Finally, almost two months later, CTH suspicions are confirmed {GO DEEP}.   You might remember when the USS Carney intercepted 15 drones and cruise missiles in the Red Sea in October, we said something was sketchy about the Western media reporting on it.  The political narrative (not from the Pentagon) was that the missiles were heading to Israel, but that didn’t pass the proverbial sniff test {GO DEEP ##2}.

Given the nature of the political climate at the time, and accepting the limited range of Yemeni cruise missiles, CTH surmised the actual target of the October 19th attack was the U.S. naval fleet, not Israel.   However, people poo-pooed our analysis and said, unlikely.  Well, today the Pentagon admits the U.S. naval fleet is being targeted.

This is a very big deal, because the reality of the U.S. being targeted changes the political calculation and risk metric.  The Biden administration would not want American citizens to think about our own military being involved in an expanded Israel-Hamas war directly, but that’s exactly what is happening.  THAT my friends was the motive for being obtuse in the first wave of attacks in October.

The AP is correct when they say, “the attack potentially marks a major escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Mideast linked to the Israel-Hamas war.”  ‘Potentially’? Nonsense. It is a major escalation.  The other big revelation is that WE were the likely target two months ago.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Three commercial ships in the Red Sea were struck by ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen on Sunday and a U.S. warship shot down three drones in self-defense during the hourslong assault, the U.S. military said. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran.

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While it is good news, excellent news, the Israeli and foreign ‘hostages’ are slowly being released by Hamas, the politics of the dynamic are abundantly clear.

Biden was under extreme political pressure to gain the release of “American” hostages held captive by Hamas and affiliates in Gaza as a result of the October 7th attack and kidnappings.  Prior to Joe Biden taking a victory lap for the release of 4-year-old Abigail Mor Edan, an Israeli-American dual citizen, all of the key players in the region made advanced notification of the impending release.

Qatari [think Muslim Brotherhood] Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told Face the Nation the release was imminent. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan also made the same prediction, as did several people associated with Gaza relief efforts and the larger agenda to create the two-state solution for Palestinian and Israeli citizens.  In essence, politically Biden needed an American release, and that message was the driving force from Qatar to their allies in Hamas.  Abigail Mor Edan was released as a result.  Biden immediately took a victory lap.

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden confirmed Sunday that the 4-year old American Abigail Mor Edan who was held hostage by Hamas in Gaza is now free.  “She’s free and she’s in Israel now,” Biden told reporters Sunday from Nantucket, where he was spending Thanksgiving weekend with his family. (more)

The background effort is also very clear.  The aligned interests of the Muslim Brotherhood and the U.S. Biden administration is to maintain a gauntlet approach where the two-state solution is the only option for Israel, backing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into a corner.

[…] “Abigail was among 13 hostages released today from Gaza under the brokered and sustained though intensive U.S. diplomacy. She is now safely in Israel. And we continue to press and expect for additional Americans will be released as well,” Biden said.

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, and Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi hold a joint press conference at the conclusion of their discussions. The video and transcript are below.

Overall, the Egyptians and Jordanians want a cessation of hostilities, an end to the bombing and Israeli war response against Hamas. In part, they appear motivated by concerns of regional instability; in part, they seem driven toward resolution because they do not want life-long radical Palestinian jihadists crossing into Egypt and Jordan; and in part it’s because their country was not attacked.

I find it interesting that none of the remarks in the group mention the influence of Iran at all.  The U.S. and Israel talk about the influence of Iran when speaking individually and together, but add an Arab country into the discussion and Iran is never brought up.

JORDAN – DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER SAFADI: Good evening to you all. I’ll start in Arabic and then I’ll switch to English if you don’t mind. So —

(Via interpreter) In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Gracious, I welcome Their Excellencies Sameh, Tony and the other colleagues, the foreign ministers of United Arab Emirates and Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and the secretary general of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, at this hardship – at this extremely difficult time, a time that reflects that – reflect our interest to protect our peoples from the destruction of war and to work together continuously to stop this disaster that erupted on the 7th of October and actually evolved into the war that Israel is waging against Gaza.

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Washington DC saw a massive assembly of pro-Hamas, pro-Palestinian groups today.  Tens of thousands of people protesting against Israel in support of Hamas and the Palestinian cause shouted, “from the river to the sea,” an increasingly popular slogan calling for the elimination of the nation state of Israel.

After the march and protest, the angry pro-Hamas groups converged on the White House, scaling the fence and waving the Palestinian flag.  The chant changed to “long live the Intifada,” a nod of approval to the protests against Israel from within the West Bank and Gaza.

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WASHINGTON DC – Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters massed in Washington, DC, Saturday afternoon before descending upon the White House to chant, “Allahu akbar” and “F–k Joe Biden” as they accused the president of genocide and demanded a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” the crowd dotted with Palestinian flags and signs cried at the start of the event, which drew attendees from across the country.

(more…)

It’s an odd dynamic to watch the professional political left support extremism yet pretend not to support the violent outcomes of the extremists.

We saw this dynamic domestically with Occupy Wall Street violence; we saw this with the Ferguson violence; we saw this with the Baltimore violence; we saw this with Black Lives Matter violence; we see this dynamic with the Antifa violence, and we continue to see this dynamic unfold on the streets and college campuses with the pro-Hamas terror rallies and sympathetic politicians.

There is a lot of pretending needed in order to reconcile how the professional political left embraces violence, then claims to desire peace.  The easier approach is always to just accept things as they are, not as we would pretend them to be.  However, if you understand this confliction, then you can well imagine how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must feel each time he talks to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

Today, Secretary Blinken is back in Israel and gave remarks to the press after his meeting with Netanyahu.  There were actually some good questions raised during the press Q&A segment.  One question about the “ultimate goal and vision in the aftermath” was particularly interesting. WATCH:

[TRANSCRIPT] – SECRETARY BLINKEN: Good afternoon, everyone.

“Days after Hamas’s attack on October 7th, I came to Israel, followed soon thereafter by President Biden, to make clear that as long as the United States stands, Israel will never stand alone. Today, in my fourth visit to Israel since October 7th, I reiterated that in all my discussions – with Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Herzog, the security cabinet. I reiterated and made clear our support for Israel’s right to defend itself, indeed its obligation to defend itself. That includes through the additional assistance that we’ve worked with Congress and we’re working with Congress now to provide for Israel’s defense, as well as for urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza.

(more…)

If it was a Democrat sponsored bill, the media would be highlighting the bipartisan nature of the vote.  However, because it is a Republican sponsored bill, the media immediately say the stand alone measure to support Israel is dead upon arrival in the Senate.

Joe Biden has said he will veto the House version of the bill, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said he will not entertain the bill due to the pay-go funding mechanism (removal of $14.3 billion in IRS funding) and the fact it is not a package bill that includes support for Ukraine.   Biden wants his $106 billion bill with funds for Israel, Ukraine, Hamas (via USAID), Taiwan and support for arriving migrants.  Chuck Schumer is working with Mitch McConnell to put the combined package together.

Twelve Democrats supported the $14.3 billion House bill, and two Republicans voted against it (MTGreene and Massie). The vote was 226-196 for passage.

WASHINGTON – […] While aid to Israel is something both parties strongly agree with, Democratic support for the legislation broke down after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) added a provision in the bill that would cut $14.3 billion in funding from the Internal Revenue Service to offset the cost of the aid to Israel — prompting Democratic leaders to encourage party members to vote against it.

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There are a myriad of geopolitical interests exploiting the Israeli war against Hamas terrorists.  The intelligence operation we noted in Dagestan, Russia, was one small element of a larger dynamic.  Here we dig into the geopolitical exploits of China and other interests.

Yesterday, a Chinese student at Cornell University in New York was arrested for posting vile death threats against Jewish students. Patrick Dai, age 21, a junior at the university, posted some of the most horrible threats against Jewish students threatening to kill, rape and conduct a mass shooting on the campus.  The overarching dynamic, amid many U.S. colleges, has been to support the Hamas terrorists – such is the leftist infiltration and indoctrination that has essentially been unchecked for the past several years.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Patrick Dai, age 21, a junior at Cornell University who is originally from Pittsford, New York, was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint charging him with posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications.

[…] The complaint alleges that Dai posted threatening messages to the Cornell section of an online discussion site, including posts calling for the deaths of Jewish people and a post that said “gonna shoot up 104 west.” According to information provided by Cornell University Police and other public information, 104 West is a Cornell University dining hall that caters predominantly to Kosher diets and is located next to the Cornell Jewish Center, which provides residences for Cornell students. In another post, Dai allegedly threatened to “stab” and “slit the throat” of any Jewish males he sees on campus, to rape and throw off a cliff any Jewish females, and to behead any Jewish babies. In that same post, Dai threatened to “bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig jews.” (read more)

Obviously, the context here is disturbing.  Dai is just one student, but the ideology represented is carried by many of the professors and university faculty throughout mainstream U.S. universities; albeit perhaps with a less direct use of violent verbiage to describe their mindset.  However, the Chinese social media platforms are a current hotbed for antisemitism and extreme expressed hatred for Jews.

(more…)

Again, something not feeling right about this story from The Daily Mail relay.  Apparently, at some recent moment before the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack, a reporter from Russia Today was given a tour of Hamas tunnels below Gaza.  According to the article, there are approximately 300 miles of the tunnels, with some reaching 200 ft below the surface.

The engineering to build tunnels at a depth of 200 ft (60 meters) below the surface is a remarkable claim (think proximity to sea level).  The scale of the tunnels at 300 miles under such a small geographic region is another element that seems quite remarkable.  The report, originating from Russia Today, coming on the heels of western intelligence trying to frame Russia in connection to an alignment with Hamas, puts another element into the Suspicious Cat review.  The report almost seems too defensive and conveniently timed.  That said, it’s not impossible, just remarkable if true.

(Via Daily Mail) – […] A Russia Today (RT) reporter was allowed a rare visit inside the so-called ‘Gaza Metro’ which snakes for up to 300 miles under the war-torn enclave.

As the clip emerged, senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk was asked by another RT interviewer why they didn’t allow the beleaguered civilian population to shelter from the bombing in the tunnels.

His reply spoke volumes: ‘Protecting Gaza civilians is the responsibility of the UN and Israel…We have built the tunnels to protect ourselves from getting targeted and killed. These are meant to protect us from the airplanes.’

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Y’all know I have this weird affliction. It’s like a brain itch. I remember weird details.  Anyway, the long-convoluted story winds around former CIA Director George Tenet eventually getting a summer one-on-one with George “Dubya” Bush, after several months of being blocked by National Security Advisor Condi Rice.

In essence, the short version is, Tenet informed Dubya in the summer of ’01 of intel chatter about airplanes and terror threats.  Dubya asked for specifics, and Tenet is quoted as saying, “the gaps in our intelligence are real.” {citation either in Condi’s book, Rove’s book or Dubya’s book – I’ll find it} However, for the sake of this outline, watch what FBI Director Christopher Wray says today, in response to Senator Rick Scott. [PROMPTED – 3 minutes]

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Director Wray notes the FBI threat metric dropped during the Trump administration and has now increased during the Biden administration.  Then, in response to the follow up [5:40], Wray notes the FBI is not tracking “currently operating” terror cells or foreign terror cells in the United States.  WTF?   Then comes the money quote, “the gaps in our intelligence are real, and that’s something we have concerns about.”

I’m not saying the FBI is not tracking currently operating foreign terror cells located in the USA, FBI Director Christopher Wray is.

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Drop the pretense.  If you watch this testimony through the prism of the FBI knowing that domestic violent extremists, Hamas sympathizers and extremist elements of Islam, have been protected by political correctness, and if you accept the Obama administration and the professional political left are aligned specifically with Islamic interests, as expressed by the Muslim Brotherhood (ex CAIR), then this statement today by terrorism manager, FBI Director Chris Wray, looks exactly like what it is – ass covering.

Wray knows the likelihood for a domestic terrorist uprising is higher now than ever before, in part due to the open border risk created by the Obama/Biden administration.  This strong likelihood is exactly what our “Slowly at First” (SAF) discussions are all about.  The number of extremist elements aligned in support of Hamas is visible in the protests that have erupted nationwide.  Director Wray knows this, and he is covering his butt.  WATCH:

…”We assess that the actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration the likes of which we haven’t seen since ISIS launched its so-called caliphate years ago“…

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The culturally Marxist FBI organization does not and will not do anything to block, impede or stop any terrorist attack that comes from an ideologically protected category of personage.  This is why past terror attacks were successful, and how FBI supported domestic terror networks like Antifa are able to operate without concern.

I find it interesting that Director Wray indirectly cites 2011 Operation Red Coalition, as part of his historic context for the involvement of Iran in carrying out assassination efforts inside the U.S.  Those assassins came into the USA through the southern border as illegal aliens.

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