Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard addressed the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Manama Dialogue, in Manama, Bahrain. The transcript of her prepared remarks is below – The Q&A Session is not transcribed.

It should be remembered that Bahrain was the second nation to erupt following the 2009 Cairo, Egypt speech of then President Barack Obama.  Tunisia was the first, Egypt was the third.  The government of Bahrain barely survived the Islamist Spring and later formed a coalition with Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE against the extremists within the Muslim Brotherhood then supported by Qatar.

DNI Gabbard speaks to the changed geopolitical environment in the era of U.S. President Donald Trump; the elimination of seemingly endless conflict driven by old guard establishment entities and influence agents around the world.  The Director highlights her personal journey toward supporting President Trump and the America First agenda that seeks genuine friendship and national partnerships based on mutually beneficial transactions.

[TRANSCRIPT] – “Thank you, distinguished guests, excellencies, friends, and fellow peacemakers. It’s a privilege to join all of you here this evening. Your Highness, thank you very much for your kind hospitality and welcoming us in hosting this important event. To IISS and your team, thank you for yet again putting on a phenomenal dialogue. It’s an honor to be able to address you here in the Kingdom of Bahrain at this pivotal time in global history.

As we gather here, we’re reminded that true security, true stability, and peace cannot be forged in isolation, but in the common collection of peacemakers working towards that common purpose. Today, I want to speak plainly for myself as a veteran and a soldier who has seen firsthand the high cost of war. As someone who serves under President Trump’s leadership, I have experienced the promise of peace. His vision is about delivering real wins, not just for America, but for our collective cause of peace and prosperity, and doing so through a very principled realism, rooted in shared goals, interests, and values.

The old Washington way of thinking is something we hope is in the rear-view mirror and something that has held us back for too long. For decades, our foreign policy has been trapped in a counterproductive and endless cycle of regime change or nation-building. It was a one-size-fits-all approach of toppling regimes, trying to impose our system of governance on others, intervening in conflicts that were barely understood, and walking away with more enemies than allies. The result: trillions spent, countless lives lost, and in many cases, a creation of greater security threats, the rise of Islamist terrorist groups like ISIS.”

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In the beginning of this discussion we might discover the deeper motive for President Trump to support Israeli strikes against Iran.

Remember, President Trump proactively defused any reactionary Russian response by talking directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin prior to the eruption of conflict inside Iran. That discussion puts the Chinese interests into a somewhat isolated position.  From recent Trump comments we can also see the carrot of sanction removal at play.

China has significant economic exposure within Beijing’s financial ties to Iran. With 90% of Iranian oil production fueling the Chinese economy any disruption would have considerable impact. As Gordon Chang notes in the interview with Maria Bartiromo, no one knows what China is currently sending into Iran via air cargo flights over the past several days. WATCH:

The surface benefit to Israeli attacks against Iran is the elimination of the nuclear threat.  The underlying benefit from a USA perspective is the weakening of Chinese economic power that comes as an outcome of the current Iranian regime.

Chang is correct to put emphasis on these mysterious cargo flights.

The USA drone war capability has been tested in Ukraine and Russia.  That capability, an enhanced capability thanks to the work of Palantir, could very well be deployed deep inside Iran as the IDF retains total air dominance.  Palantir (Peter Thiel and Alex Karp) are ideologically aligned with the goals and objectives of Israel.

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DOGE and government reform head, Elon Musk appears with Larry Kudlow to discuss ongoing events and challenges to both his private enterprises and Trump administration as a result of targeting the Deep State apparatus in Washington DC.

Beginning the interview, Musk notes the X-Platform faced a DDOS attack from Ukraine origin throughout the day on Monday, then the conversation moves to how DOGE is being opposed.

The interview is interesting from the scale and scope of the opposition forces that are attempting to derail the Trump administration, and in the larger picture shows just how extensive the previously hidden malevolent forces are that run the systems of our U.S. government.  Segment #1 Below:

The second segment is below.

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The remarks and formal swearing in ceremony are essentially uneventful; however, it is President Trump’s remarks at the conclusion of the swearing in ceremony that will catch the majority of attention from the geopolitical observers and the DC machine.  We will break out that part in a different post.

In the interim, here is the swearing in ceremony for Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.  WATCH:

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Another thing to keep in mind about this TikTok platform is that its servers are hosted by Oracle, that’s Larry Ellison, and an arrangement that keeps U.S. data in America.

After President Trump sent out a message from his Truth Social platform. TikTok thanked President Trump and reactivated the platform for U.S users.

Here’s the first message from President Donald Trump.

“I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.

Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations.

I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up. Without U.S. approval, there is no Tik Tok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions.

Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the U.S. and whichever purchase we so choose.” {Source}

A few hours later TikTok made an announcement via the Twitter App.

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Glenn Greenwald follows the internal workings of the intelligence community apparatus in Washington DC very closely.

In this segment Greenwald accurately puts the changed position of Tulsi Gabbard into context and then outlines why he remains optimistic about her intent at ODNI while reluctantly accepting her likelihood to retain the acceptable baseline of the IC toward FISA-702.

The best-case scenario is that Tulsi Gabbard will retain 702 as a tool yet remove or stop how it is being unlawfully used.   Unfortunately, as Director of National Intelligence Gabbard will not have control over the day-to-day use of FISA-702, that job will fall on the shoulders of Pam Bondi.

The DOJ-National Security Division is the place where FISA authorities are deployed.  However, the use of the NSA database to conduct unlawful searches of American citizen metadata is the issue where Tulsi Gabbard could gain ammunition to change who has access.

Personally, given the change in position, the fallback position is to hope DNI Tulsi Gabbard moves to curtail the number of people with access to the database and provide demonstrable accountability for any unlawful use of it.

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Washington DC is creating a surveillance state.  We can debate the motives and intentions behind it, but the core of their creation aligns and supports a fully comprehensive American surveillance state.

We cannot be intellectually honest with each other about how the tools of a weaponized government were deployed against Americans, specifically in the example of presidential candidate Donald Trump, without accepting the tools exist for far more consequential reasons than just Donald Trump.

In this segment from April of 2024, Tucker Carlson (motive irrelevant) accurately outlined the purpose of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and how that legislatively created tool is being used by Washington DC, both parties.

Within this monologue Tucker Carlson hits on some accurate points to share with his audience.  The commentary about HPSCI Chairman Mike Turner is spot on accurate.  The IC pressure meetings are also true {SEE HERE}. The analysis of Speaker Mike Johnson also appears to be widely accurate.   WATCH:

My personal experience with the IC surveillance state mirrors that described by Tucker Carlson.  As you step into the world of real data, unfiltered by the systems intended to control our perspectives, the system tends to see you as a threat.

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The central argument is this. “Whether the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (“the Act”), as applied to petitioners, violates the First Amendment.”

Congress enacted a law that effectively bans the social media app TikTok, or at the very least, forces the sale of the company to a non-foreign owned entity. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on the First Amendment aspect. Biden signed the law that requires TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to divest from the app or face a ban on U.S. networks and app stores.

Mitch McConnell [SEE HERE] and Mike Pence [See Here] are asking the Supreme Court to support the law and support the forced sale or ban. However, President Trump is urging the Supreme Court to be very careful.  [SEE HERE]

John Sauer, President Trump’s nominee to be solicitor general, has penned an amicus brief saying, “The power of a Western government to ban an entire social-media platform with more than 100 million users, at the very least, should be considered and exercised with the most extreme care—not reviewed on a ‘highly expedited basis.”

After initially supporting the ban on Tik Tok in 2020, President Trump changed his opinion and now contemplates whether a ban against the popular platform is in America’s best interest.

“Consistent with his commanding presence in this area, President Trump currently has 14.7 million followers on TikTok with whom he actively communicates, allowing him to evaluate TikTok’s importance as a unique medium for freedom of expression, including core political speech. Indeed, President Trump and his rival both used TikTok to connect with voters during the recent Presidential election campaign, with President Trump doing so much more effectively. As this Court instructs, the First Amendment’s ‘constitutional guarantee has its fullest and most urgent application precisely to the conduct of campaigns for political office.’” (source)

Many people have wondered what changed President Trump’s mind, with some pointing to President Trump’s meeting with TikTok CEO Shou Chew at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month.   Additionally, Elon Musk and the Silicon Valley tech team, including JD Vance, are opposed to Tik Tok.  However, the shift in Trump’s thinking since 2020 makes sense if you look at the timeline.

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Incoming national security adviser Michael Waltz talks to Face the Nation with dramatic acting Margaret Brennan.  The first part of the interview discusses drones, fears and “gaps in our security” according to Waltz.

Within the interview Brennan questions Waltz about Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán personally meeting with President Trump and carrying a potential message from Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Waltz notes that Orban “clearly has a good relationship” with President Trump and that will be key to ending the war in Ukraine.  WATCH:

As National Security Advisor, Waltz likely won’t last a year.  “Gaps in our capabilities,” is DC intel codespeak for more rules, regulations, control mechanisms and anti-freedom national security legislation is needed.

My Spidey sense indicates a CNN gig in his future.  Waltz just gives off that ‘he will believe everything the IC tells him’ vibe.

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In an almost identical replay to the 2016 election, Attorney General Merrick Garland held a press conference today to note the indictment of three Iranian suspects for hacking the Trump campaign and attempting to influence the 2024 election outcome.  [37-page-indictment pdf Here]

In 2016 the identified influence agents were from the nation of Russia. In 2024 the identified influence agents, Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar Balaghi, are from the nation of Iran. All other aspects seemingly remain identical.

According to CBS, “The three defendants — identified in the indictment as Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar Balaghi — are all members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Prosecutors said they executed a “wide-ranging hacking campaign that used spearphishing and social engineering techniques to target and compromise the accounts of current and former U.S. government officials, members of the media, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals associated with U.S. political campaigns.” (more)

The press conference announcement with Attorney General Merrick Garland is below:

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