According to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) four Americans were wounded, two killed and one missing following a ballistic missile and drone attack upon Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan last night.
TAMPA, Fla. — On July 17, two U.S. service members in Jordan were killed in action as U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. Additionally, one service member is currently missing.
Four American service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals. They have since been discharged. Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty.
Out of respect for the families, CENTCOM will withhold additional information, including the identities of the fallen warriors, until 24 hours after the next of kin have been notified. {Source}
President Trump calls-in to Fox Morning to discuss the passing of his friend Senator Lindsey Graham and other events of importance. The discussion about Graham is the first 8 minutes.
The interview is prompted to [8:04] the segment where President Trump is discussing the current status of insufferable negotiations with a duplicitous Iranian negotiating team. Obviously, President Trump is done with the word games and efforts of the Iran regime to “tap along” the negotiations while never intending to uphold their word or promises.
Previously the Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain) urged President Trump to ignore the statements and promises from Iran as they could not be trusted. However, the GCC -which is ironic considering Qatar intermediaries- then tried to directly negotiate with Iran using Pakistan.
Collectively the GCC, Trump and now NATO are all in the same frame of thinking that Iran is simply just playing games. As a consequence, U.S. and allied military action is now taking place against Iran on multiple fronts. WATCH:
NATO Ambassador Matthew Whitaker appears on CNN with Jake Tapper to discuss the recent 2026 NATO assembly in Ankara, Turkey. Tapper asks Whitaker about the New York Times report on Airforce One and subsequent DOJ subpoenas, and Whitaker doesn’t take the bait, “not in my purview.” WATCH:
At a certain point it all becomes so tiresome to watch unfold.
Senators Lindsey Graham, Mike Rounds, Jeanne Shaheen, Dick Durban and Chris Coons, together with previously removed House Intelligence Committee Chair, Representative Mike Turner, use taxpayer funds for a trip to Ankara, Turkey, to poke their nose in the latest NATO gathering and coordinate with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. WATCH:
The pontificating Congressional Delegation (CODEL) are visiting the NATO summit on behalf of their paymasters within the military industrial complex who have advocated along with the Europeans for expanded military hardware.
Both Raytheon and Lockheed Martin are positioned to gain billions in revenue from the sale of Patriot missile systems to NATO Europe and via PURL to Ukraine. It is not coincidental that Raytheon and Lockheed Martin pay both republicans and democrats in the U.S. Senate for legislative outcomes to enhance their profits.
However, that said, the transparency of purpose is sickening. Taxpayers are in an abusive relationship with government.
President Donald Trump and the non-elected leader of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey.
After customary gracious and diplomatic introductions, President Trump held a presser taking questions from the assembled press pool. The first question was on the issue of Iran targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz, with President Trump noting each aggressive action by Iran will be met with massive retaliatory action from the U.S. military.
“For 47-years they have been the bully of the Middle-East,” Trump noted, “they are not going to be the bully anymore.”
On the subject of Russia-Ukraine, President Trump complimented Ukraine’s military bravery and stated his belief that Russia is in position to seek a ceasefire agreement. In a remarkable surprise, President Trump also noted the U.S. is going to give licenses to build Patriot Missile systems in Europe, and those missiles will likely be sold to Ukraine.
President Trump held a bilateral meeting with NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte earlier today during the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey.
WATCH THIS ONE!
During the press availability President Trump noted the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran has been essentially nullified, and the U.S. is responding with 20:1 retaliatory military strike into Iran. Trump noted “they’re scum” when discussing the lies from the Iranian regime.
Moving to NATO, President Trump specifically called out the weak NATO members who stood by and did nothing while Iran was building nuclear threats. President Trump called out France, Germany and the U.K. specifically, with a strong condemnation of Spain for their political interference.
President Trump pulled no punches and further stated that all U.S. trade with Spain should be immediately discontinued as a consequence of their interference and lack of support for security goals and objectives. WATCH:
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Do not skip this press availability. President Trump speaks plainly about the geopolitical dynamics throughout the region and beyond. This is a level of brutal honesty that will never be repeated in American politics.
Things are coming together quickly now as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney begins unveiling details to support his illusion of meeting NATO obligations, with a smart money laundering assist from Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
To establish part of the background, remind yourself that former Canadian Minister Chrystia Freeland was appointed by Zelenskyy to lead a Ukraine redevelopment operation. Today, speaking from Ankara, Turkey, Carney and Zelenskyy announced a $900 million fund for short, mid-term and long-term investment in Ukraine. WATCH:
But wait, it gets much better. A few hours later Prime Minister Carney and Volodymr Zelenskyy announced a new Canada-based financial institution called the Defense, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB). {citation}
CANADA – […] “Mark Carney, welcomed the support for the Canada-led DSRB by: Albania, Belgium, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, Romania, Türkiye, and Ukraine. These countries will be entrusted with defining the initial policies and directives of the Bank, shaping its operations and ensuring benefits flow to members’ economies.”
[…] Leveraging a strong credit rating, the Bank will provide long-term, low-cost financing for defence, security, and resilience initiatives across supply chains.” (more)
President Trump and Turkish President Recep Erdogan hold a bilateral meeting in Ankara, Turkey, ahead of the beginning of the NATO summit. President Trump and President Erdogan exchanged pleasantries, appreciation and mutual respect in their introduction with the media. Video Prompted to 01:45
The first question to President Trump was about selling F-35’s to Turkey. President Trump notes the issue should not be controversial as Turkey is a NATO ally. People who are concerned about F-35 sales, should publicly explain why a NATO member should be denied an allied weapon.
President Trump also noted there is a chemistry of honesty between himself and President Erdogan. He said directly if the NATO summit were not being held in Ankara, there is a strong possibility President Trump would not have attended. This positions Erdogan with strong respect as expressed by President Trump.
Again, President Trump outlines the specifics of why the European members of NATO are no longer reliable allies. In a weird way this is the exact same long-term position of Turkey and explains the synergy between the two leaders on the issue.
FACT: It has been over 60-years since Canada purchased a submarine. FACT: Canada has never built one. FACT: Currently the Canadian military have ONE operable submarine out of a fleet of four used ones previously purchased. FACT: Canada recently proclaimed themselves as the North American defender of the Arctic.
Now, put all those facts in the overlay of the December 2024 meeting in Mar-a-Lago between President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. President Trump was demanding that Trudeau increase their NATO spending and develop a working Canadian military.
Someone recently asked in the comments section why I have an issue with Canada, specifically why a new level of distain for our Northern neighbors. Quite simply, there is a level of lying that exceeds my tongue bite capacity; that level of deceit comes when fabricating lies is accompanied by pretending. The Canadian government is the worst type of political abuser. They willfully pretend and simultaneously lie to the Canadian people. That’s the answer.
Today, the government of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announce that German industrial shipbuilder TKMS will be awarded a contract for “up to 12 submarines” valued between $20 and $30 billion {source link}. Now, let’s not pretend.
First, the submarine contract is intended to get Canada back into reasonable position on their NATO obligations.
In reality, it is quite remarkable to think about the Canadian nation with only one currently functional submarine. “Canada hasn’t purchased unused submarines since the 1960s, during the Cold War, and has never ordered anywhere near 12 at once. Canada currently owns four subs, all of which were purchased second-hand, and only one of which is typically operational.” {citation} Now, think about that Mar-a-Lago conversation again.
Against the backdrop of President Trump, Secretary Rubio and Secretary Hegseth pointedly telling NATO of the U.S. intention to draw-down U.S. military operations from Europe, NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte flies to Washington DC to make the pro-NATO sales pitch directly to President Trump.
In one of the most transparent appearances in oval office history, a passionate, self-interested and professionally demure Mark Rutte pours on the praise for President Trump and puts on a massive sales pitch. You can tell from President Trump’s demeanor, tone and general ambivalence, he too can see how over the top the praise and back-slapping is.
Secretary Rutte was intensely and diplomatically focused on not allowing any accurate criticism or statement of disappointment from President Trump be left unchallenged to frame the tone and context of the meeting by the media. This is quite a desperate spectacle to witness when you understand the stakes for Europe which were carried by Rutte. WATCH:
CTH readers can see through the professionally demure motivations of the NATO secretary, and it was obvious from President Trump’s response that Rutte was transparently playing to the U.S. audience and DC stakeholders. That said, you’ve got to give Rutte credit for tap-dancing that fine line.
It was a great sales pitch, and President Trump was very courteous and respectful of the showmanship, but I doubt President Trump was moved much. The G7 assembly in Turkey will be very interesting.
