Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, hold a press briefing at the Pentagon.

Secretary Hegseth and General Caine spoke of attending the return ceremony for the refueling crews killed in the recent combat mission, then gave an operations update.   General Caine noted the recent operation to drop 5,000/lb ground penetrating bombs along the coast to destroy underground missile and drone launch facilities.

General Caine also confirmed that A-10 Warthog fighters are deployed to hunt and destroy Iranian fast boat terror missions.  The media Q&A begins at 20:05.  WATCH: 

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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.”

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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.

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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 †

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Representative Don Bacon is openly and publicly in opposition to every President Trump policy.  Bacon is a ‘professional republican’, a traditional DeSantis republican.

Appearing on CNN the Nebraska Republican says if President Trump were to leave NATO, “there would be a civil war in the republican caucus.”  WATCH (prompted):

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In fulfilling her legislatively mandated annual report called the “National Threat Assessment,” Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, releases the combined intelligence assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.

You can read the Unclassified 2026 National Threat Assessment Here

Additionally, here is the transcript of DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s statement to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence:

[TRANSCRIPT] – “I am here today to present the 2026 Annual Threat Assessment, joined by the Directors of the CIA, DIA, FBI and NSA.

This briefing is being provided in accordance with ODNI’s statutory responsibility and represents the Intelligence Community’s assessment of the threats facing U.S. citizens, our Homeland, and our interests.

As President Trump’s National Security Strategy highlights, America is blessed with an enviable geostrategic position, unparalleled assets, resources and a military second to none. Intelligence remains among our sharpest tools in protecting our interests and informing our policymakers and decisionmakers on key national security concerns.

In this assessment, we are following the structure of priorities laid out in the National Security Strategy, starting with threats to our Homeland, then shifting to global risks.

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This is very interesting because Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer went to Paris last weekend to meet with their Chinese counterparts and organize the deliverables for the upcoming summit between Chairman Xi Jinping and President Trump.

At roughly the same moment that Bessent and Greer were meeting with China, President Trump sent out the Truth Social message requesting Chinese ships to come to the Strait of Hormuz and escort their oil.  I said at the time of Trump’s message that Chairman Xi was going to have to negotiate through this issue carefully because it was very obvious that President Trump was not going to maintain any diplomatic pretenses when he met with Chairman Xi.

Yesterday, during the St Patrick’s Day celebration President Trump said the summit was cancelled. “We’re resetting the meeting and it looks like it’ll take place in about five weeks,” President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office in an event with Micheál Martin, the Irish prime minister.

Today, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed there is no scheduled replacement date for the cancelled summit.

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Keep watching.  Bessent and Greer didn’t go to Paris for nothing.

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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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Vice President JD Vance was asked about NCTC Director Joe Kent resigning from his position over a disagreement surrounding the Iran conflict.

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

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Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Kash Patel are scheduled to deliver testimony on Global Threat Assessments today at the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI).  The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:00am ET.  Livestream Links Below.

The SSCI sits at the center of the U.S. Intelligence Community operations, providing support and alignment with all ongoing IC activity, with control mechanisms that work around the leadership of all IC institutions.  The SSCI, acting as an oversight body, facilitates all activity.

Keep in mind, as DNI Tulsi Gabbard appears for testimony today the worst elements of the Intelligence Community, and the orcs within the SSCI that underpins the IC, despise Tulsi Gabbard.

Remember, Gabbard intercepted an impeachment construct (TdA, Venezuela deportation – Boasberg et al) and Gabbard refused to promote the fabricated IC construct that Jared Kushner was in control of Trump and manipulating the White House on behalf of Israel. Today, the SSCI will take strides to regain control. WATCH:

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