Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, FBI Director Kash Patel, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and other national security officials testify on threats to the U.S. amid the Iran war before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI).
The testimony begins at 10:00am ET, with livestream links below:
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The South Pars/North Dome field is a natural-gas condensate field located in the Persian Gulf. It is by far the world’s largest natural gas field, with ownership of the field shared between Iran and Qatar. According to the International Energy Agency, the field holds an estimated 1,800 trillion cubic feet of in-site natural gas.
President Trump is not happy about Israel’s unilateral decision to strike at the Pars gas field; however, pay attention to what Trump diplomatically describes as the motive:
[TRUTH SOCIAL] – “Israel, out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lashed out at a major facility known as South Pars Gas Field in Iran. A relatively small section of the whole has been hit. The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen.
Unfortunately, Iran did not know this, or any of the pertinent facts pertaining to the South Pars attack, and unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar’s LNG Gas facility.”
Sometimes things are just too funny. Less than 24 hours after President Trump said Europe’s refusal to escort their own oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz might lead him to reconsider staying in NATO, suddenly ships are en route.
Poland is sending two escort ships, Denmark says they are willing, France changes from no to maybe, and NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte says everyone is trying to figure out how to help. Huh, funny that.
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This could have been a challenging question for Vance to answer because both Vance and Kent are funded and supported by the same ideological donor, Billionaire Peter Thiel. [FYI Tucker is also in this stable] Thiel is a libertarian minded billionaire within Big Tech and not necessarily an ideological fan of Donald Trump or MAGA. Palantir is one of Thiels companies with CEO Alex Karp running it. Palantir is a major contractor within the national security apparatus.
JD Vance adroitly navigates the answer by saying once the President makes a decision, the role of all subordinates is to get behind that decision, and never openly compromise your leadership.
“It’s one thing to have a disagreement of opinion…That said, whatever your view is, when president of the United States makes a decision, it’s your job to help make that decision as effective and successful as possible…If you are on the team and you can’t help implement the decisions of his administration, he has the right to make those decisions, then it’s a good thing for you to resign. And I think that’s exactly right. It’s fine to disagree, but once the president makes a decision, it’s up to everybody who serves in his administration to make it as successful as possible.” WATCH:
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It’s obvious Team Thiel didn’t agree with the policy decision to attack Iran, that’s more of a neocon Team Ellison/Adelson policy move. However, JD Vance is very correct in how the Team Thiel horses within the administration should respond to the decision in trying to make it as successful as possible.
Thiel <-> Musk <-> Ellison
President Donald Trump is not happy with NATO allies over the issue of the Iran war and their refusal to escort oil out of the gulf region. President Trump criticized the EU member nations for refusing to support U.S. military efforts in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump is then asked questions about if he would reconsider the U.S. relationship with NATO, warning it’s “not good for a partnership,” and signaling possible reconsideration of U.S. ties with NATO. WATCH:
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The folks at the Lyndon LaRouche PAC are getting a ton of content to use in their anti-imperialism analysis as this conflict between President Trump, the U.K, the E.U and the NATO alliance continues.
The EU has balked at the request of President Trump to support military escorts for EU oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz destined for European Ports. However, it is the position of German Chancellor Fredrich Merz which really highlights the arrogance of the issue.
Germany has deactivated its nuclear reactors and decided not to purchase Russian oil/gas. As a consequence, the German industrial economy is contracting; the German auto industry is collapsing; German manufacturing plants are closing – and mass layoffs have been announced.
Into this self-created dynamic, Germany has become dependent on (1) Oil and Gas from the middle east, and (2) LNG from the USA. Germany is a completely dependent nation on the issue of energy production. Yet, this is Germanys position:
[SOURCE]
Setting aside for a moment that “the middle east is not a matter for NATO,” while reminding ourselves Ukraine is also not a NATO member state – yet Germany is supporting the pro-war ‘coalition of the willing,’ President Trump previously pointed out that NATO would never come to the aid of the USA when the Greenland Arctic Security debate was going on.
The EU in general, and Germany specifically, is essentially proving President Trump’s point. However, as a result of intentional migration, Germany has over five million Muslim residents now residing inside the country. We should consider that this overlay is also part of their internal political consideration.
What Chancellor Merz said next is almost too European to be real, but it is:
Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, has announced his resignation. Director Kent outlines his decision as driven by opposition to the war against Iran.
Kent, a senior deputy to Director of National intelligence Tulsi Gabbard posted his resignation letter on the X platform, writing: “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.” … “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
[SOURCE]
This is quite a remarkable development. Director Joe Kent’s full resignation letter is below, and out of an abundance of caution I prefer to await to see how President Trump and/or Tulsi Gabbard responds.
Earlier today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order creating the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, which will advise the President and coordinate government-wide efforts to combat widespread fraud, waste, and abuse in Federal benefit programs. [Executive Order Here]
According to the White House – The Vice President will serve as Chair of the Task Force, the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission will serve as Vice Chairman, the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security will serve as Senior Advisor, and an Executive Director will manage daily operations. Relevant cabinet secretaries and heads of government agencies will serve as Task Force members.
I dislike Mark Levin immensely. Long-time CTH readers know I have a very valid reason to dislike Mark Levin immensely. My approach was to essentially ignore “old yeller” as he shouts and rants about all the things he always shouts and rants about. I dislike Mark Levin very much; beyond what most here would define as immense.
That said, I also accept that -for whatever reason he has- President Donald J Trump does not hold the same opinion of Mark Levin. In fact, Donald Trump seems to like Mark Levin. As a consequence, I retain my peace and ignore everything that circles around their time together. However, this is also an ¹opportunity.
Mr Levin’s audience has been shrinking quite fast. The downward spiral has been happening with greater speed and increasing slope for around 15 years. The diminutive Mr Levin is now a visual representation of the Black Knight Monty Pyton skit. If the name was raised, I quietly just stared in southern.
♦ Within the great podcaster war of 2026, apparently Mrs. Megyn Kelly and Mr Mark Levin have been having a very public feud. I don’t know the details but given the reality of the past 12 months it probably surrounds Mr Levin’s Israel-First approach toward everything political. In the latest drama du jour, Mrs Kelly is said to have mentioned that Mr Levin has a small penis, a “micropenis.”
Mr Levin apparently picked up the phone and called his loyal friend, President Donald Trump. Likely looking for an ally of considerable consequence to boost his member-ship status. After all, Levin’s circle of influence is rather, well, small and shrinking.
Responding to questions about whether Japan would send military ships to the middle east to participate in escorts through the Strait of Hormuz, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi noted the current constitution blocks Japan from conducting overseas military operations.
Exactly as we outlined when President Trump first made the request via Truth Social {SEE HERE} Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi may want to support the request, but Japan’s post WWII constitution about military operations doesn’t permit it.
Japan’s military can be constitutionally defensive only.
While an argument might be made that escorting oil destined for eventual arrival in Japan may technically squeeze within a narrow interpretation of ‘defense’, considering the operation would take place far from Japan a highly conservative Sanae Takaichi is not going to try and thread that precarious needle.
TOKYO, March 16 (Reuters) – Japan has no plan to dispatch naval vessels to escort vessels in the Middle East, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Monday, after U.S. President Donald Trump called on allies to protect tankers traversing through the Strait of Hormuz.
“We have not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships. We are continuing to examine what Japan can do independently and what can be done within the legal framework,” Takaichi told parliament.