Today the U.S. Military carried out a precision-guided pin-prick bomb drop in Eastern Afghanistan carefully avoiding collateral damage…. LOL, JUST KIDDING..

…Trump just bombed the shit out of ISIS!

For the first time in combat, the U.S. Military dropped a 21,000 lb MOAB (Mother of All Bombs).  The official name of the weapon is the Massive Ordinance Air Blast Bomb, and it has never been used before in combat. It was tested by the U.S. in 2003.

The caves and tunnels in the Afghanistan province of Nangarhar have been particularly dangerous as ISIS fighters use them to nest their activity and launch attacks.  The 30 foot long, 10-ton MOAB detonates in the air and creates a concussive shock wave that blasts the ground and travels through the caves. (more…)

This speech was delivered March 21st 2016. With many people confused about President Trump and Syria, this reminder is worth the time and attention. Again, this was March 21st 2016:

[Transcript] Candidate Donald J Trump remarks to the AIPAC audience on March 21st 2016.

Good evening. I speak to you today as a lifelong supporter and true friend of Israel. I am a newcomer to politics but not to backing the Jewish state.

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On September 30th 2016 the New York Times quietly released a leaked audio recording of Secretary John Kerry meeting with multiple factions associated within Syria.

The 40-minute discussion took place on the sidelines of a United Nations General Assembly in New York. The meeting took place at the Dutch Mission to the United Nations on Sept. 22nd 2016:

[…]  Kerry’s off-record conversation was apparently with two dozen ‘Syrian civilians’, all from US backed opposition-linked NGO’s in education and medical groups supposedly working in ‘rebel-held’ (aka terrorist-held) areas in Syria.

This opposition conclave also included ‘rescue workers’ which can only be ambassadors from the White Helmets, a pseudo NGO which serves as Washington and London’s primary PR front in pursuit of a “No Fly Zone’ in Syria, and it’s being bankrolled by the US, UK, EU and other coalition states to the tune of well over $100 million (so far). (link)

When you listen to the audio recording (embedded below) it becomes immediately obvious what was going on in 2014, 2015 and 2016 as an outcome of policy from the White House.  In addition, you discover why this jaw-dropping 2016 leak/story was buried by the U.S. media and how it connects to the prior 4 years of perplexing U.S. mid-east policy.

This evidence within this single story would/should forever remove any credibility toward the U.S. foreign policy under President Obama.  It also destroys the credibility of a large number of well known republicans, and explains how the prior action has placed President Trump into a precarious position requiring a careful approach.

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It would appear, based on constructs from alternate governmental releases, that thankfully the prior AP report is not a surprise to Secretary Rex Tillerson.  A readout from a call between British Prime Minister Theresa May and U.S. President Donald Trump provides additional context to absorb the larger, and overarching, ally objectives.

As such it appears the international effort is focused on holding Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible for the actions of Syria’s Bashir Assad.   Toward that objective the international leadership is putting an absolute ton of responsibility on U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to be the tip of the spear.

To say all eyes are on T-Rex today would be the understatement of the year.  And ahead of his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Vladimir Putin is attempting to avoid the snare by refusing to grant T-Rex an audience.  Apparently, based on the action of Putin, Secretary T-Rex is considered a more formidable adversary than former Secretary of State John Kerry.

(Via Reuters) The Kremlin said on Monday that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will not meet President Vladimir Putin when he visits Moscow on Wednesday, a move that could point to tensions over a U.S. missile attack on a Syrian air base last week.

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Before getting to the interviews by current U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mrs. Rubio vis-à-vis Syria, it is important to reassert reference points that are being intentionally overlooked by media; reference points the MSM pundits intentionally hide.

Point One – Russia, Iran and Syria’s President Bashir Assad care primarily about one thing: keeping Bashir Assad in power.  All other influential objectives are secondary to this primary intention.  All of the actions taken by Russia, Iran and the Syrian Government are specifically focused on keeping Bashir Assad in power.

Point Two – All historic action taken by the Russian, Iranian and Syrian participants are to eliminate the opposition to Assad.  Goal #1 keep Assad in power, necessitates goal #2 eliminate Assad’s opposition.

Point Three – So long as Russia, Iran and the Syrian Regime can use the terrorism of ISIS as a foil they will continue to do so.   As long as the appearance of Assad fighting ISIS remains the cognitive reference point of the international community – it is easier to keep Assad in power.

Point Four – Therefore the continued ground action of ISIS becomes a tool, a foil, to keep pressure away from the international community focusing on Assad’s removal.

Point Five – It is currently more beneficial for the objectives of Russia and Iran for the ISIS terrorism narrative to remain in place.  The Syrian regime can survive with Assad, and accomplish the agenda of Russia and Iran,  so long as the appearance of fighting ISIS remains the international optic.

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We have watched the Muslim Brotherhood and ISIS target Egypt ever since secular President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi brought stability back to the country.  Now with the clear outlines of the al-Sisi “freedom alliance” in place, ISIS strikes back in an attempt to destabilize the country.

Today, Palm Sunday, ISIS targeted two Christian communities in Egypt with suicide bombings.  The first bombing, targeted Tanta, a Nile Delta city about 100 km (60 miles) north of Cairo.  The terrorists attacked St. George Church during its Palm Sunday service, killing at least 27 people and injuring at least 78, the Ministry of Health said.

The second bombing was just a few hours later in Alexandria.  The terrorists targeted a more consequential Christian venue, Saint Mark’s Cathedral; the historic seat of the Coptic Pope.  This is where President al-Sisi previously attended Christmas Mass in a visible display of historic secular solidarity toward the Christian ministry in Egypt.

During the St. Mark’s mass attack today the terrorists killed 17 people, including three police officers, and injuring 48, according to the Coptic the ministry. Coptic Pope Tawadros was leading the mass and thankfully, according to the ministry, he was not injured.

ISIS is trying again to create chaos and destabilize Egypt through religious extremism and terrorism.    President al-Sisi has initiated an immediate nation-wide state of emergency, calling upon the Egyptian military to protect the civilian population.  (more…)

There is a predictable disconnect amid political followers who have not paid close attention to the direct Mid-East visitors to the Donald Trump White House regarding the origin of the chemical weapons use in Syria.

Focusing on who used chemical weapons is a moot point in the larger issue of the Syrian conflict. It doesn’t matter whether ISIS “rebels” deployed them or whether Bashir Assad used them against the “rebels” when contemplating President Trump’s response to stop using them. The victims are Syrians. The regional alliance members don’t care who used them. The message is to stop.

We could make a solid argument that either interested party: Bashir Assad or “the rebels” (al-Qaeda, ISIS, al-Nusra et al) had motive and opportunity to use chemical weapons.

We’ve written for several years about the manipulative intentions of both sides, all sides, in the Syrian conflict. We’ve written about President Obama’s policies toward Syria and how his administration armed and equipped all elements; gaining nothing except a horrific death toll and chaotic civil war as an outcome.

We’ve provided lengthy and cited research on arms into Syria from Obama, Clinton and Kerry. The Benghazi Brief outlined Man-Pads and chemical weapons delivered to Syria as an outcome of the collapse within Libya.  We’ve outlined the Libyan weapons caches that became the Jihadist market/yard-sale. We’ve also documented weapons deliveries directly from the State Department using actual recorded audio admissions of Secretary Kerry to his Syrian benefactors.

Additionally, no-one questions whether Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, Assad’s BFF, delivered stock piles of his own chemical weapons to Syria, because it was well documented.  Both Bashir Assad and Saddam Hussein previously used chemical weapons.   Historically Hussein used Chemical Weapons to kill up to 300,000 Kurds in Northern Iraq.

None of this is in doubt.

To argue if Assad used chemical weapons again last week is really an irrelevant issue when you stop and think about Bashir Assad’s political position in 2017. (more…)

Sweden becomes the latest country to be attacked by terrorists using trucks and vehicles as deadly weapons.  Similar attacks have taken place in London England, Nice France, Berlin Germany; and now Stockholm Sweden.

At least four people are dead and dozens injured as the terrorist hijacked and used a beer delivery truck to drive through the crowed street in Stockholm and plow over victims.

(Via CNN) […] The Swedish Security Service said the attack happened just before 3 p.m. local time. People were seen fleeing the area in panic.

A beer truck was hijacked as it made a delivery nearby, according to the company that owned it. Eyewitnesses reported it being driven at speed along Drottninggatan (Queen Street) before it crashed into the front of a department store.

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Political commentator and extraordinarily brilliant satirist Mark Steyn was on Fox and Friends this morning to provide his perspective on President Trump’s decision to take action in Syria.

Steyn brilliantly frames the issues. [Hat Tip Stella]

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Additionally, a point that apparently needs to be made. Idiot MSM pundits like Jake Tapper, though it’s not exclusive to Tapper, keep pointing out the 2013 tweet by President Trump warning Obama about action in Syria and framing their narrative about “what changed?” etc.

Just for clarity. Between the 2013 tweet by non candidate Trump and the 2017 action by President Trump, there was a 2014 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) voted and approved by Senate committee  permitting military action in Syria against the backdrop of chemical weapon use and terrorism.

I swear sometimes the MSM are flippin’ idiots, then I remind myself of the David Mamet principle: “In order for left-wing ideologues to keep espousing their cognitively disconnected talking points they need to pretend they don’t know things.”

Yes, indeed.  Pretending not to know things is a useful pretense.

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As the international community takes stock of the ramifications of President Donald Trump’s narrowly focused and strategic military strike against a Syrian air base, Syria’s Bashir Assad vows to fight ISIS even harder; sans chemical weapons.

“This aggression has increased Syria’s resolve to hit those terrorist agents, to continue to crush them, and to raise the pace of action to that end wherever they are.” ~ Bashir Assad

Good.

It is prudent for all interested observers to think sequentially and logically about the deliberative action taken by U.S. President Trump; and not expand or infer a larger motive than is currently evidenced within the scope of the engagement.

There are a myriad of outlying issues and exponential micro-ramifications.  However, there is every indication the current administration fully accepts the larger understanding that only two central elements are present in the Syrian conflict:  Bashir Assad -vs- Extremist Jihadists’ (al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, ISIS, et al.)

It is also prudent to remind ourselves the key principle behind the direct regional talks previously outlined (non-discussed in MSM) has been a clear understanding -between President Trump and the regional coalition they have formed- that ALL EXTREMISM must be confronted in order to achieve the desired regional result.

That said, last night, in the immediate aftermath of the strikes, Secretary of State T-Rex and National Security Advisor McMasters, outlined the reasoning, objectives and substantive considerations behind the U.S. decision.

The media is not adequately reporting on this briefing (all emphasis mine): (more…)