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Ruth King

Thanks to the President, U.S. Policy Heading in the Right Direction by Majid Rafizadeh

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15378/us-iran-policy-soleimani

“… you should know that I… control the policy for Iran with respect to Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza, and Afghanistan.” — The late Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, to US General David Petraeus, The Guardian, July 28, 2011.

Under Soleimani’s rule, Iran’s military was also implicated in the 9/11 attacks.

To the likely dismay of Washington’s critics, President Trump’s Iran policy has been heading in the right direction. Maximum pressure is the right policy to bridle this predatory regime.

The critics of President Trump’s Iran policy have been proven wrong once again: Not only have the US sanctions imposed significant pressure on the ruling mullahs of Iran and their ability to fund their terror groups, but in addition, President Trump recently ordered a game-changing military attack that killed both Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis near the Baghdad airport.

According to the US Department of Defense, Soleimani “was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”

The unexpected death of Soleimani should be regarded as a severe blow to the ruling mullahs. When it comes to authority in the Islamic Republic, Soleimani was considered Iran’s second man after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A staunchly loyal confidante to Khamenei, Soleimani enjoyed enormous influence over dictating the Iranian regime’s foreign policy. Soleimani was not bragging when he wrote in a message to US Gen. David Petraeus:

“… you should know that I, Qassem Suleimani, control the policy for Iran with respect to Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza, and Afghanistan. And indeed, the ambassador in Baghdad is a Quds Force member. The individual who’s going to replace him is a Quds Force member.”

With rising anti-Semitism, New Yorkers rally to hate Trump while hating “hate” By Andrea Widburg

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/01/with_rising_antisemitism_new_yorkers_rally_to_hate_trump_while_hating_hate.html

Thanks to conservative Jewish friends in New York, I knew that there was going to be a rally on Sunday to speak out against the rising number of anti-Semitic attacks in the New York City region, both in New York State and in New Jersey. I also knew that they were concerned that the rally, rather than bringing black and Jewish communities together, would end up as a Leftist fest.They were correct.

We’ve already written here about a very malignant mindset affecting a small, but growing subset, of urban blacks, which manifests itself in violent, or demeaning, anti-Semitic attacks. The problem, happily, is not black culture at large. It’s limited to the effect that (a) Islam and (b) Progressivism are having on New York area urban black culture.

Progressives, from Mayor DeBlasio on down, ignore the evidence about the perpetrators of these anti-Semitic attacks and instead choose (1) to blame Trump, although none of the perpetrators in the New York region have appeared to be Trump supporters, and (2) to blame Jews, just for being, which is apparently more than enough to cause offense.

So it was that, according to non-progressive Jewish attendees, the rally against anti-Semitism quickly become an intersectionality gathering, complete with Trump Derangement Syndrome and Israel bashing, along with promises to fight some sort of generic “hate.” It was, in its way, reminiscent of when the House was going to censure Ilhan Omar’s open anti-Semitism but eventually resolved that House members were against all types of -isms, including but not limited to anti-Semitism.

I don’t have to take my friends’ words for it. Many attendees posted pictures on Twitter. One gal, Simone Zimmerman, was good enough to take a lot of photos.  Because she’s a Leftist herself, she was completely on board with the “blame it on Trump” attitude – never mind that there has never been an American president with warmer feelings toward Jews (including his beloved daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren) or towards Israel:

Simone Zimmerman @simonerzim
Replying to @simonerzim

Stating simple fact- that trump bears responsibility – has already inspired multiple ppl to come up to us, call us Kapos, question our Jewishness & our legitimacy and tell us to go home. Fighting antisemitism is political and there is no such thing as Jewish unity. #NoHateNoFear

Trump gives Iran and Congress a warning about America’s future plans By Andrea Widburg

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/01/trump_gives_iran_and_congress_a_warning_about_americas_future_plans.html

Predictably, following the targeted strike on General Qasem Soleimani when he stepped onto Iraq soil, Iran responded with its usual bombastic, existential (and, of course, anti-Israel) threats. What must have surprised the mullahs was that Trump, rather than countering with vague diplomatic language, gave as good as he got. That was Saturday. On Sunday, Trump upped the ante.

As you may recall, on Saturday, the mullahs promised to bomb American targets, destroy shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and attack Israel:

[Gen. Gholamali] Abuhamzeh, commander of the Revolutionary Guards in the southern province of Kerman, foreshadowed a possible attack on “vital American targets” located in the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation of Soleimani’s death.

“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital point for the West and a large number of American destroyers and warships cross there,” Abuhamzeh said according to a Reuters report, citing Tasnim news agency.

“Vital American targets in the region have been identified by Iran since long time ago … some 35 U.S. targets in the region, as well as Tel Aviv, are within our reach.”

Each of those threats is unlikely. The mullahs know that if they touch the American homeland, none will survive the next few hours. They also know that the American military is feeling unconstrained under Trump and will respond ferociously to any attacks on military targets. Israel, with Trump in the White House, will also go full speed ahead should Iran target it. Lastly, with America now a major oil exporter and Israel a major natural gas producer, the threat to the Strait of Hormuz matters significantly less.

Eastwood’s Jewel By G. Murphy Donovan

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/01/eastwoods_jewel.html

Not many things get better with age. Clint Eastwood might be the exception.

At age 89, Eastwood still manages to redeem a film industry that usually panders to liberal tropes or adolescent morons. His latest offering is a biopic about Richard Jewell and the Centennial Park bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Albeit 25 years in the making, Richard Jewell, in 2020, is a pitch perfect and timely film treatment of dirty cops and fake news in America. Jewell, once a security guard at the ’96 Olympics, discovered a pipe bomb, alerted authorities, and was subsequently falsely implicated with incendiary headlines and televised slander by the FBI and the press for a crime he did not commit.A dirty cop, probably an FBI agent, leaked Jewell’s name as “a person of interest” to an Atlanta Journal Constitution reporter, Kathy Scruggs.

That leak, and the media blitz that followed, tortured Jewell and his mother for nearly a decade. The real bomber, Eric Rudolph, was eventually caught, but only after two more bombings.

Rudolph was convicted and jailed eight years hence with little press fanfare by the FBI or media.

The Eastwood film, coming as it does midst the fake news campaign against Donald Trump, serves to remind us that corruption at the FBI and in the media are still with us.

Soleymani Aftermath When it comes to Iran, all Rhodes lead back to Obama. Lloyd Billingsley

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/01/soleymani-aftermath-lloyd-billingsley/

Iranian general Qassem Soleymani was a master terrorist who orchestrated atrocities around the world that claimed thousands of lives, including hundreds if not thousands of Americans. That was the default position after President Trump took out Soleymani last week. The Democrats’ furious reaction overlooked realities about the Iranian regime in general and Soleymani in particular.

Israel had also targeted the Quds Force commander, but according to the Kuwaiti Al-Jarida, the Obama administration tipped off the Tehran regime. Soleymani emerged unscathed and continued to spearhead the Islamic regime’s military and terrorist operations. Those were funded by criminal activity, and on that front the previous administration also lent a helping hand.

“In its determination to secure a nuclear deal with Iran, the Obama administration derailed an ambitious law enforcement campaign targeting drug trafficking by the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, even as it was funneling cocaine into the United States.” That was the finding of a Politico investigation by Josh Meyer. In 2010, Meyer recalled, John Brennan, then a presidential adviser on homeland security and counterterrorism, announced plans to build up “moderate” elements within Hezbollah, which he described as “an interesting organization.”

In 2008, the United States launched “Project Cassandra” against Hezbollah, but as U.S. agents targeted the terrorist hierarchy, “Obama administration officials threw an increasingly insurmountable series of roadblocks in its way.” As Meyer found, officials in the Justice and Treasury Departments rejected requests for investigations, prosecutions, arrests and financial sanctions.

In Defense of Charlie Kirk Alt-Right Never Trumpers target a heroic conservative leader. This is the moment to stand behind him. Daniel Greenfield

Conservative students and speakers have had a tough time at UCLA. And when Donald Trump Jr. came out to speak about his new book, Triggered, at a Turning Point USA event, everyone knew there would be trouble. President Trump’s son had appeared at multiple campuses with TPUSA with no problems.

But UCLA had a bad reputation to live up to. And it lived up to it.

Except instead of the expected alt-left Never Trumpers, alt-right Never Trumpers shut down the event.

While alt-lefties waved orange signs reading “Trump/Pence Out”, their Trump-hating counterparts had infiltrated the Triggered event. And what the Commies outside couldn’t do, the Nazis on the inside did.

Loud boos met the president’s son. As Donald Trump Jr. tried to speak, a small group of haters repeatedly interrupted his remarks. Planting hecklers at conservative events who use rolling disruptions to shut down a speaker was a familiar lefty tactic. But it was coming from an unexpected direction.

“You have people spreading nonsense, you have people spreading hate to try to take over that room,” a frustrated Donald Trump Jr. said.

The hate was being spread by the ‘Groypers’, one of a number of feuding alt-right splinter groups, who had realized that they could make headlines and gain influence by disrupting conservative student events. And when the Triggered event was shut down early, the Groypers celebrated their big win.

The Senate Knows Enough to Acquit Trump This trial doesn’t require witnesses. The articles of impeachment should fall on legal grounds alone.This trial doesn’t require witnesses. The articles of impeachment should fall on legal grounds alone. By David B. Rivkin Jr. and Elizabeth Price Foley

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-senate-knows-enough-to-acquit-trump-11578262402?mod=opinion_lead_pos7

Give Nancy Pelosi this: She has chutzpah. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell responded Friday on the Senate floor to the House’s refusal to appoint managers and transmit its articles of impeachment against President Trump to the upper chamber. “For now,” Mr. McConnell said, “we are content to continue the ordinary business of the Senate while House Democrats continue to flounder. For now.”

Mrs. Pelosi’s response: “The GOP Senate must immediately proceed in a manner worthy of the Constitution.” Never mind that the hold-up is at her end.

Yet now that Mr. Trump has been impeached, the Senate is constitutionally obliged to address the matter. Neither Mrs. Pelosi’s intransigence nor Senate rules, dating from 1868, that peg the commencement of an impeachment trial to the House’s appointment of impeachment “managers” justify an indefinite delay.

At Massive Solidarity March, New York Governor Pledges Millions to Secure Jewish Sites, Fight Antisemitism By Benjamin Kerstein

https://www.algemeiner.com/2020/01/05/at-massive-solidarity-march-new-york-governor-pledges-millions-to-secure-jewish-sites-fight-antisemitism/

The “No Hate, No Fear” march against antisemitism in New York City, January 5, 2020. Photo: screenshot.

Thousands of demonstrators crossed the Brooklyn Bridge from lower Manhattan on Sunday to express solidarity with the Jewish community in the wake of a wave of antisemitic violence.

The march, titled “No Hate, No Fear,” attracted members of all faith communities and some of the state’s most prominent officials and politicians.

Governor Andrew Cuomo told the crowd, “Discrimination, racism, antisemitism, is repugnant to every value that New Yorkers hold dear, and repugnant to every value that this country represents,” the Associated Press reported.

He pledged $45 million in state funding for security around Jewish sites and institutions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted in solidarity, saying, “We stand with the many thousands of our brothers, sisters and friends in NYC marching against the rising Antisemitism. We will not waver in our battle against Antisemitism and hate.”

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said in a statement, “While antisemitism continues to rear its head in the United States and throughout the world, we must move from defense to offense. We will not be silenced when Jews are murdered in synagogues and will not be ignored when those who wear kippahs are being killed in the street. We must join hands and stand as a wall against the wave of hatred.”

DPS NOTE ON YESTERDAY’S RALLY

DPS Note:

This was a terrific rally and enormously encouraging to see so many people get off their sofas on a Sunday and walk across the Brooklyn Bridge in cold weather to make their point.

But ……Some of it annoyed me – a lot.For example, as reported, Gov. Cuomo denounced “discrimination, racism and antisemitism” ….. 

But he didn’t denounce the new State Law which he proudly signed which puts violent anti-Semites back on the street the same day as they’re arrested, with no bail and no regard for their being a continuing danger to the community. 

He’s at a rally which is the result of an appalling number of attacks on Jews by Jew haters. The whole point of the outpouring of anger and emotion was to demonstrate against anti-Semitism. But the good Governor couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t just say that anti-Semitism is bad. He had to throw in discrimination and racism to cover all the required politically correct bases so no one can accuse him of favoring the Jews. READ IT ALL

Softball CNN Interview With Iranian Ambassador Borders On Propaganda January 4, 2020 By David Marcus

https://thefederalist.com/2020/01/04/softball-cnn-interview-with-iranian-ambassador-borders-on-propaganda/

For three years now, CNN has dedicated itself almost exclusively to attacking Donald Trump. It’s own laughable claim of being straight, objective news is clearly abject nonsense to anyone who has watched it for more than 5 minutes. And that’s all fine. All news outlets have their biases, and while it would be nice if CNN owned theirs, it doesn’t really matter if they refuse to. But last night something happened that didn’t just look like anti-Trump sentiment, but rather straight up Iranian propaganda.

Anchor Erin Burnett interviewed Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Mavid Ravanchi, and what viewers were treated to was not so much an interview as a joint press release. From the first question, whether the US had committed an act of war by killing Qasem Solemiani, to the final one, whether this act of war “changes the game,” everything was framed as poor Iran being bullied by a President Trump who at best overreacted and who at worst is lying to the American people.

Not only was there no push back whatsoever in regard to any of the claims made by Ravanchi, several vital questions went completely unasked. How on earth can one interview the Iranian ambassador without asking about Iranian support for a violent attack on an American embassy last week? Or how about an attack on a base that left an American contractor dead? Or the shooting down of an American drone over international waters?

Time and again in the interview Ravanchi claimed that by killing Solemiani the US had moved from an economic war (pulling out of the Iran Deal) to a military war. But Iran has engaged in military actions against America and American interest for months now. The network that fatuously insists they are all about the facts allowed the ambassador to flat out lie to the their viewers without the least bit of resistance.