The White House released the following statement:

“Today, America’s heart is heavy. Last night, three U.S. service members were killed—and many wounded—during an unmanned aerial drone attack on our forces stationed in northeast Jordan near the Syria border.  While we are still gathering the facts of this attack, we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq.” (LINK)

A few more details are starting to emerge including the number of “many wounded.”  According to recent media reports 25 were wounded along with the 3 killed.

Yahoo – “Biden said the United States “will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing.”

There was no immediate reaction from Jordan, a kingdom bordering Iraq, Israel, the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, Saudi Arabia and Syria.

U.S. troops long have used Jordan as a basing point, and the attack took place in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border. U.S. Central Command said 25 service members were injured the attack in addition to the three killed.

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Evidence has been shown to the Biden administration and the United Nations that 12 members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) were actual participants in the October 7th Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel.

Yes, you read that correctly. The U.N. was an actual participant in the premeditated slaughter of Israeli citizens.

(Via Axios) The State Department on Friday said it is pausing additional funding for the UN Palestinian refugee agency after Israel alleged 12 UNRWA employees were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack.

The big picture: It’s the first step by the Biden administration against UNRWA since renewing U.S. funding to the agency after the Trump administration completely cut it off.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the U.S. is “extremely troubled by the allegations” and the administration has “temporarily paused additional funding for UNRWA while we review these allegations and the steps the United Nations is taking to address them.”

State Dept – “The United States is extremely troubled by the allegations that twelve UNRWA employees may have been involved in the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.  The Department of State has temporarily paused additional funding for UNRWA while we review these allegations and the steps the United Nations is taking to address them.

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It is often said in recent years that events in Europe present as the precursor for events that later follow in the U.S. and North America.  Indeed, there are many points of reference which support this outlook.

According to recent media reporting, various state police agencies in Europe took action against Islamic extremists, identified as ISIS-k affiliates, to stop planned terror attacks against Christian targets, specifically well-known cathedrals, this Christmas holiday season.   The events took place in Austria and Germany, with targets identified in Vienna and Western Germany.

(Jerusalem Post) – Austrian, German, and Spanish police were on high alert at cathedrals in several cities due to concerns that Islamists were planning a terrorist attack on Christmas or New Year’s Eve, with several suspects already arrested in Vienna and Germany, according to German reports.

According to the Bild, several suspects were arrested in the Ottakring district of Vienna, while another was arrested in Saarland, Germany.  The arrested suspects are Tajiks allegedly affiliated with the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, the branch of ISIS in south-central Asia, according to the report.

Vienna Police noted in a press release that there is an “increased terror alert level” and “generally an increased risk in Austria during the Christmas holidays.”

“Since terrorist actors across Europe are calling for attacks on Christian events – especially around [Christmas Eve,] December 24 – the security authorities have increased the corresponding protective measures in public spaces in Vienna and the federal states,” Vienna Police said, adding that there would be increased patrols and surveillance during the holidays, with attention focused primarily on churches, religious events, and Christmas markets. (read more)

I would be remiss if I did not add context to this report, literal boots on the ground reporting, something that many U.S. readers might find of interest.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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