U.S. Secretary to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, appears on CBS to discuss the political angles to the U.S. military operation against Iran.  There was some critical questioning about whether Iran was factually capable of sending a missile from Iran to the U.S. base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.   Ambassador Waltz seems to question the reporting on their capabilities.  Video and Transcript Below:

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s Charlie D’Agata reporting in Arad, Israel. We’re joined now by the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, and it’s good to have you here in person.

AMB. MIKE WALTZ: Thank you, Margaret.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So Ambassador, on Friday, the president tweeted, “The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not!” And then last night he threatened that if Iran doesn’t fully open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours from the time of his post, the US will “hit and obliterate” their power plants, starting with the “biggest one first.” So which is it, is the U.S. opening Hormuz by force or having others do it.

AMB. WALTZ: Well, I think it can be both. It’s not necessarily mutually exclusive. I am glad you are having NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on. I think at his urging and his leadership, we have now seen Italy, Germany, France and a number of others commit to help with this effort.

(more…)

Margaret Brennan’s husband is a Syrian Muslim named Major Ali Iyad Yakub, who goes by the nickname ‘Yado’.  He served in the U.S. military. Mrs. Brennan studied abroad at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan, and Yakub’s sister, Samia Yakub, was her roommate. Mr. Yakub founded Y2 Global Advisory specializing in global intelligence, communications, and government relations. He also worked for Senator Joe Biden on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  Margaret Brennan and Ali Iyad Yakub have two children together.

NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte appears on CBS Face the Nation to discuss the European opinion of the U.S. military operation against Iran, and outline how many countries within the NATO alliance are prepared to support the ongoing effort to eliminate the threat Iran represented.  Video and Transcript Below:

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, who joins us this morning from The Hague in the Netherlands. Welcome back to ‘Face The Nation.’

NATO SECRETARY GENERAL MARK RUTTE: Margaret, good to be back on the program. Good morning.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning. We did see that Iran fired two missiles at Diego Garcia. That’s that island in the Indian Ocean, which houses a U.S. UK joint base. That was 4000 kilometers from Iranian territory, furthest Iran has ever gone. You just heard Ambassador Waltz say there might be a difference there in how Israel and the U.S. assess that capability Iran has in terms of what they fired. But Israel says these were intercontinental ballistic missiles that could hit Berlin, Paris and Rome. Does NATO share that Israeli assessment?

SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: We cannot confirm that at the moment, so we’re looking into that. But if this would be true, it is the more evidence that what the President is doing here, taking out the ballistic missile capability, taking out the nuclear capability from Iran, is crucial. And exactly as the ambassador just said, Ambassador Waltz, we have seen with North Korea, if we negotiate for too long, you might pass the moment where you can still get this thing done, and North Korea now has the nuclear capability. If Iran would have the nuclear capability, including, together with the missile capability, it will be a direct threat, a existential threat, to Israel, to the region, to Europe, to the stability in the world. So the president doing this is crucial, and I’ve seen the polling, but I really hope the American people will be with him, because he is doing this to make the whole world safer.

(more…)

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appears on NBC News to outline the purpose and intents of the lifting sanctions as it pertains to Russian and Iranian oil shipments currently in transit.  The video and transcript below:

[Transcript] – KRISTEN WELKER: And joining me now is treasury secretary Scott Bessent. Secretary Bessent, welcome back to Meet the Press.

SEC. SCOTT BESSENT: Kristen, good morning.

KRISTEN WELKER: Good morning. Good to have you back. I want to start with the latest of what we’re hearing from President Trump. Let me read you what he posted overnight. He says, “If Iran doesn’t fully open, without threat, the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various power plants, starting with the biggest one first.” Has the president changed his mind about winding down the war, as he said a day earlier, and instead plans to escalate?

SEC. SCOTT BESSENT: I think he said he could wind the war down at any time he wants. And, Kristen, this is the only language the Iranians understand.

KRISTEN WELKER: But this seems to be an escalation, a threat of escalation, and it seems to run counter to his statement that he, in fact, wants to wind down the war.

SEC. SCOTT BESSENT: Again, Kristen, the president’s been very clear from the beginning that the goals are: destroy the Iranian air force and the navy, to completely demolish their missile capabilities, demolish their ability to replenish those capabilities, make sure the Iranians cannot have a nuclear weapon and stop their ability to project power internationally. And the president will take whatever steps it takes to achieve those goals.

(more…)

Recently when the Anthropic software and ideology conflict with the Pentagon surfaced as a result of limits placed by the provider, alternative provider Palantir’s CEO remarked that any AI developer who challenges the U.S. military application of the product was foolish because the U.S. government could just take control of the company under the claim of national security.

In essence, Palantir CEO Alex Karp was saying AI developers who contract with the govt ultimately become bound to the limits or lack thereof as determined by the govt.  If software developers want to contract with the military, then fight the Pentagon over use of those software applications, they will lose.

In response to the Anthropic issue, the Pentagon withdrew from their purchase arrangements and blacklisted them from further federal contracts.

Now a report is highlighting that Palantir will take the lead position in providing the software, the Maven Smart System, for the core U.S. military functions.

As described, “Maven is a software platform that uploads information from drones, satellites, sensors, radar, and other battlefield intelligence sources. The system then analyzes battlefield data in real time, identifying and prioritizing potential targets — including buildings, enemy vehicles, and weapons and ammunition stockpiles — for intelligence analysts to review and act on.”

(more…)

In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

(more…)

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

.

(more…)

Democrats have refused to fund the Dept of Homeland Security which means the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials are working at reduced capacity.  This is slowing down security times at airports and creating massive delays for U.S. air travelers.  The problem has been worsening day-by-day for well over a week.

President Trump announced today that if Democrats don’t fund DHS/TSA, he will move Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers into TSA positions with the benefit of creating an illegal alien catch net.

PRESIDENT TRUMP – “If the Radical Left Democrats don’t immediately sign an agreement to let our Country, in particular, our Airports, be FREE and SAFE again, I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before, including the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country, with heavy emphasis on those from Somalia, who have totally destroyed, with the approval of a corrupt Governor, Attorney General, and Congresswoman, Ilhan Omar, the once Great State of Minnesota. I look forward to seeing ICE in action at our Airports. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”  ~ President DONALD J. TRUMP

President Trump then followed up his Truth Social announcement with another emphatic statement emphasizing it.

(more…)

The Clinton exoneration FBI Team became the Trump investigation FBI Team (Crossfire Hurricane) – which then became the Robert Mueller FBI Team (exact same people, plus some additions) – which then became the J6 Investigation FBI Team (exact same people, plus some additions) – which then became the Jack Smith FBI Team (same exact people).  Not only was it one long continuum, but it was also the EXACT SAME PEOPLE.

Before there was the obvious cognitive decline of Joe Biden, there was the obvious cognitive incapacity of Robert Mueller.  However, both acuity compromises were ignored because the agenda the figureheads represented was more important than their obvious compromise.  We talked about it throughout the special counsel timeframe that held his name.

Robert Mueller was a figurehead with no structural input or control over the Trump-Russia special counsel probe.  Factually, Andrew Weissmann was in control over the special counsel investigation, albeit with daily support from the entire Lawfare network.  President Trump’s notice about Robert Mueller’s death is understandable:

[SOURCE]

I’ve always said to pay attention to the people in Washington DC, specifically the republicans, who claimed Robert Mueller was an honorable figure.  As soon as you hear that sentiment, you know that is a corrupt conniving bastard speaking.

Everyone in Washington DC knew what the role of Robert Mueller was during the first-term administration of Donald Trump.  No one in Washington DC did not know.  Anyone who says the Mueller motive was to investigate Trump-Russia is a deceptive liar.  They all knew what the goal of Mueller was.

(more…)

According to multiple media and government accounts, Iran targeted the joint U.S-UK base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean with two intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM).

This is significant because Diego Garcia is 4,000 km away from where the missiles were launched and would indicate that all of Europe was within the strike zone as President Donald Trump previously warned.

Europe and the NATO alliance previously said Iran did not possess such capabilities. Apparently, they do.

As noted by Defense Security, “This attempted strike occurred around day 22 of the latest escalation cycle in the U.S.–Israel–Iran confrontation, reinforcing the view among defense planners that Tehran is prepared to expand its missile envelope to threaten strategic rear-area bases supporting Western operations rather than limiting attacks to regional targets within the Persian Gulf.”

“Diego Garcia’s distance of roughly 3,800 – 4,000 km from Iran makes the launch operationally significant because it suggests either the use of a lighter warhead estimated at approximately 300–500 kg or the deployment of a previously undisclosed extended-range variant, both of which indicate a deliberate demonstration of reach rather than a conventional strike attempt.”

According to the reports, one missile failed in flight whilst the other was engaged by a U.S. destroyer utilizing an SM-3 interceptor; however, as of this writing a successful interception was not confirmed.

Regardless, neither of the missiles hit the base.  Iranian long-range precision missiles have not previously been publicly assessed as having this kind of range.

(more…)

President Trump released the following message via Truth Social:

“We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran: (1) Completely degrading Iranian Missile Capability, Launchers, and everything else pertaining to them. (2) Destroying Iran’s Defense Industrial Base. (3) Eliminating their Navy and Air Force, including Anti Aircraft Weaponry. (4) Never allowing Iran to get even close to Nuclear Capability, and always being in a position where the U.S.A. can quickly and powerfully react to such a situation, should it take place. (5) Protecting, at the highest level, our Middle Eastern Allies, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and others. The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not! If asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn’t be necessary once Iran’s threat is eradicated. Importantly, it will be an easy Military Operation for them. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

~President DONALD J. TRUMP

(more…)