The LA Times is providing an update to the ground assessment from the use of the 10+ ton MOAB bomb dropped in Afghanistan.  The number of ISIS killed rises to 94.

“The bomb’s reverberations wave frightened me so badly. I have witnessed thousands of battles, but no bomb scared me like this one did.”  ~ Hanifullah (62-year-old Shodal Resident)

Afghans describe how the MOAB destroyed the ISIS camp and may have killed 100 fighters. 36 ISIS are confirmed dead. pic.twitter.com/ojAZgOWfBL

— Kevin W. (@kwilli1046) April 14, 2017

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Via LA Times –  Afghan officials said Saturday that 94 militants were killed in a massive U.S. bomb blast targeting Islamic State’s regional affiliate, nearly three times as many as was reported a day earlier. (more…)

The Afghan Ministry of Defense said Friday that 36 ISIS fighters and no civilians were killed when the U.S. dropped a massive bomb on a militant tunnel complex the day before.

(Via AP) A strike by the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the U.S. military killed 36 Islamic State group militants and left no civilian casualties, hitting a tunnel complex in the remote mountains of eastern Afghanistan, Afghan officials said Friday.

The massive bomb terrified villagers 20 miles away across the border in Pakistan with a blast they described as earsplitting.

(more…)

A background briefing transcript from yesterday might aid in larger understanding of White House policy and strategic objectives toward Syria, Russia, North Korea and China.

[Transcript] – SENIOR ADMINISTRATON OFFICIAL:  (In progress) — on the relationship between the leaders of the United States, our President and Premier Xi, and then applying that newly formed relationship to complex problem sets from the Middle East to Northeast Asia, and then a result in the United Nations, it helps advance our mutual interests and the interests of all civilized people.

So I think it’s difficult to portray this as anything but a really great week for our citizens and the United States.

♦  Q    Thanks so much.  Japanese media is reporting that the USS Carl Vinson is in operations with the Japanese naval forces.  As you know, they have a (inaudible.)  What happens if there is a confrontation this week between North Korean forces and Japanese and U.S. forces?  And how will you prevent this from spiraling into a broader military conflict?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATON OFFICIAL:  Well, as you heard from the President many times, we’re not in the business of trying to predict with a high degree of certainty precisely what our response is going to be.

I think what we demonstrated last week was the ability of the President’s national security team to come together, convened by the National Security Council, to look at events such as those that might occur on the Korean Peninsula, quickly analyze those events, place them in context with U.S. vital interests, establish objectives that protect American citizens and advance our interests, and then develop and present the President with options.

So we have a team that is, I think, particularly adept at doing that.  And if there were to be continued destabilizing and aggressive behavior by the North Korean regime, that’s how the national security team would respond. (more…)

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.

(more…)

According to Russian state media reports President Vladimir Putin has reversed his prior position will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.   This is the first flinch from Putin and highlights his awareness of how weakened his political hand has become.

The Trump administration, led by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, has maneuvered a strong-play (punched Assad, Russia and Iran directly where it hurts) and gathered the support of a massive international audience.

Putin’s intransigence and unwillingness to state publicly that chemical weapons are out-of-bounds, has created his isolation and diminishment. Additionally, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley made Russia’s Deputy Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov look like a disconnected apologist for Assad’s brutality at the emergency U.N meeting.

Prior attempts to play out the optic of the unaffected strong-man (staying away from direct talks with T-Rex), have now collapsed and the political optic reversed.  Secretary Tillerson looms internationally as the tower of moral strength.  Instead of projecting strength President Putin looks weak, cowered and afraid of T-Rex on the international stage.  Hence, it does not come as a surprise to hear Vladimir Putin has reversed his decision:

(Via Daily Mail) Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Donald Trump’s chief diplomat after all during his stay in Moscow, a Russian television station has reported.

Putin’s spokesman said Monday that the foreign leader did not plan to see Rex Tillerson, the US secretary of state. Tillerson was to meet with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, instead.

(more…)

General James Mattis is anticipated to deliver his first Pentagon briefing since becoming Secretary of Defense. Mattis is anticipated to discuss Syria, Russia, North Korea and China and the U.S. military contingencies toward that end.  Anticipated start time 3:30pm ET

Update: Full Video Added

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…”I think what we have to look at here is a policy decision by the United States.  There is a limit to what we can do.  And when you look at what happened with this chemical attack we knew that we could not stand passive on this.  But it was not a statement that we could enter full-fledged, full-bore, into the most complex civil war – probably waging on the planet, at this time.”

~ Defense Secretary James Mattis

(more…)

Prior to leaving the G7 Summit in Italy, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson deliberately outlined the U.S. policy and objectives toward: Syria, the Syrian People, Bashir Assad, Russia and the extremist Jihadist elements on the ground in Syria.

The statement and answers to the questions are intensely important [transcript below], particularly the clarity from Secretary Tillerson regarding the future of Bashir Assad. Do not focus on the media interpretation of T-Rex’s words; listen and watch directly the words themselves.

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[TRANSCRIPT] SECRETARY TILLERSON: Good morning. I’ve got a statement. I want to share it first, and then I’m happy to take a couple of questions.

Last week, Bashar al-Assad’s regime killed even more of its own people using chemical weapons. Our missile strike in response to his repeated use of banned weapons was necessary as a matter of U.S. national security interest.

We do not want the regime’s uncontrolled stockpile of chemical weapons to fall into the hands of ISIS or other terrorist groups who could, and want to, attack the United States or our allies.

(more…)

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.

(more…)

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.

(more…)