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Attorney General Barr puts former Intel bosses on notice By Kevin R. Brock

Posted By on May 23rd, 2019

https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/444802-ag-barr-puts-former-intel-bosses-on-notice

Things seem to be moving quickly now. It has been a remarkable few weeks in American history. Momentum is building toward uncovering the distasteful possibility that the targeting of a U.S. presidential campaign was actually a political operation, fostered at the highest levels of government, masquerading as an FBI counterintelligence investigation.

Attorney General William Barr has signaled that his interest in examining the origins of the investigation into the Trump campaign extends beyond whether the FBI operated “by the book,” as former FBI Director James Comey asserts. Barr also wants to understand the role that the larger intelligence community, or IC, may have played in all of this.

Barr has thrown punches that have left an interesting mix of characters with a standing eight count. Certain eyes around D.C. are a little glassy right now.

Barr’s words and actions are telling. First, he raised the concern that the Trump campaign was “spied” upon. His use of the word “spying” appears more calculated than casual. The wailing and gnashing of teeth that followed is also telling. “The FBI doesn’t spy” became the sputtering counter-refrain of those trying to mask their nervousness.

FOREIGN POLICY Comments turned off

Talk with Iran’s Ayatollahs? Ambassador (Ret.) Yoram Ettinger

Posted By on May 23rd, 2019

https://bit.ly/2M5Wci1

“Talk-with-Iran was tried by successive US presidents, starting with Jimmy Carter. In 1980, [Iran’s] Mullahs signed an accord with Carter not to seize anymore American hostages in exchange for de-freezing Iranian assets…. Yet, to this day, Iran has always held American hostages – 14 today…. The Saudis tried to improve ties with the Khomeini regime. They helped organize the Islamic Summit in Teheran…, coordinated oil policies and granted Iran an unprecedented Haj [pilgrimage] quota. The reward was the [Ayatollahs/Hezbollah] June 1996 truck-bomb attack on the Dhahran Khobar Towers [19 US air force men and one Saudi murdered and 490 multi-nationals injured] and the ransacking of the Saudi Embassy and Consulates in Iran…. Turkey had a similar experience.  It created a security commission with Iran and closed its borders to Iranians fleeing to exile… Iranian opposition figures were expelled…. The Mullahs repaid Turkey by granting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK terrorists) bases in the Qandyl Mountain region just inside Iran.  They also created a Turkish branch of Hezbollah…. (Amir Taheri, a leading expert on Iran and the Middle East, A Sharq al Awsat Saudi daily, February 22, 2019). 

Since the 1978-1979 Iranian “Islamic Revolution,” most of European and USA foreign policy, media and academic establishments, and especially the architects of the 2015 nuclear agreement (JCPOA), have promoted accommodation with – not sanctions against – Iran’s Ayatollahs, irrespective of the Ayatollahs’ well-documented systematic track record:

ANTI-SEMITISM Comments turned off

“Dependency, not Populism, is the Enemy of Liberalism” Sydney Williams

Posted By on May 23rd, 2019

swtotd.blogspot.com

The word “dependent” derives from the French adjective “pendant,” which means “hanging,” as in “avec les bras pendant” (with arms hanging). We use the word to describe a piece of jewelry that hangs from a chain necklace, a pendant that is dependent on the chain. As well, we cannot forget that the opposite of dependence is independence. Populism is defined as being popular with the people. Its antonym: elitism.

 

Is democracy in decline? Polity, a widely-used resource in political science, recently determined that only thirty-three countries were fully consolidated democracies. This was a decline of two from a peak in 2006. One of the two was the United States, which was docked, according to a Pew Research report, by two points in 2016 for “an increase in factional competition.” They did not define “factional,” though certainly our politics have become divisive, nor did they point out that “competition” is a positive trait of liberal governments and free market economies. (Belgium was the other country, which saw a decline because of alleged “deepened divisions” between French and Flemish-speaking communities.) Freedom House has also written of a global decline in freedom over the past dozen years, with 113 countries having seen a net decline during that time, versus 62 countries having had a net improvement. Their report, which is available on line, shows that the United States began its decline in 2010 and has continued to do so. 

Throughout history, governments have bent toward liberalism, but never in a straight line. Change is the one constant in all aspects of our lives, and it affects our political systems. Democracy requires constant vigilance, as there will always be those whose lust for power exceeds their respect for values embedded in human rights. Both political parties agree that democracy is at risk, if not in decline. But they disagree as to the cause The media, which is aligned with the left, sees decline as a consequence of a rise in what they term the “far” or “radical” right: In Europe, this would include political parties like National Rally in France, Lega Nord in Italy, Golden Dawn in Greece, the Freedom Party in Austria, Brexit in Britain, Fidesz in Hungary, Law and Justice in Poland and Sweden Democrats in Sweden. In the U.S., it is conservatives in general and Donald Trump’s “army of deplorables,” specifically.

HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

Pompeo slams release of “American Taliban” as unconscionable – Fox Thomson Reuters

Posted By on May 23rd, 2019

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/05/23/pompeo-slams-release-of-american-taliban-as-unconscionable-fox/23733670/

WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized the pending release on Thursday of John Walker Lindh, the American captured in 2001 fighting for the Taliban, and said he believed the decision needed to be reviewed.

“Unexplainable and unconscionable,” Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News. Pompeo said Lindh “still is threatening the United states of America, still committed to the very jihad that he engaged in that killed a great American and a great CIA officer. There’s something deeply troubling and wrong about it.”

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Federal Rats Are Fleeing the Sinking Collusion Ship By Victor Davis Hanson

Posted By on May 23rd, 2019

https://amgreatness.com/2019/05/22/federal-rats-are-fleeing-the-sinking-collusion-ship/

The entire Trump-Russia collusion narrative was always implausible.

One, the Washington swamp of fixers such as Paul Manafort and John and Tony Podesta was mostly bipartisan and predated Trump.

Two, the Trump administration’s Russia policies were far tougher on Vladimir Putin than were those of Barack Obama. Trump confronted Russia in Syria, upped defense spending, increased sanctions and kept the price of oil down through massive new U.S. energy production. He did not engineer a Russian “reset” or get caught on a hot mic offering a self-interested hiatus in tensions with Russia in order to help his own re-election bid.

Three, Russia has a long history of trying to warp U.S. elections that both predated Trump and earned only prior lukewarm pushback from the Obama administration.

It’s also worth remembering that President Bill Clinton and the Clinton Foundation had been recipients of Russian and Russian-related largesse—ostensibly because Hillary Clinton had used her influence as Secretary of State under Obama to ease resistance to Russian acquisitions of North American uranium holdings.

As far as alleged Russian collusion goes, Hillary Clinton used three firewalls—the Democratic National Committee, the Perkins Coie law firm and the Fusion GPS strategic intelligence firm—to hide her campaign’s payments to British national Christopher Steele to find dirt on Trump and his campaign; in other words, to collude. Steele in turn collected his purchased Russian sources to aggregate unverified allegations against Trump. He then spread the gossip within government agencies to ensure that the smears were leaked to the media—and with a government seal of approval.

No wonder that special counsel Robert Mueller’s partisan team spent 22 months and $34 million only to conclude the obvious: that Trump did not collude with Russia.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Schumer, Nadler Once Compared Impeachment to Cannibalizing Children, Assassinating a President By Thomas McArdle

Posted By on May 23rd, 2019

https://issuesinsights.com/2019/05/23/schumer-nadler-compared-impea

When President Bill Clinton, over 20 years ago, was probed by a special investigator, and 11 possible grounds for impeachment were found, including perjury, witness tampering and obstruction of justice, Democrats didn’t defend their party’s President the way Republicans defend Trump today.

No, Democrats were far more extreme.

What makes the rhetorical record so glaringly hypocritical is that in Donald Trump’s case, unlike Clinton’s, the investigator found no evidence of presidential crimes.

As congressional Democrats’ current leaders endure the pressure of their younger, further-to-the-left colleagues, who want Trump’s head on a platter ASAP, they’re going to find themselves haunted by their own ghosts of impeachment past.

Here is then-Congressman Charles Schumer of New York City, member of the House Judiciary Committee, on the House floor on Dec. 18, 1998, the day before Clinton was impeached. Schumer had won election to the U.S. Senate the month before.

“Voting against these articles will be my last act” as a member of the House of Representatives, Schumer declared, lamenting that “now we are routinely using criminal accusations and scandal to win the political battles and ideological differences we cannot settle at the ballot box … And it is hurting our country, it is marginalizing and polarizing this Congress.”

It sounds familiar. But Schumer then added, presciently: “I expect history will show that we have lowered the bar on impeachment so much, we have broken the seal on this extreme penalty so cavalierly, that it will be used as a routine tool to fight political battles. My fear is that when a Republican wins the White House, Democrats will demand payback.”

ISRAEL Comments turned off

Palestinians: The New Hamas List of ‘Traitors’ by Khaled Abu Toameh

Posted By on May 23rd, 2019

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14251/palestinians-hamas-traitors

One of the Arabs who have dared to speak the truth about Hamas and Islamic Jihad is Nadim Koteich, a prominent Lebanese journalist, who recently accused Islamic Jihad of starting the last round of fighting with Israel.

In an interview with the Lebanese LDC TV channel, Koteich said that Hamas and Islamic Jihad, representing the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran respectively, should have turned the Gaza Strip after Israel’s withdrawal in 2005 into an opportunity for a national Palestinian compromise.

Instead, he said, the two groups have “thwarted all opportunities for peace” and have ended up in a prison called Gaza.”

Such voices from some Palestinians and Arabs are a sign they may have finally woken up to realize that Palestinian leaders, particularly Hamas and Islamic Jihad, are leading their people towards the abyss. If the voices of the critics grow, then there will be hope that one day the extremist camp among the Palestinians will be weakened.

The Palestinian Hamas movement that rules the Gaza Strip has never tolerated any form of criticism. It does not accept any criticism from Palestinians living under its rule in the Gaza Strip. It does not accept any criticism from its rivals in the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its ruling Fatah faction. It certainly does not accept any criticism from Israel or the United States.

Now, Hamas is saying that it does not tolerate any criticism from Arabs. Hamas claims that Palestinian Authority and Fatah leaders who dare to speak out against it are “traitors” and “collaborators” working with the “Zionist enemy.”

Arab media personalities who recently criticized Hamas and its allies in the Gaza Strip have now been placed on its list of “traitors” and “collaborators.”

Recently, some Arabs, particularly in the Gulf states, Lebanon and Egypt, have spoken out publicly against Hamas and held it responsible for the continued suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. These Arabs, in other words, have dared to speak the truth about Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the two major forces in the Gaza Strip.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Iran: Planning to Kidnap and Kill More Americans by Majid Rafizadeh

Posted By on May 23rd, 2019

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14254/iran-kidnap-kill-americans

A leading Republican lawmaker, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), also the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has pointed out that recent intelligence obtained about Iran’s threat was extremely detailed.

These are simply preemptive measures that any rational state would take in the face of those clear threats. They were being taken to save the lives of American citizens and prevent the world’s official leading state sponsor of terrorism from destabilizing the region.

What do critics of the Trump administration expect the American government to do…? Do these critics want the Trump administration to ignore Iran and its terror groups until another terrorist act like 9/11 occurs? Or is it possible that these critics, deep-down, do not care about U.S. national security and the lives of ordinary citizens?

While plans were being concocted to harm or murder Americans, it is mind-boggling that people — even entire governments — were criticizing the Trump administration for preparing preemptive measures against multiple credible threats from the Iranian government and its forces.

While people were squabbling over the choices the Trump administration was making, the Iranian leaders, known to have mastered conducting asymmetric warfare, were giving directives to kidnap and kill American soldiers.

A leading Republican lawmaker, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), also the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has pointed out that recent intelligence obtained about Iran’s threat was extremely detailed.

“To the extent I can discuss it, it was human intelligence,” he said, and added that, “One of the Hezbollah cells is known for its kidnapping and killing operations, and their directive was to go in and kill and kidnap American soldiers.”

ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

Fact-Free Politics The Left’s climate of misinformation. Thomas Sowell

Posted By on May 23rd, 2019

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/273845/fact-free-politics-thomas-sowell

In this era when there has been more information available to more people than at any time in the past, it is also true that there has been more misinformation from more different sources than ever. We are not talking about differences of opinion or inadequate verification, but about statements and catchwords in utter defiance of facts.

Among the most popular current catchwords are “climate change deniers.” Stop and think. Have you ever — even once in your entire life — seen, heard or read even one human being who denied that climates change?

It is hard even to imagine how any minimally knowledgeable person could deny that climates change, when there are fossils of marine creatures in the Sahara Desert. Obviously there has been quite a climate change there.

The next time someone talks about “climate change deniers,” ask them to name one — and tell you just where specifically you can find their words, declaring that climates do not change. You can bet the rent money that they cannot tell you.

Why all this talk about these mythical creatures called “climate change deniers”? Because there are some meteorologists and other scientists who refuse to join the stampede toward drastic economic changes to prevent what others say will be catastrophic levels of “global warming.”

There are scientists on both sides of that issue. Presumably the issue could be debated on the basis of evidence and analysis. But this has become a political crusade, and political issues tend to be settled by political means, of which demonizing the opposition with catchwords is one.

FOREIGN POLICY Comments turned off

Why Is War Off the Table in the Conflict with Iran? Inaction is as risky as action, and frequently riskier. May 23, 2019 Bruce Thornton

Posted By on May 23rd, 2019

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/273815/why-war-table-conflict-iran-bruce-thornton

The Washington Free Beacon’s Matthew Continetti reminds us of how the Obama administration sold the Iran Nuclear Deal.  In 2016, Obama’s ex national security advisor Ben Rhodes told the New York Times Magazine how the administration “created an echo chamber” in the media in order to sell the terminally flawed Iran Nuclear Deal to reporters who, Rhodes said correctly, “literally know nothing.” The center-piece of Obama’s narrative was an either-or fallacy: sign the deal with Iran, or go to war.

The strategy worked, which may be why in the current crisis we’re seeing it again. Now, however, the media are taking their direction from Iran. A few days ago an advisor to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (pictured above), the alleged “reformer,” tweeted, “You [Trump] wanted a better deal with Iran. Looks like you are going to get a war instead. That’s what happens when you listen to the mustache.” The “mustache,” of course, is National Security Advisor John Bolton, whom the Dems and their media flunkeys have tarred as a “war-monger” leading the cognitively impaired president into war. As Continetti shows, the media have dutifully followed the Iranians’ propaganda: “Their goal is saving President Obama’s nuclear deal by manipulating Trump into firing Bolton and extending a lifeline to the regime.”

While correcting the old “deal or war” fallacy, however, other commentators seemingly take war off the table, while accepting the need for military action that retaliates or deters. These responses are what, so far, the Trump team is threatening rather than war, contrary to the media shills. But these two important tools for dealing with adversaries and enemies are effective only insofar as the threat of war is credible. If an enemy thinks war is not in the cards, he can continue his aggression, absorbing the occasional military strike or economic sanctions, and buying time in which he continues to escalate his aggression, secure in his assumption that he will not face significant or existential damage.