bill of Rights amendment to the NDAA to provide for more transparency and accountability in DODEA schools. It was adopted in committee with bipartisan support by a vote of 39-19 and is in the House-passed NDAA.

But Congress needs to do much more to ensure the safety of our military children and also that of any DODEA educator who is being intimidated into conformity. It will likely take years to sort out the mess at DODEA, so in the meantime, Congress could consider extending the military’s Non-DOD Schools Program to all students instead of only to those who are not in close proximity to a DODEA school.

Whatever the case, it looks like an extremist stand down is in order for DODEA, and it just might net more than the .005 percent found among our uniformed force.

Amy Haywood is a former senior legislative assistant for a U.S. House representative and an educator with years of experience working in a research-based program to help third culture kids adjust to life overseas. She holds a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College.

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https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1816409035368562

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Biden admin wants YOU to register for military DRAFT if you were ‘born male’ — and Twitter has questions

BLAZETV STAFF | October 11, 2022

Despite passing an executive order mandating that military members be treated according to their gender identity and not their biological sex, the Biden administration still requires biological men who identify as women to register for the military draft, while those who are “born female and have changed their gender to male” are off the hook.

The Selective Service tweeted a reminder recently telling parents that even “if your son is an only son and the last male in your family to carry the family name, he is still required to register with SSS.”

Parents, if your son is an only son and the last male in your family to carry the family name, he is still required to register with SSS. Learn more about who needs to register at https://t.co/GYbRK99c09. pic.twitter.com/tzW6uKkyl5
— Selective Service (@SSS_gov) October 7, 2022

The tweet elicited a range of angry and confused reactions, with many parents suggesting that their sons would identify as women to avoid the draft.

My son's a girl now so we good
— Nutshell0914 (@nutshell0914) October 10, 2022

For the purpose of SSS my son will identify as a girl starting with his 18th birthday.

Checkmate fascist
— Nunya Business (@NWTallDad_2) October 10, 2022

Just make sure your sons identify as daughters and they are all good!
— Suaerp (@Preaus) October 10, 2022

However, according to a chart provided by the Selective Service System, almost “all male U.S. citizens and male immigrants residing in the United States who are 18 through 25 years of age” are required to register, and individuals “who are born male and have changed their gender to female” are expressly included.

When they need you to go to war, the US government acknowledges that a person can NOT change sex. pic.twitter.com/rWzwT9SnWV
— Mimiof2 (@Mimiof28) October 10, 2022

So our government DOES know the difference between biological men and women.
— MyJennarocity (@MJennarocity) October 10, 2022

They actually say if you were born a male but identify as female, you still have to register. But if you were born a female and identify or transitioned into male, you don’t have to register.
— Amber (@AmberGrowsHerbs) October 10, 2022

"US citizens or immigrants who are born male and changed their gender to female are still required to register. Individuals who are born female and changed their gender to male are not required to register."

But I thought gender was just a social construct?
— Dog-Faced Pony Soldier (@thebluegoliath) October 10, 2022

I was reliably informed that we are unable to define what is male or female… pic.twitter.com/wqK6tjX3YB
— Kerry Hale (@KerryHale17) October 10, 2022

My question is why all the focus on registering for the draft #ForcedVax #ConscriptedMilitary pic.twitter.com/lXfU4neUTk
— Dr RWB🧠 (Creds in bio)🇺🇸🍊🚛 (@blairs7x70) October 10, 2022

We…we going to war soon?
— Beaverboy (@Brynsbeaver) October 11, 2022

Since the media likes to tout that illegal immigrants pay taxes and have drivers licenses, I'm assuming they also qualify for the draft also? Or are they exempt?
— sojoman 🛡️ (@sojoman4) October 10, 2022

On “The News & Why It Matters,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales and guests Alex Stein and Chad Prather wondered when the Biden administration remembered that there’s actually a biological difference between men and women.

Watch the video clip below to catch the conversation or find full episodes of “The News & Why It Matters” here. Can’t watch? Download the podcast here.

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Air Force Academy Holds ‘Transgender Visibility’ Seminar

By Adam Kredo | September 26, 2022

The United States Air Force Academy on Thursday held a seminar promoting “transgender visibility and awareness in our Air Force.” The “discussion” session focused “on awareness for transgender communities in the military,” according to a copy of an invitation for the event obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Events of this nature are part of a wholesale push by the U.S. military to foster a more culturally inclusive environment. Critics say this type of training is part of a woke cultural agenda that is being mainstreamed by the Democratic Party’s far-left flank. The Army, for instance, mandates gender identity training and instructs its officers on the best time to offer subordinates gender-transition surgery. The seminar was held on the same day the Free Beacon reported on an Air Force Academy course teaching cadets to “use inclusive language” that avoids gender pronouns.

The “transgender visibility” workshop featured two Air Force Academy faculty members, Dr. Joseph Currin and Dr. Karin De Angelis. The speakers were slated to “speak on their personal expertise and answer questions from the audience.”

The first 40 cadets to attend the seminar received a free lunch.

A cadet listed as a point of contact for the event, did not answer a Free Beacon request for comment.

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Defense Expert Spots Massive Issue with Russia Trucks, Indicates Entire War’s About to Change

Reported By Elizabeth Stauffer | March 21, 2022

Over the course of his long career with the Department of Defense, Trent Telenko spent 10 years as an Army vehicle auditor.

Based in Sealy, Texas, he received and inspected the steady stream of military vehicles damaged in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. This experience has given Telenko an eye for details that others could easily miss as well as a unique perspective on Russia’s progress in Ukraine.

In early March, Telenko saw on social media a photograph of a Russian Pantsir-S1 missile system located near the Ukrainian city of Kherson. His eyes went immediately to the system’s tires. Rather than using high-quality, more expensive tires that could support the tremendous weight of the Pantsir-S1, the Russian army had opted for cheaper, low-quality, Chinese-made tires. He also noticed they were in terrible shape because they had not been properly maintained.

In a widely read Twitter thread, Telenko identified the problems caused by the Russian army’s failure to properly maintain not only this specific Pantsir, but neglect of the entire fleet.

This is a thread that will explain the implied poor Russian Army truck maintenance practices based on this photo of a Pantsir-S1 wheeled gun-missile system's right rear pair of tires below & the operational implications during the Ukrainian mud season.🧵

1/ pic.twitter.com/LmxW43v6gy
— Trent Telenko (@TrentTelenko) March 2, 2022

Telenko’s analysis captured the attention of media outlets from The Economist to ABC News.

In the clip below, Telenko explained to ABC anchors how the Russian military’s inattention to critical safety measures is bogging its forces down and undermining its progress in the war. He noted that he “could tell at a glance” what was wrong with the tires on Russian trucks: Neglected maintenance that would destroy the usefulness of the army’s vehicles.

Check out the whole interview. It’s worth watching.

Telenko published a new thread on Saturday in which he discussed “Operational Attrition,” a concept he defines as the “loss of vehicles without a shot being fired.”

“That is, just by operating vehicles, you lose some of them because they break,” he wrote. “This gets a lot worse in combat. Each mile traveled by a military truck in war is between 10 and 20 miles wear. This is simple. Truck drivers abuse trucks because they don’t want to die.”

My good friend at Sealy, Gilbert Duran, wrote an article about the 1st phase of the effort called:

Resetting the FMTV: the Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command Reset Program refurbishes FMTV trucks returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

5/https://t.co/7DuPPohapM
— Trent Telenko (@TrentTelenko) March 20, 2022

Telenko participated in three U.S. Army “Reset” programs from 2003 to 2008. The goal was to repair damaged FMTV trucks (family of medium tactical vehicles). And he was tasked with performing “induction inspections of IED blast damaged trucks.”

Describing their condition, he wrote, “None of those vehicles ran, but mainly because they had been picked over for parts. There were not that many miles on them, but goodness was there oil leaks, sludge, leaky radiators, carbon build ups & the suspensions were beat to h–l. Cab glass was noticeable by its absence.”

“This was in an Army that has professional NCO’s that lived, breathed and ate preventive maintenance as a religious catechism. And the US Army enforced rest periods for its truck drivers because it cared enough about having men & equipment future operations,” he explained.

The Russian Army doesn’t do any of these things, he wrote. And for the past 10 years, they were barely maintained. Now, these same trucks are being overloaded with artillery and ammunition and sent into the war zone.

None of that is true for the Russian Army.

Most of the time between 2012 and 2022 the Russian Army did not maintain their trucks.

The Russians don't have a professional NCO Corps so they ARE NOT DOING IT NOW.

9/ pic.twitter.com/WyEgzVhcsi
— Trent Telenko (@TrentTelenko) March 20, 2022

Here’s what can and has gone wrong for the Russians.

Every truck is being sent out in whatever condition, overloaded with ammunition.

The engines are running white hot and no one has checked the oil or other fluid levels, let alone does an oil change, in these last three weeks.https://t.co/nLbvJWAJMn

11/
— Trent Telenko (@TrentTelenko) March 20, 2022

This Russian officer "Meet the Plan now" over everything else has real world consequences with tired drivers.

It's not just convoy chain reaction accidents.

Driver fall asleep at the wheel and do things like fall off bridges.

12/https://t.co/hDSyGjJcVs
— Trent Telenko (@TrentTelenko) March 20, 2022

And then there is the "conscript factor." Who do you think were towing the helicopters in this video? Russian conscripts, that's who.

What does that mean in a panicked evacuation?

They pulled those choppers as fast as they could get 15km of so
14/https://t.co/WDZaeaq0EJ
— Trent Telenko (@TrentTelenko) March 20, 2022

…out of artillery range. The choppers were trash at that point.

However, after that, those guys slowed the <bleep> down & took their time dragging those choppers to their drop off point so they had as much "safe time" as they could before the next artillery ammo run.
15/
— Trent Telenko (@TrentTelenko) March 20, 2022

Telenko concludes that the lack of professional maintenance and wear, unprofessional use by undertrained troops and soldier exhaustion has already and will continue to cause high levels of “operational attrition” in their truck fleets. The “details” that are being ignored will lead to massive issues.

He predicts in six to eight weeks, the entire Russian Army military truck fleet will be “deadlined.”

“Between the end of April and Mid-May 2022, the Ukrainian Army will be able to counter-attack EVERYWHERE. Because there will be NOWHERE more than 20 miles/30 km inside Ukraine where Russian troops won’t be out of food and low on ammunition.”

Do you think Ukraine can turn back the Russian invasion?Yes No

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Let’s hope Telenko is right and pray that the Ukrainians can continue to hang on.

In February, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley told lawmakers a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine could take Kyiv in 72 hours. Nearly four weeks after the Russian invasion began Feb. 24, the Russian military has managed to reduce some cities to rubble and resorted to indiscriminate bombing and brutal tactics, yet the Ukrainian people are still standing.

The formidable Russian Army which greatly outnumbers the Ukrainian military in men, artillery and equipment isn’t quite as mighty as the world had thought.

Although the government of Russian President Vladimir Vladimir Putin had unlimited time to prepare for this invasion, Putin apparently grossly underestimated his opponent. His military commanders might have failed to plan the logistics of a protracted war, without which, even the strongest army will falter.

Elizabeth Stauffer, Contributor,

Elizabeth is a contract writer at The Western Journal. Her articles have appeared on many conservative websites including RedState, Newsmax, The Federalist, Bongino.com, HotAir, MSN and RealClearPolitics. Please follow Elizabeth on Twitter.

@StaufferVaughn

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NASCAR superstar offers donation of 1 million ammo rounds for Ukraine’s fight against Russia — a ‘wake-up call for America’

Reported by SARAH TAYLOR | March 03, 2022

NASCAR legend Richard Childress has offered to donate at least 1 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine amid its fight for freedom against Russian forces, Fox News reported Wednesday. The former race car driver and team owner told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade on “Fox & Friends” that he will donate 1 million rounds of ammunition to Ukrainian forces after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for help from around the globe.

“I was listening the other day and heard President Zelenskyy say he didn’t want out, he wanted ammunition,” Childress recalled. “I called my good friend Fred Wagenhals, who is the Chairman of AMMO, Inc., which is a publicly traded company, POWW, and I said, ‘Fred, we gotta help these people. They need ammunition.’ And he stepped right up, he said, ‘We’ll do it,’ and now we’re turning our production to this as our number one priority.”

Childress, who serves on AMMO’s board of directors, is reportedly worth $250 million.

“This is a wake-up call for America, and why we have to have our Second Amendment,” he added. “We have … 82 million gun owners in America, and to see the people in Ukraine fighting — it’s terrible to see the lives that are being lost over there. We have to do all we can, and I felt with Ammo Inc. and myself, we were doing the right thing.”

Childress said that he and Wagenhals are working with the public and private sector in order to figure out the logistics of transporting the ammunition to the needy country.

“We’re working with some government agencies, but to get it there quickly, we’re going to work through a private company that will be working to get it in there,” Childress explained. “The number one ammo they’re needing right now over there is the 7.62s, and that’s what we’re going to be producing.”

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Business, Military, Political

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Daniel Horowitz Op-ed: The new Western fascism: Countries are gradually using jail exclusively for political opponents

Commentary by DANIEL HOROWITZ | February 23, 2022

For all the talk about Putin’s authoritarian grip over former Soviet states, we have our own authoritarian Putins now governing Western democracies and crushing all political dissent. Holding someone without bail for organizing a peaceful protest against the government sounds like something Putin would do, yet it is now happening in Canada and has already been happening here against those who did not engage in violence on Jan. 6. Meanwhile, these same Western leaders support de-incarceration for the most violent criminals, demonstrating that it’s not even about authoritarianism, but a two-tiered society built upon the ideals of fascism.

Last Thursday, Tamara Lich, one of the organizers of the trucker convoy who set up the original GoFundMe account, was arrested in Ottawa for simply opposing the Trudeau regime and organizing a peaceful protest. Not a single person from the hundreds of thousands of truckers acted violently, a few blocked roads, and Lich herself did nothing. She is being charged with “counselling to commit mischief,” which reeks of Iranian-style prosecution.

On Tuesday morning, Ontario judge Justice Julie Bourgeois denied Lich the opportunity to post any bail, even though she promised not to engage in more lawful protests and instead return to her home in Alberta. “I cannot be reassured that if I release you into the community that you will not reoffend,” Bourgeois said. “Your detention is necessary for the protection and safety of the public.”

Those who follow my running column on robbers and gun felons who get released without bail, and even some murderers who get released on low bail despite massive criminal records, can appreciate the rich irony. Lich might reoffend by committing an action that is not only legal but serves as the cornerstone value of dissent in a free and democratic society. If this standard were applied to BLM, there would literally be millions in jail today, and they often engaged in violence, not to mention more widespread blocking of roads.

Justice Bourgeois is a former liberal candidate for parliament and was endorsed by Trudeau in 2009. Thus, we are now at a point in Western (former) democracies when political prisoners cannot get a fair trial because the courts are completely co-opted by regime-supporting judges. Worse, Bourgeois once excused rising violent crime as “desperate people going through desperate times and using desperate measures.”

Hence, the very same judges and politicians who believe that political dissent is a dangerous crime also believe that career violent criminals need to be let out of jail. The same people who want to deny peaceful citizens the right to carry a gun seek to release every gun felon who has committed violence with a gun.

To that end, what is happening in Western countries is even worse than China or a return to pre-enlightenment Western governing values. In China, they wouldn’t tolerate murderers and carjackers. They will at least apply their harshness with equality – to an extent. What we are seeing in Canada and the U.S. is a form of postmodern Western-style fascism that elevates criminal behavior to the highest ideals of society while punishing the expression or utilization of basic human rights if they violate those ideals.

This is the plain definition of fascism. It doesn’t have to always be rooted in race. Merriam-Webster defines fascism as “a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.” This is what we are seeing in Western countries today. It’s not a matter of targeting any one race but creating a standard of national interests and announcing that anyone who doesn’t subscribe to those interests – even if they affect one’s body in the most intimate way – is a threat to the nation and needs to be segregated, discriminated against, persecuted, and suppressed.

It’s not about equal-opportunity authoritarianism, because it is directed solely at those who don’t fit the national standards. Thus, we are witnessing the worst influx of illegal immigration and domestic crime precisely during the time of the most heavy-handed authoritarianism against “some” citizens. At the same time that we have the most autocratic stay-at-home order of all time, we experienced the greatest ubiquitous mass gatherings in history through BLM protests and riots.

It’s easy to rest on our laurels and thank God we are living south of the 50th parallel, but we have already seen political dissidents held without bail for a year with no criminal record for very nebulous charges that are clearly directed at chilling political dissent, not deterring violent or even disruptive behavior. For example, Couy Griffin, a county commissioner in New Mexico and founder of Cowboys for Trump who certainly had no prior criminal record, was initially held without bail for several weeks, despite never having stepped foot in the Capitol or committed assault or vandalism. The unappointed magistrate judge kept him solely because of his political views and used that as pretext to show he is a flight risk.

“I don’t think that the defendant will follow my conditions if he believes I am part of this machine of the democratic process,” proclaimed magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui at a hearing on Feb. 1, 2021. She went on to note that his political views, because she disagrees with them, makes him eligible to be held without bail – something not done for many murderers with massive rap sheets. She said that believing the election was stolen was “no different than people not believing facts or science.” No wonder they now want to criminalize dissent from their illogical and unscientific “public health” ScIeNcE.

It is therefore clear that we already have Canada’s problem of the judicial system criminalizing political opposition and thought crimes. Yet this is occurring at a time when our judicial system has largely done away with pretrial holding even for violent repeat offenders. Here are just a few recent stories to consider when trying to process the breathtaking speed at which we have devolved into an authoritarian state … except for what actually needs deterrent from strong authority!

James Tubbs, 26, who plead guilty to molesting a child at a Los Angeles Denny’s restaurant restroom, will serve no time in prison and will not have to register as a sex offender, thanks to the new rules put in place by prosecutor George Gascon. Tubbs, who now believes he is really a woman, is instead being held in a female juvenile facility, even though he is an adult male, because he was just shy of his 18^th birthday when he committed the crime. Fox News recently released a tape of Tubbs bragging about beating the system. “I’m gonna plead out to it, plead guilty,” Tubbs says in one recording. “They’re gonna stick me on probation, and it’s gonna be dropped, it’s gonna be done, I won’t have to register, won’t have to do nothing.”
There is a carjacking epidemic in almost every major city. Recently, Chicago police superintendent David Brown revealed that 60% of all incidents were perpetrated by juveniles and that the system offers no real consequences for them.
Speaking of political crimes, how about attempting to assassinate a mayoral candidate? Well, in our fascist social “equity” system, it depends on the race and motive of the perpetrator. Earlier this month, BLM activist Quintez Brown was charged with attempted murder for stepping into the campaign headquarters of Louisville mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg and opening fire. Luckily, the bullets only grazed the candidate’s clothing and the shooter was stopped and apprehended. He came with extended magazines and clearly was coming as an assassin, but a judge let him out on $100,000 bail, which was posted by national BLM umbrella groups. “There is simply no defense for a would-be assassin to be released on bail, 60 hours after firing on his intended target,” Adam Edelen, the former chief of staff for former Democrat Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, tweeted. Can you imagine if someone from the trucker movement had done this to a prominent pro-mandate politician?
Bronx Supreme Court Justice Naita Semaj-Williams just allowed two teenagers charged with murder, manslaughter, robbery, gang assault, and other crimes to be released without posting bail. In a previous case earlier this month, Semaj-Williams walked back a $60,000 bond for a criminal charged with attempted murder and released him on his own recognizance.
These situations are occurring even in Texas. In 2019, Treveon Tatum, 20, was charged with murder but released by a Houston judge on just $50,000 bond. Despite being arrested again the following April for felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, Tatum still did not have his bail revoked. Despite violating the terms of his bail multiple times, he was never re-incarcerated. Then, on Feb. 8, he was charged again with a new murder.
While COVID is being used an excuse to jail business owners and political dissidents, the same virus is being used as pretext to release true public safety threats. Earlier this month, Garrett W. Caspino was cited twice by police for criminal trespassing while acting erratically in a residential neighborhood of Corvallis, Oregon. However, he wasn’t arrested “because of COVID-19 protocols.” But just an hour later, he allegedly broke into a home in broad daylight, pulled down his pants, and choked the female homeowner against the wall while showering. He was later chased out of the house by the victim’s boyfriend. Despite the seriousness of the charges and the clear likelihood he will “reoffend,” Caspino will still have an opportunity to post bail, albeit a high amount.

The raison d’etre of the existence of Western governments is plainly spelled out in the preamble of our Constitution – to “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” Yet we now have a government that ensures tyranny and promotes the curse of violent anarchy while perverting justice based on politics and identity. One could not possibly abrogate the underpinnings of our social contract in a more grotesque manner than what today’s global elites governing Western countries are doing. This is unsustainable and must change. It is our right – our duty – to demand a new government “to provide new Guards for their future security.” The same failed political strategies of the past do not speak to the magnitude of corruption in our government.

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Tony Perkins Op-ed: Military works to boot Christian ‘extremists’ from its ranks

Commentary by Tony Perkins, CP Op-Ed Contributor | Thursday, January 13, 2022

Military Chaplains — Bishops speak with military chaplains in New Orleans in this file photo. | (Photo: ENS / Sarah Bartenstein)

January 6 was a convenient background for a lot of Democrats, but especially the ones in Joe Biden’s Department of Defense. To them, it was a chance to highlight the dangers of conservatives — and fight to get them out of the ranks, once and for all.

Gearing up to the riot’s one-year anniversary in December, Press Secretary John Kirby warned that new rules on “extremist activity” were coming. “As Secretary [Lloyd] Austin has emphasized, the department is focused on prohibited activity, not on a particular ideology thought or political orientation. The department has always maintained a distinction between thoughts and actions.” So they say. But behind the camouflage, FRC’s Lt. General (Ret.) Jerry Boykin argues, is a different agenda entirely. And it’s not about weeding out extremism — it’s about weeding out the people of faith and principle.

“First of all,” he warned, “nobody in the [DOD] can define extremism. And because this is so ill-defined and because there are so many nebulous things associated with [it], what you’re going to see if that they’re going to start adding to it. And even though they say that they’re not after ideology — they’re not after people’s ideas or people’s faith or people’s leanings politically — that’s just simply not true. [They’re] going to start adding groups like ours — the Family Research Council — as an ‘extremist group,’ telling our troops, ‘You cannot be associated with them, because we stand [things like] biblical marriage.”

How does he know? Because it’s happened before. Remember, Joe Biden served under Barack Obama for eight years — and in that time, the duo turned America’s government into one of the most vicious, anti-faith institutions the country had ever seen. During the wave of “diversity training” in Obama’s second term, organizations like the American Family Association were on a hit list of “hate groups” that service members were ordered not to follow or engage. If they did, there would be consequences. If you’re associated with them, the military said, you’re risking a court-martial and dishonorable discharge.

So, this isn’t an empty threat. It’s not hypothetical. It’s already happened. Only now, unfortunately, it’s starting to progress. Thanks to radical groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), who’ve partnered with the Biden administration in this extremist witch hunt, it’s not going to stop with organizations like American Family Association, Family Research Council, or Alliance Defending Freedom. Under the Defense Department’s new regulation, just released before Christmas, anyone with a natural view of “gender identity or sexual orientation” or any other biblical truth that is politically incorrect could be labeled as an extremist.

Consider what these new regulations will eventually do to chaplains who are endorsed by religious denominations that actually believe the Bible. These chaplains will silence themselves on a growing list of “untouchable” issues or they will be silenced by the military for these teaching, which they’ve labeled “extreme.”

General Boykin has seen a lot of things, but he says he’s “more concerned about our military today” than he’s ever been in his life. He points to the vaccine mandates and the good people our country is losing. “We’re recruiting the wrong people, and we’re [kicking] out the right people. We’re upside-down in the military today, and this is going to destroy our [force] if somebody doesn’t step in and turn this around. And I hope that will be Congress in 2022, when [Republicans] retake the House and Senate.”

Until then, he agrees, there’s an intentional effort to purge conservatives from the ranks, and we need to stop it. Without a viable military, we live in a vulnerable America. And obviously, if Democrats can’t succeed in abolishing our force, like the Marxist squad wants, then they’ll settle for the next best thing: hallowing it out until it’s nothing but an empty shell.

We can’t sit on the sidelines and watch. We’ve got to be engaged — and even more so now, when things aren’t going the direction we want. When we see these threats against our freedoms, it’s all the more reason to be active, informed, and hopeful — because we’re anchored in the truth. And that hope doesn’t change. It doesn’t come around every four years. It’s new every morning as we see the glory and goodness of the Lord.

Originally published at the Family Research Council.

Tony Perkins is president of the Family Research Council.

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Biden Signs Massive $770 Billion Defense Bill To Increase Spending For Most Parts Of Military

Reported by SHELBY TALCOTT | SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT | December 28, 2021

President Joe Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act on Monday. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) — **Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images**

President Joe Biden signed a $770 billion defense bill on Monday that marks an increase in spending in almost every faction of the military. The $770 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) ended up being $24 billion more than Biden asked for, according to The New York Times. It passed both the House and Senate with bipartisan support in December, though it did face some opposition from certain Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

The NDAA increased spending aimed at helping Ukraine defend itself, countering military expansion in China and obtaining more advanced aircraft and ships, according to the NYT. The Biden administration previously identified China as a “top challenge” while making the budget proposal.

“The discretionary request prioritizes the need to counter the threat from China as the Department’s top challenge. The Department would also seek to deter destabilizing behavior by Russia,” Biden’s budget request, issued in April and asking for $715 billion, reads.

The agreed-upon NDAA also increases pay for more service members by 2.7% – a provision that was overwhelmingly bipartisan, even garnering the support of lawmakers who ultimately voted against passing the NDAA in the House.

“The Act authorizes fiscal year appropriations principally for the Department of Defense, for Department of Energy national security programs, and for the Department of State,” Biden said in a statement on Monday following the bill’s signing. “The Act provides vital benefits and enhances access to justice for military personnel and their families and includes critical authorities to support our country’s national defense.”

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 27: U.S. President Joe Biden walks to speak with reporters on the South Lawn before departing from the White House on Marine One on December 27, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden are traveling to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware for the New Year's holiday. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 27: U.S. President Joe Biden walks to speak with reporters on the South Lawn before departing from the White House on Marine One on December 27, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden are traveling to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware for the New Year’s holiday. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The president criticized various portions of the bill in a statement following its signing. Some were relating to Guantanamo Bay, with Biden calling it unfortunate that one section “continues to bar the use of funds to transfer Guantanamo Bay detainees to the custody or effective control of certain foreign countries.” He also called out a second portion of the bill that “bars the use of funds to transfer Guantanamo Bay detainees into the United States unless certain conditions are met.”

“It is the longstanding position of the executive branch that these provisions unduly impair the ability of the executive branch to determine when and where to prosecute Guantanamo Bay detainees and where to send them upon release,” Biden argued.

Still, the NDAA, which covers the fiscal year 2022, includes some marked changes. One agreement included in the bill will overhaul how the military handles internal criminal investigations, according to the NYT. Now, military commanders will lose much of the previous authority they had to prosecute sexual assault cases, for example. They’ll often be replaced by independent military prosecutors. In another new move, sexual harassment in the military will now be criminalized under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Independent investigation will also be required for crimes such as kidnapping and murder. Lawmakers praised the bill as transformative.

“These reforms, which are supported by longstanding advocates for survivors of the sexual assault crisis in the military, will take the prosecution of all sex crimes in the military away from the control of the military commander,” Democratic Washington Rep. Adam Smith said, according to the NYT. “Instead, qualified, independent, uniformed attorneys — ultimately overseen by the civilian service secretaries — will have the sole authority for charging decisions and the responsibility to prosecute those charges.”

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How Private Citizens Stepped Up To Get Americans Out Of Kabul When The US Government Failed

Reported by VARUN HUKERI | GENERAL ASSIGNMENT & ANALYSIS REPORTER | September 02, 2021

Hamid Karzai International Airport in KabulEvacuated — **(Photo by Taylor Crul/U.S. Air Force via Getty Images)**

The chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in recent weeks has left Americans stranded in the capital city of Kabul, and in response, a disparate group of private citizens has stepped up to get people out of the country. President Joe Biden stuck to his plan to withdraw the remaining U.S. military forces from Afghanistan even as thousands of American citizens, legal permanent residents and Afghan Special Immigration Visa applicants remained at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

Biden defended the evacuation in an address Tuesday by claiming 90% of Americans who wanted to leave the country were evacuated successfully. His remarks came one day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken admitted that between 100 and 200 Americans had been left behind after the U.S. military completed its withdrawal.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the end of the war in Afghanistan in the State Dining Room at the White House on August 31, 2021 in Washington, DC (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

As the Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline approached, a number of private citizens with former military or intelligence experience began to organize evacuations to get both Americans and Afghans out of the country. Among them is former Force Recon Marine Chad Robichaux, who was deployed to Afghanistan eight times and has rescued more than 5,300 people from the country. He told the Daily Caller News Foundation about his efforts to rescue orphaned children and other vulnerable people in an Aug. 28 interview.

“We worked a relationship with a foreign government and their military to allow us to work with them and build a plan to clandestinely go in and get certain groups of people, move them onto the airport in Kabul and then utilize charter planes and some of the military aircraft [to get them out],” he said.

A volunteer group of U.S. Special Operations veterans also launched a mission last week to move people in small groups to the Kabul airport and evacuate them from the country. The mission, called the “Pineapple Express,” has reportedly rescued more than 500 people including vulnerable Afghans, according to ABC News.

In many of the private operations conducted by veterans and others, rescuers have used digital communications and other technology to act as emergency dispatchers, call in favors with guards, share intelligence about the Taliban and move families to the right runway to get on a flight, according to The Washington Post.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - AUGUST 21: In this handout provided by the U.S. Air Force, an air crew assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron assists evacuees aboard a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft in support of the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 21, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Taylor Crul/U.S. Air Force via Getty Images)

An air crew assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron assists evacuees aboard a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft in support of the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 21, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan (Taylor Crul/U.S. Air Force via Getty Images)

A number of operations have used encrypted messaging apps like Slack and Signal to share sensitive information and send photos to the people being evacuated from Afghanistan. These efforts to communicate across thousands of miles are now being called “Digital Dunkirk” in reference to the evacuation of trapped Allied soldiers from the beaches of northern France during World War II.

Members of Congress have also scrambled in recent weeks to provide information to constituents trapped in Afghanistan and aid in evacuation efforts. Several lawmakers told the Daily Caller or other outlets that the State Department had refused to guarantee protection for Americans and Afghans at the airport in Kabul.

Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton was among the first members to encourage Americans trapped in Afghanistan to call his office, setting up an email address to help disseminate information. One Afghan American couple, who had been unable to get to the Kabul airport, made it past Taliban and U.S. security checkpoints with the help of Cotton, who gave them a military contact at the airport.

The Biden administration has taken fire from all sides amid the fallout of a chaotic U.S. withdrawal. As expected, Republicans have ripped the administration for leaving Americans behind, but corporate media outlets and even officials who served under former President Barack Obama have gone off on the administration.

Republicans lambasted the administration President Joe Biden is taking fire from all sides amid the fallout, as the Taliban moves to consolidate its power in Afghanistan and thousands of U.S. citizens and Afghan allies remain trapped in the country.

“The fact that ‘Digital Dunkirk’ exists, it’s a wonderful tribute to the people doing it, obviously the people on the ground in Kabul are awesome, and I’m not talking about them, but the fact that it exists is a — there’s a failure here of the government,” Tapper said.
“My contention is that there is probably no way for the Afghan security forces and the government to collapse overnight and there not to have been a corresponding chaos on the ground and the scenes that you are seeing,” Murphy responded.
“But the idea that this is being done as efficiently as could be done just flies in the face of everything I’m sure you’re hearing behind the scenes, certainly everything I’m hearing,” Tapper shot back.

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BIDEN EFFECT: US Lost Several Military Aircraft that Were Flown Out of Afghanistan – They Have No Idea How Many Were Lost — VIDEO

Reported By Jim Hoft | Published August 18, 2021

It Gets Worse.

During their totally pathetic press conference today at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and woke General Mark Milley admitted that Afghan pilots flew several US aircraft out of the country. They think they were flown to Uzbekistan or Tajikistan but they are not sure.

They also have no idea how many were taken.

This was a complete disaster.

Thousands of Americans are trapped in Afghanistan and these idiots have no plan on how to rescue them.
And they can’t even keep track of their aircraft.

Jim Hoft

Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016.

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US Conducts Airstrikes In Iraq, Syria Against Iran-Backed Militia Groups

Reported by SHELBY TALCOTT AND TAYLOR GILES, CONTRIBUTORS | June 27, 2021

US-POLITICS-DEFENSE — Photo by ALEX BRANDON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. military conducted airstrikes against Iran-backed militias near the Iraq-Syria border Sunday.

The strikes targeted “operational and weapons storage facilities” in Syria and Iraq, according to a press release from Pentagon press secretary John Kirby. The facilities were used by Iranian militia groups including Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS), according to the press release.

“As demonstrated by this evening’s strikes, President Biden has been clear that he will act to protect U.S. personnel,” Kirby said.

Iran-backed militias were targeted in the strikes as a result of the militias’ ongoing attacks against U.S. interests in the region.

“The strikes were both necessary to address the threat and appropriately limited in scope,” Kirby went on to say. (RELATED: Biden Reportedly Called Off Second Syria Airstrike After Woman, Children Spotted At Site)

The Pentagon sought approval from Biden in May and were delayed twice prior to Sunday’s announcement, a source familiar with the situation told the Daily Caller. The airstrikes occurred following reported attacks against U.S. forces at bases in Iraq, the source added. These recent attacks reportedly included a “bomb-laden drone” and rocket attacks, The Jerusalem Post previously reported.

Pentagon spokesperson Commander Jessica McNulty told the Daily Caller that President Joe Biden determined the airstrikes “would protect U.S personnel.” She called the strikes “necessary” and “appropriate.”

“We always reserve the right to respond at a time and place of our choosing to protect and defend our people; today was the right moment to act,” McNulty said. “The President determined that taking this action would protect U.S. personnel, and that these strikes were both necessary to address the threat and appropriately limited in scope.”
“The strikes were necessary, appropriate, and deliberate action designed to limit the risk of escalation,” she added. “Through these and other means, we seek to make clear to Iran and Iran-backed militia groups that there will be serious consequences if they continue to attack, or to arm, fund, and train militia groups that attack our people. We will take necessary and appropriate measures to defend U.S. personnel, partners, and allies in the region.”

McNulty also confirmed recent reported attacks against facilities used by U.S. personnel – the reason behind Sunday’s airstrike.

“Iran-backed militias have conducted at least five one-way UAV attacks against facilities used by U.S. and Coalition personnel in Iraq since April as well as ongoing rocket attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces,” she said in a statement.
Biden has previously been criticized for targeting Iranian-backed militias in airstrikes back in February. “We ran on ending war, not escalating conflicts in the Middle East. Our foreign policy needs to be rooted in diplomacy & the rule of law, not retaliatory airstrikes without Congressional authorization,” Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna tweeted in February.

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Americans Voted To End War In Syria, But This Unelected Bureaucrat Lied To Overrule Them

Reported by Willis L. Krumholz | NOVEMBER 18, 2020

Americans Voted To End War In Syria, But This Unelected Bureaucrat Lied To Overrule Them

Defense One, a subsidiary of The Atlantic, came out with a story last week about a man named Jim Jeffrey. If you haven’t heard of him, don’t feel bad, but he’s pretty important in Washington, D.C. Under his fancy title, he’s been appointed to oversee the U.S. fight against ISIS and what are supposed to be the limited operations of the American troops who still remain in Syria.

Jeffrey is now also a hero in D.C., because in the interview with Defense One he bragged about how he misled President Donald Trump and other top White House officials about the real number of U.S. troops in Syria. “We were always playing shell games to not make clear to our leadership how many troops we had there,” Jeffrey told the Defense One reporter.

The Establishment Wants War in Syria

To say that the D.C. foreign policy establishment wants a U.S. ground presence in Syria is an understatement. During the Obama administration, partisan former Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan spent $1 billion from taxpayers per year trying to arm “moderate” rebels in Syria. What Brennan got was loads of American weapons in the hands of jihadists, including ISIS affiliates. In one example, a particular program trained 15,000 rebels in Jordan and returned them to Syria. Only “four or five” recruits out of the 15,000 turned up to fight. The rest either joined jihadist forces, including ISIS, or sold their American weapons to these forces.

The futility of regime change efforts didn’t deter official Washington, however. Western media raved about “the white helmets.” They also glossed over the fact that there were few moderate rebels and that many of America’s preferred rebels to take on the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad were guilty of unspeakable brutalities.

Meanwhile, a civil war pitting Muslim Sunnis against Shias — which was partly fueled by American money and weapons and certainly fueled by weapons and money from Gulf Sunni states, including Saudi Arabia — caused a humanitarian crisis. Millions of refugees flooded Europe. Into this chaos and power vacuum stepped ISIS, which at its pinnacle had amassed a huge amount of territory in Iraq and Syria.

On the campaign trail in 2016, Trump repeatedly promised to destroy ISIS and then get U.S. troops out of Syria. This was a large difference between Trump and his Republican primary opponents and then later Hillary Clinton, who argued that U.S. involvement in Syria should not be limited to destroying the Islamic State and that the United States should topple Assad.

Trump’s view was that if Assad was toppled, the power vacuum would be greater, and the jihadist problem would worsen. He also argued that such a move was not in America’s interest, had no clear exit strategy, and would cause an even greater humanitarian disaster, including thousands of dead American troops.

As president, Trump routinely called Syria a place of “sand and death.” Multiple times he attempted to pull the United States out of Syria, only to be met with Assad allegedly striking civilians and official Washington clamoring for a response. Finally, in December 2018, Trump gave a withdrawal order. This led to the resignation (or firing) of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, along with Brett McGurk, the former special envoy for Syria. Trump repeated that order in October 2019.

Jeffrey called Trump’s decision to fulfill his campaign promise and remove U.S. troops from Syria “the most controversial thing in my fifty years in government.” Each time Trump gave the withdrawal order, according to Jeffrey, Trump was “convinced to leave a residual force in Syria and the fight continued.” In reality, officials kept troops behind far above the “residual force,” unbeknownst to the president.

“What Syria withdrawal? There was never a Syria withdrawal,” Jeffrey bragged. “When the situation in northeast Syria had been fairly stable after we defeated ISIS, [Trump] was inclined to pull out. In each case, we then decided to come up with five better arguments for why we needed to stay. And we succeeded both times. That’s the story.”

Officially, America has 200 to 400 troops on the ground in northeast Syria, ostensibly to guard the oil fields in that area held by U.S. Kurdish allies. Anonymous officials say the number is more like 900 today, however, and Jeffrey told Defense One that the number of troops in Syria is “a lot more than” the roughly 200 troops that Trump agreed to leave behind there in October 2019.

Defense One concluded its story by noting that Jeffrey didn’t support Trump but agrees with Trump’s “realpolitik” Middle East foreign policy and efforts to make North Atlantic Treaty Organization members pay more for defense. Jeffrey also said he views Joe Biden favorably. In fact, after signing a letter in 2016 that said Trump was unfit for the presidency, it appears as if Jeffrey still opposes Trump: “I know what I did in 2016, I do not disagree with that,” Jeffrey said.

While Defense One quoted colleagues who said Jeffrey is a “consummate apolitical public servant,” many others were upset by Jeffrey’s admissions. Republican Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, is furious and called for Jeffrey to be “punished.”

Who Has the Power in America?

People in Middle America should be enraged by Jeffrey’s interview. Washington, D.C., should be terrified that the American people might realize people like Jeffrey are only the tip of the iceberg. Jeffrey might be completely right about his view of the world and probably thinks he was doing the right thing, but that doesn’t matter. It doesn’t make Jeffrey’s behavior any less abhorrent.

People didn’t elect Jeffrey to anything. They elected Trump in 2016, and one factor in a bunch of working-class Americans opting for Trump was his promise not to start a new war in the Middle East. A large majority of Americans don’t want U.S. ground troops in Syria. Even a large chunk of Democrats who abhor Trump technically agree with his Syria policy. Labeling Jeffrey a “public servant” is a sick joke. Jeffrey is serving himself, or at least serving his ideology — and he does have an ideology.

Yes, it was Trump’s fault he hired people like John Bolton, a neoconservative ideologue who thought it was his job to stop Trump from following through with his campaign promises. Yet Trump isn’t ideological, and he often filled positions based on the recommendations of those around him, many of whom were card-carrying members of the Republican establishment.

Either way, Trump took a lot of heat for his order to pull troops out of Syria. Mattis resigned, and Democrats, media outlets, and Republicans such as Liz Cheney attacked Trump. Detractors hurled constant accusations that Trump wanting to get U.S. troops out of Syria was yet further proof he was a stooge of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump’s differences on foreign policy compared to the D.C. establishment, including over Syria policy, was even a significant factor in the FBI’s decision to legitimize baseless conspiracy theories that Trump was an agent of Russia.

Let’s step back for a second. Millions of working-class Americans, who also voted for Barack Obama, voted for Trump in 2016 because they wanted a change to policy. Now assume Trump is gone, and, truthfully, not much has changed on a fundamental level for many of these working-class citizens. What will happen when a large chunk of the American people realize their votes don’t affect policy?

Trump was considered norm-breaking and obnoxious to these D.C. insiders. Have these insiders not considered that the same people who sent Trump to the White House to shake things up might eventually opt for someone even more norm-breaking than Trump?

Willis L. Krumholz holds a JD and MBA degree from the University of St. Thomas. The views expressed are those of the author only. You can follow Willis on Twitter @WillKrumholz.

Photo Staff Sgt. Noel Gerig/U.S. Central Command

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Acting secretary of defense confirms US troop drawdowns in Iraq, Afghanistan

Reported by BRECK DUMAS | November 18, 2020

Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller confirmed Tuesday that the Pentagon will further reduce the number of U.S. service members in Iraq and Afghanistan at the direction of President Donald Trump, with a deadline that lands just days before Inauguration Day.

Fox News reported that, according to Miller, “U.S. forces will be cut by roughly half in Afghanistan to 2,500, and by 500 troops in Iraq to 2,500” by Jan. 15, 2021.

While the presidential race remains contested through several lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign, mainstream media outlets have roundly called the election for former Vice President Joe Biden. Regardless of who ultimately wins the White House, Inauguration Day is slated for Jan 20.

“This decision by the president is based on continuous engagement with his national security cabinet over the past several months, including ongoing discussions with me and my colleagues across the United States government,” Miller said during a briefing from the Pentagon.

“I have also spoken with our military commanders and we all will execute this repositioning in a way that protects our fighting men and women, our partners in the intelligence community and diplomatic corps, and our superb allies that are critical to rebuilding Afghan and Iraqi security capabilities and civil society for a lasting peace in troubled lands,” Miller said.

The announcement comes just days after Trump fired Miller’s predecessor, former Department of Defense Secretary Mark Esper. According to the Washington Post, Esper sent a classified letter to the White House prior to his termination, warning that “conditions on the ground were not yet right” for a full withdrawal from Afghanistan, “citing the ongoing violence, possible dangers to the remaining troops in the event of a rapid pullout, potential damage to alliances and apprehension about undercutting the negotiations.”

Trump vowed to bring troops home

President Trump has vowed to bring American troops home from Afghanistan and Iraq since he first took office. Yet, NBC News noted that “the move still stops short of Trump’s pledge to end America’s longest war. Just last month, the president tweeted that he wanted to pull out all remaining troops in Afghanistan by Christmas.”

The timing of Trump’s additional drawdown has been met with mixed reactions on Capitol Hill, even from the president’s own party.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warned Monday about a “premature American exit” from Afghanistan amid rumors of plans for a reduction of troops, while Kentucky’s junior Sen. Rand Paul tweeted, “What brings Big Government Republicans and Democrats together? Support for Endless War. After 19 years in Afghanistan, it’s high time to bring our troops home!”

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US sending 1,000 more troops to Middle East

Written by Zachary Halaschak | June 17, 2019 08:22 PM

URL of the original posting site: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/us-sending-1-000-more-troops-to-middle-east

The U.S. is sending an additional 1,000 troops to the Middle East amid increasing tension between the U.S. and Iran. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan announced the additional forces in a statement Monday evening, saying that the increase came at the urging of U.S. military leaders in the Middle East.

“In response to a request from the US Central Command for additional forces, and with the advice of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and in consultation with the White House, I have authorized approximately 1,000 additional troops for defensive purposes to address air, naval, and ground-based threats in the Middle East,” Shanahan said in a statement.

“The recent Iranian attacks validate the reliable, credible intelligence we have received on hostile behavior by Iranian forces and their proxy groups that threaten United States personnel and interests across the region,” Shanahan said.

“We will continue to monitor the situation diligently and make adjustments to force levels as necessary given intelligence reporting and credible threats,” he added.

A pair of oil tankers were attacked earlier this month in the Gulf of Oman. The U.S. and the U.K. have placed blame for the attack on Iran. The move came just hours before Iran reportedly fired a surface-to-air missile at a U.S. drone. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed the tanker attacks on the “maximum pressure campaign” that the U.S. is waging against the Iranian regime, targeting its financial industry.

“Iran is lashing out because the regime wants our successful maximum pressure campaign lifted,” Pompeo told reporters last week. “The international community condemns Iran’s assault on the freedom of navigation and the targeting of innocent civilians.”

Last month, four other tankers were targeted by Iran in what Pompeo described as an Iranian attempt to inflate international oil prices.

The U.S. also recently deployed the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Middle East.

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1st woman to take command of a US Army infantry division

AP | 10 Jun 2019

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. (AP) — The California National Guard has announced the appointment of the first woman to lead a U.S. Army infantry division.

Brig. Gen. Laura Yeager will take command of the 40th Infantry Division on June 29 at Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, California.

Yeager currently commands Joint Task Force North, U.S. Northern Command at Fort Bliss, Texas.

Yeager was commissioned in 1986 as a second lieutenant from the Reserve Officer Training Corps at California State University, Long Beach.

She served as UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter pilot, left active duty when her son was born and continued her military career in the California Army National Guard.

Yeager deployed to Iraq in 2011 as deputy commander of the Cal Guard’s 40th Combat Aviation Brigade, then served as a battalion and brigade commander.

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US Army To Give Soldiers New 1-Ounce Hidden Weapons That Will Change the Game

Reported By Jack Davis | February 2, 2019 at 7:37pm

URL of the original posting site: https://www.westernjournal.com/us-army-give-soldiers-new-1-ounce-hidden-weapons-will-change-game/

Army units will soon be equipped with pocket-sized drones to give them an edge on the battlefield.

The Army has awarded FLIR Systems a $39.6 million contract to provide Black Hornet personal-reconnaissance drones, the company said in a release on its website.

The drones are 6.6 inches long and weigh 1.16 ounces, the company said. They can fly in day or night conditions for up to 1.24 miles. The drones have a maximum speed of 20 feet per second.

The drones can remain airborne for about 25 minutes.

Once the army gets the drones, they will be deployed with a Brigade Combat Team. The location of that team has not been announced.

The drones “will give our soldiers operating at the squad level immediate situational awareness of the battlefield through its ability to gather intelligence, provide surveillance, and conduct reconnaissance,” Army spokesman Lt. Col. Isaac Taylor said, according to Task and Purpose.

The company said that the “nano unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems” are “small enough for a dismounted soldier to carry on a utility belt.”

“The highly capable nano-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems delivered under this contract will support platoon and small unit level surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities as part of the Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) Program,” FLIR said in a statement.

“We are proud to be selected by the U.S. Army for the SBS Program of Record. This contract represents a significant milestone with the operational large-scale deployment of nano-UAVs into the world’s most powerful Army,” said Jim Cannon, President and CEO of FLIR.

“This contract is a major win for the newly established Unmanned Systems & Integrated Solutions business division at FLIR and demonstrates the strong and urgent demand for nano-UAV technology offered by FLIR. Protecting U.S. warfighters with our unmanned solutions is a key objective for FLIR,” he said.

Cannon has said that having the drones available “represents a key opportunity to provide soldiers in every U.S. Army squad a critical advantage on the modern battlefield,” CNET has reported.

The Marines have tested similar technology, according to the Army Times. FLIR also recently announced that it would be supplying similar technology to French forces.

Stars and Stripes said that British forces in Afghanistan have used similar devices.

ABOUT THE REPORTER:

Jack Davis

Contributor, News

Summary

Video: Military’s ‘Active Denial System’ Can Hit Illegals at 700 Yards, Instantly Turn Them Back

Reported By Cillian Zeal | November 13, 2018 at 7:35am

URL of the original posting site: https://www.westernjournal.com/ct/video-militarys-active-denial-system-can-hit-illegals-700-yards-instantly-turn-back/

Could the Active Denial System be the answer for possible border problems? Conservative commentator Glenn Beck thinks so.

You may not have heard of the ADS, which has been a topic of debate for over a decade now. The non-lethal deterrent system been labeled by both military personnel and press alike as a “pain ray” — which, I suppose, is a catchier way to refer to it than ADS.

The U.K. Telegraph, describing the system back in 2010, said that military officials described it as a “non-lethal, directed-energy, counter-personnel weapon.”

“Compared with most military vehicles, the device looks relatively harmless — like one of the broadcasting trucks you see outside big sporting events: an anonymous-looking military transport with what appears to be a square satellite dish mounted on top. But it contains an extraordinary new weapon, capable of causing immense discomfort from half a mile away without – its makers claim – doing any lasting damage,” the newspaper reported.

“The ADS works by projecting a focused beam of 3.2mm wave electromagnetic radiation at a human target. This heats the water and fat molecules on the skin, causing their temperature to rise by up to 50C (122 degrees Fahrenheit).

“Philip Sherwell, a Sunday Telegraph reporter who tried out the ADS in 2007, describes it as ‘unbearably uncomfortable, like opening a roasting hot oven door.’ The immediate instinct is to escape the beam and seek cover — at which point the effect subsides.”

A Pentagon’s description is less dramatic, but just as persuasive.

“The Active Denial System is needed because it’s the first non-lethal, directed-energy, counter-personnel system with an extended range greater than currently fielded non-lethal weapons,” a FAQ from the Pentagon reads.

“Most counter-personnel non-lethal weapons use kinetic energy (rubber rounds, bean bags, etc.). A kinetic-based system has a higher risk of human injury, and its effectiveness varies in relation to the size, age and gender of the target. The Active Denial System, however, is consistently effective regardless of size, age and gender and has a range greater than small-arms range. The Active Denial System will provide military personnel with a non-lethal weapon that has the same effect on all human targets.”

The system can hit targets at 700 yards. That’s impressive, but even more so is how the military says it could be deployed.

“The Active Denial System will support a full spectrum of operations ranging from non-lethal methods of crowd control, crowd dispersal, convoy and patrol protection, checkpoint security, perimeter security, area denial, and port protection, as well as other defensive and offensive operations from both fixed-site or mobile platforms,” the FAQ states.

A Pentagon video shows how it works.

That means that it could be used in the event of a large group of people trying to force their way over the border — something that’s always a concern when it comes to caravans. And, as you can see above, this is basically a high-energy invisible wall.

That didn’t escape the notice of Glenn Beck.

So, could this be a tool used for caravans or similar situations involving border incursions?

The Telegraph notes that it can produce second- and third-degree burns if not used correctly and that weather conditions like rain, snow and fog can limit how effective it is. Also, reflective surfaces can limit its efficacy, meaning there are ways to beat it.

However, if you’re looking to mitigate the possible danger from large masses of people trying to make a run on the border — always a possibility with caravans — the ADS could just be the future of dealing with such threats.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cillian Zeal

Contributor, Commentary

Writing under a pseudonym, Cillian Zeal is a conservative writer who is currently living abroad in a country that doesn’t value free speech and exercising it would put him in danger.

@CillianZeal

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National Guard Deployment Nets Arrest of 10,000 ‘Deportable Aliens’

Reported By Jack Davis | July 17, 2018 at 8:40am

URL of the original posting site: https://www.westernjournal.com/national-guard-deployment-nets-arrest-of-10000-deportable-aliens/

The deployment of National Guard members along the United States’ southern border has led to more than 10,000 arrests, Customs and Border Protection officials said Monday.

About 1,600 Guard members have been deployed along the border since April, assisting Border Patrol agents with a variety of duties. Their presence has led to 10,805 “deportable alien arrests,” said CBP press secretary Corry Schiermeyer, according to the Washington Examiner.

Guard members cannot make arrests because they are members of America’s military, but they can both lead agents to places where illegal immigrants have crossed and perform duties that free up agents to patrol the front lines. More than 3,300 attempted border crossers were turned back because the Guard was on duty, Schiermeyer said. Further, 11,686 pounds of marijuana has been seized due to the presence of Guard units.

Guard troops providing support include those performing surveillance duties and those playing support roles to maintain equipment.

“From the get-go, our goal has been to return agents back to the border. Not all soldiers are directly replacing an agent, but every soldier contributes to the overall mission,” Assistant Chief Alfredo Lozano told Stars and Stripes last week.

Guard units are deployed through the end of September.

Despite the efforts of multiple law enforcement and military units, illegal immigrants still make it across the border.

On Friday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested 18 smugglers and 117 illegal immigrants in southern New Mexico and El Paso, Texas, Fox News reported.

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to vigorously pursue members of transnational criminal networks that exploit and endanger people they smuggle into our country,” Jack P. Staton, special agent in charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations in El Paso, said in a statement.

The Washington Post has reported that the Trump administration is considering a financial agreement with Mexico in which Mexico would help reduce the numbers of illegal immigrants coming across the border.

“We believe the flows would drop dramatically and fairly immediately” if such a deal took place, the Post quoted an unnamed senior Department of Homeland Security official as saying.

The way the plan would work is that illegal immigrants coming from Central America through Mexico would apply for protection there. Then, the U.S. can return anyone crossing the border illegally to Mexico. Mexico would be paid, the Post reported.

“Look at the amount of money spent on border security, on courts, on detention and immigration enforcement,” the senior DHS official said, according to the Post.

“It’d be pennies on the dollar to support Mexico in this area.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

By Jack Davis

Writer

Jack Davis is a free-lance writer. Writing as “Rusty” Davis, he is a Spur Award-nominated writer whose first two novels, “Wyoming Showdown” and “Black Wind Pass” were published by Five Star Publishing. His next novel, “Rakeheart,” will be published in 2018. Jack can be reached at jackwritings1@gmail.com.

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Surrender Was Not An Option
http://www.capveterans.com/ …

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The USS Ronald Reagan Just Got Its Orders… “Rocket Man” Is Gonna Be Ticked

Reported By Kim Smith | on October 4, 2017 at 3:34pm

URL of the original posting site: https://conservativetribune.com/uss-reagan-orders-rocket-man/?

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The USS Ronald Reagan just got orders, and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is not going to be happy about them.

The Yonhap News Agency reported Sunday that the Navy is moving the aircraft carrier to the Korean Peninsula, where it will conduct training drills with the USS Carl Vinson, according an unnamed defense official.

The joint drills carried out by the two carriers are to “detect, track and intercept the North’s ballistic missiles, in addition to anti-submarine warfare training,” the official told Yonhap.

“We are in consultations (with the U.S.) on a plan for the aircraft strike group led by the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan to operate in the East Sea around Oct. 15,” Yonhap reported.

“The Reagan will likely be accompanied by several other warships belonging to the strike group, such as an Aegis destroyer, a guided-missile cruiser and a nuclear-powered submarine,” the report continued.

A U.S. Forces Korea official said the training would occur around Oct. 20, adding that an exact schedule had not been set. The official also said that the joint drill was “prearranged” and not a response to the growing tensions with North Korea.

Rear Admiral Marc Dalton, commander of the Reagan’s strike group, told the South China Morning Post the development was to keep the military ready to defend U.S. allies as well as maintain stability in the area.

“The United States has been very clear about leveraging all options in order to get North Korea to change its path,” Dalton said.

Kim must be getting a little nervous with this latest show of military might. We will have to wait and see how he responds to a group of warships just outside his back door.

H/T American Military News

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Defense Secretary James Mattis is Ready to Shoot Down North Korea’s Ballistic Missiles

Posted by GirlsJustWannaHaveGuns.com | on September 19, 2017

URL of the original posting site: http://girlsjustwannahaveguns.com/defense-secretary-james-mattis-is-ready-to-shoot-down-north-koreas-ballistic-missiles/?

Reports are coming out that the US is contemplating shooting down one North Korean ballistic missile, with or without it being a direct threat to the US or its allies.

On Monday, CNN quoted Defense Secretary James Mattis saying that North Korea is “intentionally doing provocations that seem to press against the envelope for just how far can they push without going over some kind of a line in their minds that would make them vulnerable.”

CNN continued: An official directly familiar with options planning within the Trump administration told CNN the question that now needs to be answered is whether North Korea’s missile program has progressed to the level of being such an inherent threat that the Pentagon would recommend targeting a missile even if its trajectory did not indicate it would hit the US or its allies. The official declined to speak on the record because of the sensitivity of the issue.

While US officials have long said the military maintains a full range of options for dealing with North Korea, the notion of shooting down a missile has largely centered on conducting an operation if the missile were to directly threaten the US or its allies. There has been particular concern since Kim Jong Un recently threatened the US territory of Guam.

The idea of shooting down a missile even if it is not a direct threat is not new. But with two recently launched North Korean missiles flying over northern Japan, the potential for having to consider a shoot-down without a direct threat remains very real, according to one senior defense official.

Trump’s administration has made it clear there are a variety of military options on the table. Mattis even said there are military strategies the US can execute that would not put Seul in the direct risk of a NK counterattack.

Asked at an off-camera briefing at the Pentagon if there are military options that would not put Seoul at “grave risk?” He answered: “Yes there are, but I will not go into details.”

With all this to consider what do you think should happen with North Korea?

Is it time to take Kim Jong-un to school?

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US And Allies Send Military Message To North Korea

Reported By Jack Davis | on September 18, 2017 at 1:10pm

URL of the original posting site: https://www.westernjournalism.com/us-and-allies-send-military-message-to-north-korea-2/?

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The three nations threatened by North Korea’s nuclear missile program united for a show of force Sunday aimed at reminding Kim Jong-un’s regime that they have dominant air power in the Korean skies.

The United States sent four fighters and two bombers to fly alongside four South Korean fighters over the region near the demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas. The U.S. aircraft also joined four Japanese fighters to fly over the waters near Kyushu, a Japanese island in close proximity to the Korean Peninsula.

The American planes included two B-1B Lancer bombers from Andersen Air Force Base on Guam, and four Marine Corps F-35B fighters from the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni, Japan, according to U.S. Pacific Command.

It is the second time in the past month that B-1Bs and F-35s have been sent over the Korean Peninsula.

The Pacific Command said the jets, which conducted live-fire exercises, were sent up in response to the Sept. 14 launch of a North Korean missile. The missile flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

The military exercise came as U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley reminded the word that the United States is getting tired of talking about a resolution to the North Korean crisis.

“If North Korea keeps on with this reckless behavior, if the United States has to defend itself or defend its allies in any way, North Korea will be destroyed,” Haley said. “And we all know that, and none of us want that.”

Haley said the U.S. has been doing everything it can to find a diplomatic solution for the crisis, while leaving military action as a possible last resort.

“We wanted to be responsible and go through all diplomatic means to get their attention first. If that doesn’t work, General Mattis will take care of it,” she said, referencing Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

National security adviser H.R. McMaster said time has all but run out.

“This regime is so close now to threatening the United States and others with a nuclear weapon, that we really have to move with a great sense of urgency on sanctions, on diplomacy and preparing, if necessary, a military option,” McMaster told Fox News Sunday.

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Not Done After Slaying 8 Terrorists, Marine Grabs Bad Guy’s Gun, Makes History

Reported By Davis | on September 14, 2017 at 11:10am

URL of the original posting site: https://conservativetribune.com/marine-grabs-gun/?

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Countless awe-inspiring stories of courage and sacrifice have come out of the wars wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. One such story involved then-Cpl. Clifford Wooldridge, a Marine who was stationed in Afghanistan. Wooldridge was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions in combat, Business Insider reported.

When Wooldridge’s patrol came under fire from Taliban forces in Afghanistan in 2010, he was instrumental in helping to win the battle. His actions sound like something straight out of a “Rambo” movie.

“Corporal Wooldridge led one of his fire teams across open ground to flank the enemy, killing or wounding at least eight and forcing the rest to scatter. As he held security alone to cover his fire team’s withdrawal, he heard voices from behind an adjacent wall,” the citation for his Navy Cross read.

Wooldridge rushed around the corner, killed two more fighters with his M-249 weapon, and that’s when things got interesting.

“As he crouched back behind the wall to reload, he saw the barrel of an enemy machine gun appear from around the wall. Without hesitation, he dropped his empty weapon and seized the machine gun barrel,” the citation recounted. “He overwhelmed the enemy fighter in hand-to-hand combat, killing him with several blows to the head with the enemy’s own machine gun.”

This guy literally beat a terrorist to death with the terrorist’s own weapon. That has got to be something for the history books.

USA Today reported that by monitoring Tablian chatter after the attack, the Marines heard them expressing sheer terror over what Wooldridge had done.

“It absolutely crushed their morale,” explained Wooldridge’s platoon commander, Marine Capt. Patrick Madden. “They had no idea what happened to them.”

Wooldridge received his Navy Cross in 2012. The Marine Corps Times noted that Wooldridge left the Marine Corps in 2016.

What an amazing story of bravery. Any terrorist out there should know that there are thousands of Americans like Wooldridge who will do whatever it takes to defend their country and their comrades.

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After Closer Look at NK Missile Path, Experts Discover Chilling Target Practice

Reported By Martin Walsh | on August 31, 2017 at 7:22am

URL of the original posting site: http://conservativetribune.com/closer-nk-missile-path/

Despite several stern warnings from the United States, North Korea’s rogue regime fired a nuclear-capable ballistic missile on Aug. 29 over Japan’s Hokkaido province. Experts who analyzed the flight path, distance traveled, and type of missile tested determined North Korea could launch a missile capable of reaching the U.S. territory of Guam. And this wasn’t just a missile test — it was target practice.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the North Korean government admitted as much.

“The current ballistic rocket launching drill like a real war is the first step of the military operation of the KPA [Korean People’s Army] in the Pacific and a meaningful prelude to containing Guam,” the state-run news agency KCNA announced, according to the U.K. Express.

The missile launch flew over Japan and traveled nearly 1,700 miles before crashing into the sea, raising questions about what President Donald Trump will be forced to do next.

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As the U.S. monitors the situation, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned the launch.

“We will do our utmost to protect people’s lives,” Abe said. “This reckless act of launching a missile that flies over our country is an unprecedented, serious and important threat.”

U.S. officials believe North Korea likely possess an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching U.S. cities and territories, and could soon be able to launch a nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile.

Trump issued several stern promises to rain down “fire and fury” on North Korea should they launch an attack on the U.S. or any of its allies. Trump also warned the Hermit Kingdom’s dictator that if he “does something in Guam, it will be an event the likes of which nobody has seen before — what will happen in North Korea.”

The U.S. carried out a successful ballistic missile defense test Wednesday, making it the second consecutive test in which the Aegis system intercepted a mid-range ballistic missile in the last two months.

The U.S. State Department instituted a ban on U.S. citizens traveling to North Korea, United Nations sanctions have been levied against the rogue regime, and a U.S. missile defense system successfully intercepted a missile during a test, which indicates our military has a high probability of intercepting a missile in the air prior to it hitting any target in the U.S.

Nevertheless, if things continue to progress, it may only be a matter of time before the crazy dictator possesses the ability to fire nuclear weapons toward U.S. territory. We finally have a strong president in office who is unafraid to use the greatest military in the world, which hopefully convinces North Korea to back down.

H/T American Military News

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URGENT PRAYER REQUEST: Black Hawk Helicopter Downed, 5 Crew Members on Board

Posted by GirlsJustWannaHaveGuns.com | August 16, 2017

URL of the original posting site: http://girlsjustwannahaveguns.com/black-hawk-helicopter-downed-5-crew-members-on-board/?

Late Tuesday night an Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the ocean, carrying with it five crew members. A massive search and rescue team was launched from the Coast Guard in response to the crash, which occurred two miles off the coast of Hawaii.

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At around 10:00pm personnel from the Wheeler Army Airfield base called the Coast Guard saying all communications with the UH-60 helicopter had been lost. Two of these helicopters were conducting a training exercise — between Kaena Point and Dillingham Airfield — when the incident occurred. An hour and a half after communications was lost officials discovered debris near Kaena Point, which is off the island of Oahu and northwest of Honolulu.

According to Fox News: Responders are searching for five missing crew members, using an HC-130 Hercules airplane, several Coast Guard boats and a shore patrol with the Honolulu Fire Department.

It’s not clear what may have caused the crash, but the Coast Guard said the weather on scene currently has 11 mph winds and 2 foot seas.

Night training offshore is routine, Lt. Col. Curtis Kellogg, public affairs officer for the Army’s 25th Infantry Division, told the Associated Press.

The search and rescue mission started as soon as one aircrew lost visual and video contact with the other helicopter, commented Kellogg.

The two helicopters are elements of the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade.

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The UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-bladed, twin-engine utility helicopter manufactured for the Army by Sikorsky Aircraft starting in the 1970s.

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Trump Says No To Trannies In The Military

Posted by GirlsJustWannaHaveGuns.com | July 26, 2017

URL of the original posting site: http://girlsjustwannahaveguns.com/trump-says-no-trannies-military/

Trump has ‘rocked the casbah’ of Liberal idealism.

Making an announcement Wednesday, President Trump has said the United States will not “accept or allow” transgender people in our military. He said American forces “must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory” and that the trans community would be a burden to our armed forces.

In a typical Trump move, he made this major policy announcement on his Twitter account in a series of posts. He says he made the decision after discussing the issue with generals and military experts, which he left anonymous.

“After consultation with my generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.”

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The sweeping policy decision reverses the gradual transformation of the military under President Barack Obama, whose administration announced last year that transgender people could serve openly in the military. Mr. Obama’s defense secretary, Ashton B. Carter, also opened all combat roles to women and appointed the first openly gay Army secretary.

It was not clear what prompted Mr. Trump’s announcement on Wednesday. In June, the administration delayed a decision on whether to allow transgender recruits to join the military. At the time, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said an extra six months would give military leaders a chance to review its potential impact.

The president’s announcement came amid a debate on Capitol Hill over the Obama-era practice of requiring the Pentagon to pay for medical treatment related to gender transition. The dispute has unfolded as Congress considers a nearly $700 billion spending bill to fund the Pentagon. Representative Vicky Hartzler, Republican of Missouri, has proposed an amendment that would bar the Pentagon from spending money on transition surgery or related hormone therapy.

The same measure narrowly failed this month in the House, with some Republicans joining Democrats to reject it. But some conservative Republicans have said they would not support the military spending measure without the language banning money for gender transition.

–NYT

According to a study by the RAND Corporation there are around 2,450 (this number has varied) transgender active-duty members of the military, which is a small number considering the total of active members is about 1.3 million.

Of that small portion though, imagine how many extra millions of dollars would need to be spent to accommodate their ‘lifestyle’. Trump is right, it would be a huge burden for our military and we are so glad he came to this decision.

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Unimpressed Trump Sends Pentagon Back to the Drawing Board on Afghanistan

Reported by Edwin Mora | 20 Jul 2017

URL of the original posting site: http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/07/20/trump-wont-accept-afghan-war-strategy-that-mirrors-approach-of-the-past/

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. President Donald Trump, unimpressed by the Afghanistan war options presented to him during a White House meeting with his full national security team Wednesday, suggested they may have to go back to the drawing board to craft a strategy that does not mirror the failed ones employed by his predecessors, said an administration official.

The meeting came as the Pentagon briefed lawmakers about plans to increase the U.S. military footprint in the country.

Contrary to mainstream media claims that the president has taken a completely hands-off approach to the 16-year-old conflict in Afghanistan, Trump presided over Wednesday’s meeting primarily aimed at discussing the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan, a Trump administration official familiar with the deliberations told Breitbart News on condition of anonymity.

President Trump indicated that he is not satisfied with the strategy as it currently stands.

The Pentagon and White House National Security Council (NSC) declined to provide specifics about the developing plan.

President Trump demanded that his team go back to square one if necessary and create a realistic plan that ensures Afghanistan is ultimately able to stand on its own as a country, said the administration official, noting that the meeting served as a sort of wake up call for those involved in developing the strategy.

It appears that besides the Pentagon, the NSC has at least some authority in setting the strategy.

Asked about the meeting, the Pentagon did not confirm nor deny that the President asked officials to go back to the drawing board.

“We’re not going to discuss White House meetings or direction,” said Adam Stump, a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) spokesman, when Breitbart News asked whether or not it has been forced to start developing the Afghanistan war strategy from scratch and when it expects to present the plan to Trump.

The NSC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Defense Secretary James Mattis told reporters last Friday a decision on the new plan would be unveiled around “mid-July” or “somewhere around there. We are driven by the maturity of the discussion, and where we’re at, we are not going to meet some timeline if we are not ready, but we are pretty close.”

Trump has granted the Pentagon the authority to decide how many additional troops to deploy to the war-ravaged country. Currently, Mattis may increase that number of troops by between 3,000 and 5,000, from the 8,400 already there. Mattis noted on Friday that the number of additional troops has not been “finalized yet,” adding that the Pentagon is waiting from input from the U.S. State Department.

Citing unnamed U.S. officials, CNN reports that as it currently stands, the strategy:

Encompasses a way ahead in Afghanistan, including the possibility of sending more troops, but also a look at new ideas for dealing with Pakistan, which the US believes is supporting or turning a blind eye to a number of terror groups operating inside the country.

The president made it clear he is not interested in any approach that resembles the strategies used by his predecessors and will not accept anything less than a dramatic overhaul, the official told Breitbart News.

Directly dealing with Pakistan’s support for terrorists fighting the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan would mark a significant departure from what America has done in the past.

Most of the 2,255 U.S. military fatalities and 20,245 injury incidents have taken place in provinces that border Pakistan.

The Pentagon spokesman defined what victory in Afghanistan means for the Trump administration, saying it ultimately involves a settlement with the Taliban and terrorists laying down their arms.

Stump told Breitbart News:

The U.S. strategy in Afghanistan remains centered on working with NATO allies, operational partners, and the international community to defeat the remnants of core al Qaeda and to defeat other violent extremist organizations and terrorist groups, such as ISIS-K [Islamic State], to ensure that Afghanistan does not again become a safe-haven for groups to plan and execute attacks against the United States, U.S. persons overseas, or allies and partners; and continuing efforts to provide financial and advisory support to the Afghan Government and to enable a well-trained, equipped, and sustainable ANDSF [Afghan National Defense and Security Force] that provides security in Afghanistan.

The U.S. and Afghan Governments agree that the best way to ensure lasting peace and security in Afghanistan is through reconciliation and a political settlement with the Taliban. The United States supports an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned reconciliation process and supports any process that includes violent extremist groups laying down their arms.

Citing unnamed U.S. officials, the Washington Post (WaPo) reports that the current U.S.-Afghan war is framed around a four-year plan to degrade the Taliban this is unlikely to “yield significant results until its later stages.”

In recently issued reports, the U.S. State Department and the Pentagon have accused Pakistan of willingly serving as a safe-haven for the Taliban and its affiliates, including the deadly Haqqani Network.

The Taliban affirmed its relationship with al-Qaeda in December 2016.

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Military Wins Big Time Against ISIS! Terror Network Reduced to Smaller Stronghold in Iraq

Posted by GirlsJustWannaHaveGuns.com | July 8, 2017

URL of the original posting site: http://girlsjustwannahaveguns.com/military-wins-big-time-isis-terror-network-reduced-smaller-stronghold-iraq/

ISIS’s stronghold in Mosul, Iraq, has been brought to its knees. Iraqi Security forces’ accomplishment is “hugely significant against a very brutal and cruel enemy,” said New Zealand Army Brigadier Hugh McAslan.

McAslan is the deputy commanding general for land forces in Operation Inherent Resolve. During an interview with Business Insider he stated ISIS holds on to a very small portion of land now; to what would equal only a few football fields.

“In the last couple of weeks in particular, [Iraqi security forces] have made great progress in what has been a very difficult fight, in very difficult terrain,” McAslan said from Baghdad in a Skype interview with Business Insider.

“Certainly as we come into these last few neighborhoods, it’s very clear to us ISIS is a desperate and degraded enemy.”

According to McAslan, only about 15 acres, or approximately 3% of Mosul, remains in the hands of ISIS forces as the Iraqi military moves further into the western part of the city.

Although ISIS still has small pockets of terrain in Iraqi cities such as Hawija, Tal Afar, and Al Qaim, McAslan is confident that once the city is recaptured, other cities will continue to fall.

Despite the coalition’s success, that last 3% will not come easy despite only a “couple of hundred” ISIS fighters remaining to put up a fight.

Some reports suggest that ISIS has been forcing civilians to stay in their homes and risk death as the battle rages around them, instead of allowing them to escape.

The terror group has also, according to McAslan, herded civilians into buildings, used human shields, and forced children to fight.

…

Outside of Mosul, the coalition-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have continued to push further into Raqqa, Syria, the self-proclaimed capital of the Islamic State. The coalition estimates there are approximately 3,000 to 4,000 fighters left to defend that city.

–Business Insider

“There’s still work to do though, and we’ll continue to remain steadfast with our Iraqi partners until ISIS is defeated throughout Iraq,” McAslan said.

ISIS is known for having a global support base, due to its campaign to recruit terrorists via social media. We have seen incidents in France, Australia, UK, USA, Canada, Philippines, etc. Defeating this network will take a lot more than beating them in Iraq and Syria. But for now we can rejoice that ISIS is getting their asses handed to them!

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US And South Korea Fire Missiles Into Sea As A ‘Show Of Force’ To North Korea

Reported By Andrew Kerr | July 5, 2017 at 12:20pm

URL of the original posting site: http://www.westernjournalism.com/u-s-south-korea-fire-missiles-sea-show-force-north-korea/

The U.S. Army and South Korean military fired at least two surface-to-surface precision missiles into South Korean waters Wednesday, local time, as a joint demonstration of their attack capabilities in response to North Korea’s latest missile test.

North Korea announced Tuesday it had successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile, which state media claims reached an altitude of 1,741 miles, supposedly giving the regime the capability to strike Alaska with a nuclear warhead.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un celebrated the launch, calling it a “package of gifts” for “American bastards.”

The U.S. Army said its joint exercise with the South Korean military was a direct response to “North Korea’s destabilizing and unlawful actions on July 4.”

Officials released footage Tuesday evening of the simultaneous launches of Army’s Tactical Missile System and South Korea’s Hyunmoo Missile II system. The ATACMS is a mobile launch system capable of firing land-based missiles up to 185 miles away.

“The [South Korea]-U.S. alliance remains committed to peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the Asia-Pacific. The U.S. commitment to the defense of [South Korea] in the face of threats is ironclad,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

Chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana W. White said the U.S. is prepared to defend itself and its allies.

“We remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies and to use the full range of capabilities at our disposal against the growing threat from North Korea,” White said in a statement. “The United States seeks only the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson strongly condemned North Korea’s ICBM launch, calling it “a new escalation of the threat to the United States, our allies and partners, the region, and the world.”

“Global action is required to stop a global threat,” Tillerson said Tuesday. “Any country that hosts North Korean guest workers, provides any economic or military benefits, or fails to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions is aiding and abetting a dangerous regime.”

“The United States seeks only the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the end of threatening actions by North Korea. As we, along with others, have made clear, we will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea,” Tillerson said.

President Donald Trump called on China to put pressure on North Korea to “end this nonsense once and for all” in a series of tweets Monday evening.

“North Korea has just launched another missile. Does this guy have anything better to do with his life?” Trump tweeted in reference to Kim Jong-un. “Hard to believe that South Korea and Japan will put up with this much longer. Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!”

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Pentagon Warns Russia After Their Threat to Shoot Down U.S. Jets

Reported By Davis | June 20, 2017 at 8:24am

URL of the original posting site: http://conservativetribune.com/mattis-pentagon-responds/2/

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Over the weekend, the situation in Syria between the United States, the Russians and the Syrians took a very serious turn after an American fighter jet shot a Syrian aircraft out of the sky. The United States has defended its actions by stating that the Syrian plane was warned, but continued to bomb the Syrian Defense Force — a Syrian rebel group backed by the United States.

Russia in particular was outraged over this action, and issued a statement on Monday morning stating that they would “track” any United States planes that flew west of the Euphrates River. On Monday afternoon, the United States responded, The Washington Examiner reported.

“We are aware of the Russian statements,” Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said in a statement. “We do not seek conflict with any party in Syria other than ISIS, but we will not hesitate to defend ourselves or our partners if threatened.”

That’s a pretty strong response, and it was definitely called for. While Russia’s statement did not specifically use the words “shoot down,” it clearly described aircraft flying in some areas as “targets” for destruction.

“From now on, in areas where Russian aviation performs combat missions in the skies of Syria, any airborne objects found west of the Euphrates River, including aircraft and unmanned vehicles belonging to the international coalition, tracked by means of Russian land and air anti-aircraft defense, will be considered air targets,” read the Russian Defense Ministry statement, according to CNN.

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Russia was essentially trying to dictate where America can and cannot fly in the Middle East — and Defense Secretary James Mattis’ Pentagon wasn’t going to let that happen.

CNN noted that Australia decided to take a slightly different approach. Rather than stand up to the Russian thugs, Australia suspended all air operations over Syria as a “precautionary measure.” Way to stand up for your right to fight terrorists, Australia. As soon as the anti-islamic State coalition hits a little snag, Australia bails on it. Sad.

The situation between Russia and the United States in Syria isn’t likely to go away anytime soon. The Russians have drawn their red line in the sand, and we have drawn ours.

President Donald Trump isn’t one to back down from a fight — especially when another country is trying to limit our ability to conduct airstrikes against terror groups in Syria.

The Hill noted that as the Islamic State terror group loses territory in Syria, tensions between Russia and the United States are likely to rise as each will want to grab onto the territory that was once held by the terror group. The United States will support the moderate rebels who have helped us defeat the terrorists, and the Russians and their Syrian counterparts will want to exterminate all the rebels and take over all the territory.

Obviously we would hope that tensions between the United States and Russia don’t boil over into actual violence, but the United States cannot allow Russia to dictate foreign policy in the Middle East (or anywhere else.).

President Barack Obama wasn’t the best at projecting American strength (actually he was the worst), so the Russians probably have the wrong impression about how far they can push us. If push comes to shove, Trump won’t hesitate to strike back against the Russians. While we would all love for there to be peace in this world, we aren’t going to sacrifice our sovereignty just to appease a bunch of former communist thugs.

H/T Hannity

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ISIS Bombed Same Day as Manchester Attack

Reported By John Falkenberg | May 25, 2017 at 4:11pm

URL of the original posting site: http://conservativetribune.com/isis-killed-22-manchester-trump/

On the same day a suicide bomber committed a horrific attack in Manchester, England, American-led military fighters conducted 27 air strikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, the U.K. Daily Express reported.

The suicide bombing in the U.K. killed 22 and injured dozens of others, including young children. Unfortunately, those lives can never be brought back but our military made sure that Islamic State group fighters are paying dearly.

“Coalition military fighters hammered 37 ISIS targets with 18 strikes in Syria — obliterating oil supplies, vehicles and weapons caches,” the U.K. Daily Star reported.

“Nine strikes hit 62 ISIS targets in Iraq,” the Daily Star reported, “destroying an array of deadly weapons including rocket systems, vehicle bombs, machine guns and grenade launches.”

Hopefully, these strikes will severely limit the capability of the Islamic state group fighting machine for some time.

Were these strikes ordered directly because of the attacks in Manchester? Unlikely. These were clearly well-planned, well-coordinated attacks. However, it’s a reminder that the fight against Islamic extremism and terror is being waged with a vengeance — finally.

President Donald Trump delivered a message from Bethlehem during his first international trip, calling the Manchester perpetrators “evil losers.”

“I won’t call them monsters because they would like that term. They would think that’s a great name,” the president said. “I will call them from now on losers because that is what they are, they are losers.”

Trump seems to acknowledge this is a psychological battle as well as one against flesh and blood. Let’s hope the next four years of Trump’s presidency prove victorious on both fronts against these terrorist savages.

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THAAD Missile Set Up in North Korea Is Officially Ready to Use

Reported By Martin Lioll | May 2, 2017 at 5:44am

A missile defense system that the United States has begun installing in South Korea has “reached an initial operating capability to defend against North Korean missiles,” according to news reports. U.S. officials confirmed Monday that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, which was deployed to the Korean peninsula in order to counter the threat of missile strikes from Kim Jong Un’s regime, had successfully come online, according to Reuters. However, they cautioned that full operability would not be reached for several months.

The system’s installation has been a point of contention with China, which has argued that THAAD’s radar could be used to spy on Beijing and would weaken the deterrent effect of China’s own ballistic missiles.

“It helps in no way to achieve the denuclearization of the peninsula and regional peace and stability,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said last week, according to Agence France-Presse.

He added Beijing would “take necessary measures to safeguard its own interests.”

On Tuesday, North Korean officials said that the introduction of the THAAD system, in addition to American bomber drills with Japan and South Korea, had pushed the peninsula to “the brink of nuclear war.”

It also said that President Donald Trump and “other U.S. warmongers are crying out for making a preemptive nuclear strike.”

Yes, apparently we’re the warmongers, even as North Korea conducts illegal missile tests and broadcasts concerts with video of San Francisco being blown up by a nuclear weapon.

It’s obvious that Kim Jong In is not tethered to reality. Dictators living in la-la land are hardly anything new, but most of them don’t have nuclear weapons at their disposal.

Thankfully, we have the THAAD to intercept any missiles from Kim Jong Un’s regime, meaning whatever advantage he had is not what it used to be.

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Breaking: North Korea Threatens To Sink U.S. Navy Submarine

Reported By Martin Lioll | on May 1, 2017 at 7:00am

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If it’s a day that ends in a y, there’s no doubt that Kim Jong Un’s North Korean regime is issuing a threat to the American military. This time, they targeted one of our submarines.

According to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, the North Koreans threatened the USS Michigan, a submarine deployed by the Navy off of North Korea, with sinking.

“The moment the USS Michigan tries to budge even a little, it will be doomed to face the miserable fate of becoming a underwater ghost without being able to come to the surface,” a statement on a North Korean propaganda website read.

“The urgent fielding of the nuclear submarine in the waters off the Korean Peninsula, timed to coincide with the deployment of the super aircraft carrier strike group, is intended to further intensify military threats toward our republic,” the statement continued.

They also warned that “whether it’s a nuclear aircraft carrier or a nuclear submarine, they will be turned into a mass of scrap metal in front of our invincible military power centered on the self-defense nuclear deterrence.”

The North Koreans had previously threatened to sink the USS Carl Vinson, the aircraft carrier being sent to the region. According to CNN, is a nuclear sub that’s also equipped to deploy Navy SEALs or other special operations troops. That likely sent a red flag to the North Koreans, especially given the possibility of SEAL deployment in the region.

However, it’s pretty obvious that Lil’ Kim’s forces don’t have the ability to either sink a carrier or a nuclear submarine, particularly without serious retribution. This is yet another sign that Kim Jong In is dangerously unhinged, and that the Trump administration needs to do something about it.

H/T U.K. Independent

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US Special Forces Obliterate ISIS Fighters Trying To Assault Base

Reported by Jonah Bennett | National Security/Politics Reporter | 5:36 PM 04/10/2017

URL of the original posting site: http://dailycaller.com/2017/04/10/us-special-forces-obliterate-isis-fighters-trying-to-assault-base/

U.S. special forces obliterated an entire Islamic State attack team assaulting a base Saturday in southern Syria,, military officials said.

“The enemy got crushed,” a U.S. military official told NBC News.

ISIS fighters launched an assault on the al-Tanf military base in southern Syria, according to the two officials who spoke to NBC News. Approximately 20-30 ISIS fighters, some with suicide vests, were following behind a vehicle that was carrying an improvised explosive device.

American forces are stationed at the base, which is used to train Syrian rebels. Other American troops on a nearby patrol responded after hearing about the attack to provide assistance. U.S. and coalition forces killed the ISIS fighters through direct fire and airstrikes, leaving zero survivors. No Americans were killed in the fight.

The ISIS attack on the base near the Syrian border with Jordan comes days after two American warships in the eastern Mediterranean fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at the al-Shayrat air base in response to a Syrian chemical weapons attack in Idlib.

A U.S. defense official insisted Thursday evening that the strike on the Syrian military base was a “one-off” event.

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President Trump declares National Vietnam War Veterans Day in new law

Posted 5:58 pm, March 29, 2017, by Web Staff

URL of the original posting site: http://wtkr.com/2017/03/29/president-trump-declares-national-vietnam-war-veterans-day-in-new-law/

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On Tuesday President Trump signed a law recognizing Vietnam Veterans. A White House press release said Trump signed S. 305, the “Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017” into law. The act encourages the display of the U.S. flag on March 29 which is National Vietnam War Veterans Day.

Military Times reported that the bill was sponsored by Sen Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania and Sen. Joe Donnelly from Indiana. The bill passed the Senate in February and passed in the House last week.

Former President Barack Obama declared March 29 Vietnam Veterans Day in 2012. This new law will make the date a commemoration of Vietnam veterans every year.

The Vietnam war ended in 1973 with the withdraw of U.S. forces. Vietnam was unified under Communist rule two years later, according to History.com.

The site said more that three million people, including 58,000 Americans lost their lives during the war.

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Gary Sinise’s Incredible Commitment to Our Troops. There are still some celebrities who do right by the rest of us — including this dedicated man.

Authored by Angelina Newsom | Updated 17 Mar 2017 at 8:14 AM

Actor Gary Sinise is a well-known celebrity within the military community — and for good reason. His name has become synonymous with supporting the troops.

I’ve traveled across the United States, around the world, and back again. I made stops in several USO facilities along the way to find some refuge from the often-long travels. These facilities have a very welcoming vibe and are often a beacon of light for weary service members as they head to some very rough places in the world. The atmosphere is reminiscent of visiting a hometown after a long absence.

The volunteers of the USO seem to always be happy to greet the visitors that enter through the doors. Upon arrival, those associated with the military are offered snacks and refreshments.

Throughout my journeys, I’ve noticed that in almost every single facility that I have visited, an autographed photo of Gary Sinise is proudly displayed. A sincere message typically accompanies the photo. Sinise has been supporting military members and veterans for decades now. After his very heartfelt performance as Lt. Dan in the movie “Forrest Gump” — in which he played a severely wounded combat veteran — Sinise began working closely with wounded and disabled veterans.

He has received several awards throughout the years for his selfless service to the military and first responders. He’s also founded an organization — the Gary Sinise Foundation — that provides a host of service to veterans, including providing smart homes for severely wounded and disabled veterans. The foundation also puts on the Invincible Spirit Festival, which honors wounded service members in addition to their caregivers and hospital staff. If these amazing programs weren’t enough, there’s even more that the Gary Sinise Foundation sponsors.

Related: We Need More Gary Sinises

One of the most touching is the Soaring Valor program, which works with WWII veterans and provides them with transportation to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans where they can participate in making videos of their firsthand accounts of war. This incredible mission is so important for the preservation of history and to support the veterans belonging to the Greatest Generation.

In addition to his already huge efforts, Sinise founded the Lt. Dan Band. The band has traveled around the world entertaining troops and spreading awareness about veterans’ causes.

For his latest award, Gary Sinise has been selected for the Association of the United States Army’s highest award for public service, the George Catlett Marshall Medal. The medal is awarded for sustained commitment to the men and women of America’s armed forces.

It takes a very special person to use their status as a celebrity in a positive manner. Sinise has not only toured with the USO to dangerous locations to meet and support the troops, but continues his work whether or not he’s in the spotlight.

In a world of political statements and over-the-top antics carried out by many of Hollywood’s rich and famous, Gary Sinise has set the bar very high with his public service and sustained work with the military community.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Angelina Newsom is a U.S. Army veteran and an OpsLens contributor. She served 10 years in the military, including a deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She studies criminal justice and is still active within the military community.

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EXCLUSIVE: Deployed US Navy Has A Pregnancy Problem, And It’s Getting Worse

Authored by Richard Pollock | Reporter | 9:28 PM 03/01/2017

URL of the original posting site: http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/01/exclusive-deployed-us-navy-has-a-pregnancy-problem-and-its-getting-worse/#ixzz4aDseNuft

The Nimitz-class aircraft carriers USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), and USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) (rear) conduct dual aircraft carrier strike group operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific in Philippine Sea on June 18, 2016. Courtesy Jake Greenberg/U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS

A record 16 out of 100 Navy women are reassigned from ships to shore duty due to pregnancy, according to data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group. That number is up 2 percent from 2015, representing hundreds more who have to cut their deployments short, taxing both their unit’s manpower, military budgets and combat readiness. Further, such increases cast a shadow over the lofty gender integration goals set by former President Barack Obama.

Overall, women unexpectedly leave their stations on Navy ships as much as 50% more frequently to return to land duty, according to documents obtained from the Navy. The statistics were compiled by the Navy Personnel Command at the request of TheDCNF, covering the period from January 2015 to September 2016.

The evacuation of pregnant women is costly for the Navy. Jude Eden, a nationally known author about women in the military who served in 2004 as a Marine deployed to Iraq said a single transfer can cost the Navy up to $30,000 for each woman trained for a specific task, then evacuated from an active duty ship and sent to land. That figure translates into $115 million in expenses for 2016 alone.

“This is an avoidable cost and expense, leaving a gap for other people to pick up the work slack,” Eden said. “A pregnancy takes you out of action for about two years. And there’s no replacement,” said Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, a nonpartisan public policy organization. “So everybody else has to work all that harder,” adding that on small ships and on submarines, “you really have a potential crew disaster.”

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Nathan Christensen told TheDCNF the Navy tries to plan for the unplanned.

“Just as we deal with other unplanned manning losses due to injury or other hardships, we work to ensure that pregnant service members are taken care of and that commands are equipped to fulfill their missions when an unexpected loss occurs,” he said.

In January 2015, 3,335 women were pregnant aboard military vessels, representing about 14 percent of the 23,735 women then serving such duty, according to the data. But by August 2016 that number reached nearly 16 percent, an all-time high. The Navy reported 3,840 of the 24,259 women sailors who were aboard Navy ships were pregnant.

The Obama administration understated the pregnancy problem throughout its eight years and even suppressed some data about the impact of its “gender-neutral” policies on the Navy. For decades, for instance, the Navy published results from exhaustive surveys of 25,000 men and women in a document called the “Navy Pregnancy and Parenthood Survey.” The reports once were 75 to 100 pages long and disclosed attitudes among men and women and their behavior. However, the Obama administration published only brief two to three-page summaries from 2012 onward.

A civilian attached to the Navy Personnel, Research, Studies and Technology group, which researched and published the surveys, told TheDCNF full reports were completed regularly even though it’s detailed findings were not released to the public. The individual requested anonymity.

“The military has been tight lipped over the years about these numbers. They don’t like to publicize them,” Eden told TheDCNF.

The Navy has been dogged for years by lingering claims that some women get pregnant simply to avoid deployment.

“We all know that happens. Women do it to avoid deployment,” Eden told TheDCNF.

“There do seem to be coincidences,” said Donnelly. “There is a lot of anecdotal evidence.”

“This information is considered so sensitive. You just don’t talk about it. And you don’t ask. It’s just something that everybody knows occurs. Don’t ask, don’t tell,” Donnelly said. She served on the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services and on the Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces.

The sudden departure of pregnant women aboard military vessels severely hurts military readiness and morale for those left behind and who must pick up the slack. The expecting sailors must be transferred from a ship after the 20th week of pregnancy. The Navy officially considered pregnancy incompatible with military service and women who became pregnant were automatically discharged, according to The Alliance for National Defense. However, with the introduction of the all-volunteer military, the Navy provided many lucrative incentives to men and women — including free housing, medical care, recreation and educational opportunities.

But women got additional benefits, including free prenatal care, daycare, counseling, and special education for toddlers and children with disabilities or for other “special needs.”

“Since benefits offered to recruits who are women are so very generous, it almost becomes an incentive,” said Donnelly. “One feminist advocate many years ago referred to the military as a ‘Mecca for single moms.’”

“I think there are so many carrots. The military has become a modern-day jobs program,” Eden said.

Obama during his eight years in office sought to increase dramatically the number of women on ships. In May 2015, Admiral Michelle Howard announced a quota of 25% women on all ships. “We’re going back and looking at the ships — all of them — and what percentage of women are on the ships. Over time, we’ll modernize them to make sure we get to about 25 percent on each ship,” she said.

Former Navy Secretary Ray Mabus in September 2015 pushed the new policy, stating that the Navy SEALs and all other combat jobs in the Navy should be open to women, with no exemptions as part of the Pentagon’s new “gender-neutral” employment policy.

Eden believes the policy of increasing women on ships results in failure. “It’s bad policy when you think of ships that have to be battle-ready and then have to transfer women off for pregnancy — something that has to do with controlled behavior or voluntary behavior,” she said.

It is unclear how President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis will handle women in the military. He has been a skeptic, but also said during his confirmation hearing he would support a combat role for women.

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UNDER THE HEADING, “WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?”: Army puts Muslim Chaplain in Charge of the Spiritual Needs of 14,000 Mostly Christian Soldiers

Authored By Onan Coca March 2, 2017

URL of the original posting site: http://constitution.com/army-puts-muslim-chaplain-charge-spiritual-needs-14000-mostly-christian-soldiers/

Lt. Col. Khallid Shabazz

In one of the most head-scratching turn of events in recent military history, the Army has decided that the man most capable of handling the spiritual needs of 14,000 mostly Christian soldiers is Muslim chaplain Lt. Col. Khallid Shabazz.

Sure, there are about 1,400 other chaplains (only 10 of whom are Muslim), but Shabazz has apparently done something that gives his Army superiors confidence that he’s the best man for the job.

Army Lt. Col. Khallid Shabazz, a Muslim chaplain, has accepted the job of handling the spiritual affairs of 14,000 mostly Christian soldiers.

Shabazz recounted to McClatchy the offer he received to lead the 7th Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

“I’m on the phone saying, ‘Thank you, I appreciate it. I’ll serve honorably,’ and then I hang up the phone and I’m jumping all around like a little kid,” Shabazz said. “I was running around the office saying, al hamdulillah, al hamdulillah, praise be to God!”

Out of 1,400 chaplains in the Army, only five are Muslim. And across all the services, there are only ten Muslim chaplains total.

“When you get the call saying you have been bestowed a division, the news is kind of like, unearthly,” Shabazz added. “The list is so small and it’s such a tough cut.”

For those concerned about the odd juxtaposition of a Muslim being in charge of the spiritual care of Christian soliders, Shabazz reminds everyone that he used to be a Christian and so he can speak to their problems using Christian language and Scripture without violating his own faith. He also recounts the story of his Christian mentor who made him promise to be a fair-minded chaplain.

When he was commissioned, Shabazz said, his mentor pulled him aside for a talk.

“He said, ‘Promise me you will be an advocate for our corps no matter what the faith or the background of the person is,’ ” Shabazz recalled. “It moved me to the very essence of my core. Here you have a devout Christian who’s taken the time to care for a young Muslim soldier and make sure I got to be a chaplain. I don’t want to help just Muslims. I don’t want to help just Christians. I want to help people who are in distress.”

Shabazz has also gone a long way to reassure everyone that he has no interest in converting the soldiers who come to him for counsel, even if they may be sharing their deepest most intimate feelings and fears.

“My job is not to convert anybody to Islam. God guides people. My only goal is to have people leave my office stronger than when they came in.”

Sometimes, though, soldiers do convert and turn to Shabazz for guidance as they enter Islam. One of the most unusual conversions came just three months ago, Shabazz said. A master sergeant in the Special Forces – a man who’d come to no Friday prayers or study groups – showed up, crying, to meet with Shabazz. He told the imam he was ready to take shahada, the modest ritual to officially accept Islam.

“He said, ‘I heard you’re a good chaplain. I’ve been thinking about Islam for about three years,’ ” Shabazz recalled. “I took him down to the mosque, he took shahada and I’ve never seen him again.”

While this may seem like simply another step in the integration of Islam into Western culture, it’s just not so. As we’ve seen time and time again, Islam as an ideology is incompatible with Western culture. The beliefs, philosophies, and ideals of Islam are contrary to the beliefs, philosophies, and ideals of Western and American culture. On another level, the decision to give a Muslim chaplain charge of the spiritual affairs of an entire division is simply irresponsible. Instead, Chaplain Shabazz should have simply been given charge of the Muslim soldiers in the division, and one of the many qualified Christian candidates should have been given the duty to care for the mostly Christian division.

Bowing to political correctness in a matter as serious as the spiritual care of our soldiers is not simply foolish, but it is immoral and unethical. Our soldiers deserve better.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Onan Coca

Onan is the Editor-in-Chief at Liberty Alliance media group. He’s also the managing editor at Eaglerising.com, Constitution.com and the managing partner at iPatriot.com. Onan is a graduate of Liberty University (2003) and earned his M.Ed. at Western Governors University in 2012. Onan lives in Atlanta with his wife and their three wonderful children. You can find his writing all over the web.

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US military: Iranian behavior getting worse in Persian Gulf

By Kristina Wong – 09/10/16

URL of the original posting site: http://thehill.com/policy/defense/295256-us-military-iranian-behavior-getting-worse-in-persian-gulf

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Iran has stepped up its harassment of U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf, angering the U.S. military and members of Congress. Since the international nuclear deal with Iran was implemented in early January, the number of incidents involving U.S. and Iranian ships in the Gulf has approximately doubled. The Navy has counted at least 31 interactions with Iranian naval forces deemed “unsafe,” “unprofessional,” or both, according to a defense official. That’s about as many such interactions that occurred all of last year, according to statistics provided to Fox News.

And those are also only counting interactions that have met the criteria of “unsafe” or “unprofessional.” Overall, there were more than 300 interactions between U.S. and Iranian forces last year. That figure includes incidents in which Iranian vessels waited for and followed U.S. ships transiting in the Persian Gulf, or sailed by with their weapons uncovered, in addition to other incidents of muscle flexing considered routine. Military officials say there is no question that the behavior is getting worse.

“We’ve seen an uptick in confrontations by Iranian vessels in the Arabian Gulf,” Army Gen. Joseph Votel, the top U.S. commander in the region, said on Aug. 30. U.S. military officials refer to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf.

Votel also issued a rare warning to Iranian forces: “Ultimately if they continue to test us we’re going to respond and we’re going to protect ourselves and our partners.”

The last confrontation occurred just last Sunday, when seven Iranian fast attack boats confronted a U.S. Navy coastal patrol boat in international waters in the Persian Gulf. When one of the Iranian vessels stopped directly in the path and within about 100 yards of the USS Firebolt, the U.S. vessel had to swerve to avoid a collision, defense officials said.

The confrontations are fueling anger on Capitol Hill and providing new arguments for lawmakers to enact anti-Iran legislation. Earlier this week, a group of Republican senators introduced legislation that would ban any further U.S. government payments to Iran from a Treasury Department fund, until Iran returned $1.7 billion the administration sent to Iran earlier this year to settle a dispute over an arms deal from the 1970s. fire-cash-pallet

“Iran’s harassment of a U.S. naval vessel is just the latest example of troubling and unsurprising behavior by the regime following the Obama administration’s parade of serious policy blunders that have emboldened Tehran and invited increased belligerence,” said Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), one of the bill’s sponsors, in a statement Thursday.

Ayotte, who faces a tough reelection contest this year, also expressed concern that the money would buy “additional Iranian ships to harass U.S. Navy vessels,” among other weapons.

“I am deeply troubled that this large infusion of U.S. taxpayer-funded cash into the defense coffers of the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism is going to further embolden Iran and result in our troops and our allies confronting more lethal and better equipped adversaries and potential adversaries,” she said.

The administration has insisted that any money going to Iran as a result of the Iran nuclear deal is not going to Iran’s military.

“What they’ve told us but also what we see, instead of going to the military, the money is being poured back into the economy because this is an economy that was suffering terribly,” Antony Blinken, U.S. deputy secretary of State, said Wednesday on CNN’s “New Day.”

However, Blinken also said he could not guarantee that none of the money reached Hezbollah and other terrorist allies.

“We can’t say not one single dollar. But what we can say, based on what we’ve seen so far, is that virtually all of it is going into the economy, not into the military,” he said.

“The bottom line is this, this agreement that we’ve reached has made us safer. It’s put far into the future the day when Iran could enough material for nuclear weapons,” he said.

U.S. officials say they can’t divine Iran’s intentions with the stepped up confrontations, but indicate the regime is directly behind them.

“What I see is this is principally the regime leadership trying to exert their influence and authority in the region,” Votel said.

Votel also said that “90 percent” of the unsafe, unprofessional activities come not from the “general Iranian navy,” but from the Iranian Quds Force, which experts say has close ties to the Iranian regime. Experts also expect that the confrontations will get worse.

“During the final phases of the nuclear deal negotiations, they toned it down a bit just so they wouldn’t throw the negotiations too far off track,” said the Institute for the Study of War’s Chris Harmer.

“Now that the deal is done, my expectation is that the harassment is going to escalate and probably increase beyond anything that we’ve seen,” Harmer said.

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Viet Nam Veteran’s Day

To all my military brothers who served in combat in Viet Nam, “WELCOME HOME.”

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The sorry state of our military: Is it happenstance or design?

By Benny Huang March 23, 2016

URL of the original posting site: http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/03/23/the-sorry-state-of-our-military-is-it-happenstance-or-design

The sorry state of our military: Is it happenstance or design? / Commander in Chief delivers latte salute

How it must have pained Marine Corps General John Paxton to tell Congress that his service might not be prepared for war. Last week, the Assistant Commandant candidly admitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee that the U.S. Marine Corps isn’t what it used to be. “I worry about the capability and the capacity to win in a major fight somewhere else right now,” said the general. He fretted over inadequate training and equipment particularly in the fields of communications, intelligence, and aviation.

Cynics might see Paxton’s testimony as a plea for more money, a quantity that isn’t usually forthcoming when no obvious shortcomings can be identified. Yet this rebuttal strikes me as an out-of-hand dismissal of Paxton’s concerns. It would also be uncharacteristic of the Marines, undoubtedly the proudest of the services, to denigrate themselves if it weren’t true. When a senior Marine officer describes the Corps as borderline dysfunctional, I believe him.

Nor is the Marine Corps alone in its negative self-assessment. Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley told Congress that his branch is prepared to do battle with ISIS — and no other potential adversary. The U.S. would probably lose a war with China, according to General Milley. Or with Russia, North Korea, or Iran. According to an Associated Press article: “Mark Milley says years of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, constrained budgets and troop cuts have had a cumulative effect on the service.” Essentially, our military is capable of defeating the guys Obama described as the JV team but not a conventional force of any heft. Pathetic.

How’s the Air Force faring? If recent trends are any indicator, it may soon be incapable of fulfilling its raison d’être — air superiority. It’s been a very long time since America has gone to war without first asserting absolute dominion over the sky. Air superiority will probably be more difficult to establish in coming years as other nations, particularly China and Russia, fortify their air defenses with new technologies while we continue to fly 1970’s-era F-15s and F-16s as our primary fighters.

Air Force General Frank Gorenc, who commands NATO Allied Air Command, U.S. Air Forces Europe and U.S. Air Forces Africa, is not confident that U.S. forces will be able to achieve and maintain air superiority in future conflicts. “The advantage that we had from the air, I can honestly say, is shrinking…. This is not just a Pacific problem. It’s as significant in Europe as it is anywhere else on the planet…. I don’t think it’s controversial to say [Russia has] closed the gap in capability.”

I don’t believe that any of these generals — Paxton, Milley, or Gorenc — takes pride in admitting this sorry state of affairs because it is essentially an admission of failure. Duty nonetheless dictates that they tell it like it is. They’re playing with the hand they were dealt and I doubt anyone else could do it better.

It doesn’t help that their commander-in-chief pretends not to hear what they’re saying. Just two months ago, President Obama delivered a State of the Union address in which he pooh-poohed the very idea that our armed forces are languishing in disrepair. Said Obama:

“I told you earlier all the talk of America’s economic decline is political hot air. Well, so is all the rhetoric you hear about our enemies getting stronger and America getting weaker. The United States of America is the most powerful nation on Earth. Period. It’s not even close. We spend more on our military than the next eight nations combined.” [Emphasis added]

What a dolt. Surely he can’t believe that our military’s combat effectiveness can be measured in dollars spent? The measure of any endeavor is always results. His argument reminds me that, once upon a time, Obama was just a left-wing community activist. He still sounds like one.

Didn’t President Obama consult his top military leaders before including that remark in his speech? If he had they would have told him what they told Congress last week — namely, that the military is woefully unprepared. If we rule out the possibility that he’s never had such a conversation with the brass then we must conclude that he flippantly dismissed what they told him, probably with the same nifty factoid about military expenditures that he used at the State of the Union. Obama clearly didn’t listen to his advisors because they told him something he didn’t want to hear.

Or is there another possibility? Could it be that this president knows quite well how much the military has atrophied under his administration and he’s pleased with it? In order to prove such a claim definitively I would have to get into his mind to determine his true motives, which I obviously can’t do. There’s nothing in his public statements to indicate a hostility toward the military, though there’s enough anecdotal evidence to indicate a casual disrespect, such as his now infamous latte salute and the completely unreasonable rules of engagement he imposed on combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is a man with no military experience and it shows. freedom

He’s also the president who opened all combat positions to women. That alone would have been a mistake, but of course his administration exerted downward pressure to get women into elite units such as the Army Rangers without actually requiring them to meet standards. After two women “passed” the Ranger course this summer, it came to light that they had received special assistance and unlimited opportunities to reattempt portions of the course that they had failed. “We were under huge pressure to comply,” said one Ranger instructor. “It was very much politicized.”

It seems that Obama likes the military only as a production line for historic “firsts” that he can take credit for. He’s the guy who gave us the first two female Rangers and the first openly homosexual service secretary, Eric K. Fanning. Just last week Obama nominated another “first” — the first female combatant commander, Air Force General Lori Robinson. I’m not necessarily saying that General Robinson is unqualified for the job though the fact that she was nominated by Obama, a man of unspeakably poor judgment, suggests that she’s probably a hot mess. I am however saying that if she’s truly the best candidate for the job then her sex shouldn’t matter. But to Barack Obama, it matters quite a bit because her nomination provided another “first” for his presidential legacy. Isn’t that what the military is for?

If you want to know what Barack Obama thinks about the military, look to the man he claimed as a mentor in his first memoir “Dreams From My Father” — Frank Marshall Davis, a card-carrying member of the Communist Party. Davis first became a member of the CPUSA during the Stalin era, as well as during the time of the Comintern when all communist parties around the globe met periodically in Moscow to receive their marching orders. Davis was a determined opponent of U.S. foreign policy, especially the Marshall Plan and NATO, and he hated the U.S. military which he saw as a global force for evil. To believe that the president doesn’t share even a hint of this hostility toward our armed forces is to say that Barack the protégé learned nothing from Frank the mentor, a conclusion I find plainly absurd.

If that doesn’t convince you, look at some of his other influences, such as his pastor, the anti-American firebrand Jeremiah Wright, as well as his heroes Saul Alinsky, Desmond Tutu, and the communist terrorist Nelson Mandela. Obama has always admired people who hate U.S. military power but we’re supposed to believe that he doesn’t. Alinsky Rules for Radicals

Our military has fallen on tough times, and it will be up to the next president to rehabilitate it. Whether the harm that has befallen our military is the result of mere neglect or actual malfeasance is difficult to determine though I wouldn’t rule out the latter.

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BREAKING: White House in Panic After General Reveals Cause of Deadly Chopper Crash

By: Davis on March 17, 2016

URL of the original posting site: http://conservativetribune.com/white-house-in-panic

There has been an increase in the number of tragedies involving military aircraft under the Obama administration. One of these tragedies occurred on Jan. 14, when two CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopters collided while training off the coast of Hawaii, killing 12 Marines.

The Washington Examiner reported that the commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Robert Neller, has stated that the increase in these accidents has been caused by the budget cuts implemented by the Obama administration.

These budget cuts limit the number of aircraft available for training and reduce the number of hours that pilots can train in existing aircraft.

This leads to a predictable increase in accidents, as well as an armed force that may not be fully ready for future combat scenarios.

“We track this very closely and the simple fact is we don’t have enough airplanes to meet training requirements for the entire force,” Neller stated during a hearing on the 2017 budget request for the armed services.

These budget cuts also lead to less maintenance on aircraft because there simply isn’t enough money.

“The real bill payer for underfunded readiness is lost lives. I think that helps bring it into context for all of us,” stated Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, during his opening statement. destruction

The Obama administration has absolutely gutted the military over the past several years. Instead of giving the military the resources needed to win a war, the Obama administration has sent them into combat underfunded, ill-equipped and unprepared.

It is absolutely despicable that President Barack Obama has overseen the sharpest decline in our military’s preparedness since before World War II.

It’s too late now, but in a few months we can elect a Republican who will make sure that the military has what it needs to win wars and that money is never an issue.

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Norway’s Caves House More Than Seeds

February 19, 2016 By the Common Constitutionalist

URL of the original posting site: http://commonconstitutionalist.com/current-events/norways-caves-house-more-than-seeds/#comments

In 2008, even before the dark ages of Obama, mankind was so concerned about the catastrophic effects of human-caused climate change that governments and scientific experts got together and launched a global network of storage facilities to house plants, sprouts and seeds of every possible kind on the planet.

These “seed banks” were placed in countries throughout the globe. But the central bank, called the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is located off Norway, a mere 600 miles from the North Pole. The central seed depository is some 500 feet beneath Norway’s permafrost and its entrance is both bomb and earthquake proof.

Although the Global Seed Vault is a man-made structure dug into a mountain on the Island of Svalbard north of Norway, it seems the country itself is alive with naturally occurring caves. These caves are a great place to store other things – like weapons and equipment.

Under the Surface of central Norway are six climate controlled caves totaling over 671,000 sq ft, capable of housing a wealth of military equipment. American equipment was first stored there starting in 1981, during the Cold War. It was the perfect place to house the equipment being that Norway shares a 122 mile border with the Ruskies. Caves

After the Cold War ended it was thought that perhaps the Norway caves would not be needed, but events over the last decades or more has seen the storage facilities play an integral role in the deployment of military equipment.

The caves, which house well over $400 million worth of Marines Corps battle tanks, amphibious assault vehicles, artillery and logistic equipment, serve as a major hub to provide materiel support for as many as 15,000 U.S. Marines throughout the globe. Equipment from the “caves of Norway have seen action in places as diverse as the deserts of Iraq and mountains of Afghanistan in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.”

For years the caves have been used to store equipment for use in NATO military “High North” Arctic Challenge exercises and it’s become increasingly important, given Russia’s recent provocative behavior. Arctic Challenge training scenarios include strike delivery against ground and airborne targets, simulated anti-air artillery combat, low-level flying and midair refueling.

In 2015, the defense ministers of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland issued a statement saying that “The Russian military are acting in a challenging way along our borders. We must be prepared to face possible crises or incidents.” Neither Sweden nor Finland is currently part of NATO – they are considered neutral countries, but Russian aggression is causing both to reconsider their neutrality.

More and more Swedes are pushing for membership after Russia decided to conduct unscheduled large-scale maneuvers in response to the 2015 Norway-led Arctic Challenge exercises in the High North. They deployed over 12,000 troops and 250 aircraft, compared to the 115 aircraft and 4,000 troops taking part in the Arctic Challenge. The Russians called the deployment “a massive surprise combat-readiness inspection.” Sure it was.

In response to Russia’s recent aggressive behavior, this years High North Arctic Challenge, dubbed “Cold Response 16” will include some 6,500 pieces of equipment from the caves. The exercise will also include 12 NATO allies and partners and more than 16,000 troops.

Heather Conley, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Europe Program, told CNN that “changes in the geopolitical landscape had once again made the caves a strategic asset.”

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