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In a video message posted to Facebook on Thursday evening, Anders Fogh Rasmussen appealed to the US to be the world’s “policeman” and to stop “leading from behind”. […] “Obama’s decision to draw the infamous red line to Assad’s use of chemical weapons in Syria and then not follow it up with action was, in my opinion, a disaster,” Rasmussen said in a video message posted to Facebook. …

The international chemical weapons watchdog confirmed Friday that sarin gas was used in the deadly April attack on a Syria town that left more than 80 people dead. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said it deployed a team within 24 hours to collect samples, attend autopsies and interview witnesses. Due to security risks, the team was not able to be on the ground in the Khan Shaykhun area where the attack took place, but traveled to a "neighboring country" to conduct its work.

U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton has warned the Syrian government it should not see the impending U.S. military withdrawal from the country as an invitation to use chemical weapons. U.S. President Donald Trump said in December that U.S. troops had succeeded in their mission to defeat Islamic State militants and were no longer needed in the country. The announcement, which took officials in Washington and allies abroad by surprise, contributed to Jim Mattis’ decision to resign as U.S. defense secretary and prompted concern that Islamic State could stage a comeback.

President Bashar al-Assad has approved a gas attack in the Idlib province, which is the country’s last rebel stronghold, a report on Sunday said...The Wall Street Journal reported that the international pressure did little to sway Assad, who benefits from support from Russia and Iran. The report said Assad has approved the use of chlorine gas...Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a “total annihilation of terrorists in Syria,” while Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke of “cleansing the Idlib region of terrorists.”

This rebuke of Biden’s Syria policy comes as the White House continues to negotiate a return to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran — a deal with a key Assad backer that granted Damascus new funds to wage war against Syrian civilians... “Propped up by Russia and Iran, the Assad regime continues profiting from its crimes against humanity and has diverted millions in aid to fill its own coffers. There is no solution to the crisis in Syria as long as Assad remains,” ... The administration, more than failing to embrace its Caesar sanctions authorities, has also hollowed out the...

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Russia “would pay a severe price” if they used chemical weapons in Ukraine. Anchor Dana Bash said, “The U.S. said this week that Russia has the capacity for a chemical weapon attack in Ukraine. The Polish president said today that would be a game-changer. NATO would have to think seriously about what to do. Would the U.S. intervene more directly militarily if Russia uses chemical weapons in Ukraine?”

Update(1449ET): Already Putin has previously been on record as saying Western actions such sanctioning a sitting head of state or targeting the central bank would be viewed as an “act of war”. But now another red line has been drawn, following more and more European governments – most notably Germany – ditching their policies of neutrality when it comes to shipping their weapons into foreign conflicts: RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SAYS THOSE SUPPLYING LETHAL WEAPONS TO UKRAINE WILL BEAR RESPONSIBILITY SHOULD THESE WEAPONS BE USED DURING RUSSIA’S MILITARY OPERATION – IFAX More than likely, US and UK-supplied weapons, particularly anti-tank missile...

The Biden administration is looking at the possibility of setting up an emergency direct hotline between the US and China, a new report alleges. Citing a US official and another source familiar with early conversations about the device, CNN reported Wednesday that the administration was pursuing an idea similar to that of the “red telephone” set up between the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The Moscow-Washington hotline — as it was also known, as there was never actually a red phone used for the communications — was established in 1963 under President John F. Kennedy. At...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Wednesday that Republicans would oppose any attempt by Democrats to raise taxes above the levels set by the Republican tax cuts bill signed by President Donald Trump in 2017. “We’re not interested in reopening the 2017 tax bill. We both made it clear to the president,” McConnell said to reporters after meeting with President Joe Biden and members of Congressional leadership at the White House. “That’s our red line.”

What are Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping up to? In recent days, Russian tanks, artillery, armor, trucks and troops have been moving by road and rail ever closer to Ukraine, and Moscow is said to be repositioning its 56th Guards Air Assault Brigade in Crimea. Military sources in Kyiv estimate there are now 85,000 Russian troops between six and 25 miles from Ukraine's northern and eastern borders. "I have real concerns about Russia's actions on the borders of Ukraine. There are more Russian forces massed on those borders than at any time since 2014 when Russia first invaded," said Secretary...

As Russia presses on Ukraine and China escalates tensions with the Philippines, the United States is courting unnecessary risk. While our greatest risks still stem from a series of rising domestic radicalisms, the danger from beyond our borders won’t forever accommodate our turned eye. A decade plus, bipartisan-blessed era of inward focus has resulted in doubt domestically as to where our red lines really are. Not necessarily where our alliances and commitments stand on paper, but where they will stand in practice. Which foreign capitals are our divided citizenry willing to sacrifice for in 2021? What about after our next...

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, got into a tense exchange with former Parkland student and gun control activist David Hogg at a Harvard Institute of Politics event Thursday night over Hogg's accusation that Hogan cares more about investing in police than helping minority communities Hogan, amid rumors he is considering a 2024 presidential run, is promoting his new book "Still Standing" in which he touts his handling of the Freddie Gray riots in 2015, frames himself as a strong backer of police and as an ally of minority communities. In his book, Hogan portrays his relationship with the Black...

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan repeatedly steered state transportation development money to projects that would increase the value of his real estate holdings, according to a lengthy investigation by Washington Monthly’s Eric Cortellessa. Cortellessa reports that Hogan, who ostensibly left his brother in charge of his real estate brokerage firm when he was elected, has, in fact, maintained ownership and control while serving as governor; the trustees he handpicked to run his company have continued to keep him apprised of its business dealings. And as governor, he has advanced highway and road construction projects that directly boosted the value of land...

KIEV (REUTERS) - Thousands of people marched through central Kiev on Monday to protest against President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's deal with Moscow to grant special status to a pro-Russian rebel-held region of eastern Ukraine as part of efforts to end a five-year conflict there. Around 20,000 people, including war veterans, took part in the rally 'No capitulation' against what they say are unacceptable concessions by Zelenskiy over the Donbass region. Ukrainian, Russian and separatist negotiators agreed last month that Kiev would grant the territory controlled by the separatists a special status and hold elections there. Ukraine also agreed to call back...

As he prepared for his presidential run over the last year or so, a hawkish Sen. Ted Cruz has said U.S. policy in the Middle East and elsewhere is a mess because of President Obama’s weakness — particularly his failure to enforce his own “red line” after the Syrian regime used chemical weapons. “A critical reason for Putin’s aggression has been President Obama’s weakness,” the senator said in a typical appearance, on ABC News last year. “You’d better believe that Putin sees that in Syria,” Cruz added. “Obama draws a red line and ignores the red line.” This takes quite...

MSNBC host Chris Matthews said Monday that Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump could be "the next dominoes to fall" in special counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation. "The president's children stand right in the line of Mueller's investigative progress," Matthews said on "Hardball." "They stand as the next dominoes to fall." "Therein lies the problem, where earlier Mueller subjects have given [President] Trump up, these two lack the option to do that. They can hardly testify against their father," he continued. "If the prosecutor will not be stopped and the kids will not fall to him, we see the president's...

Eric Holder is panicking now that Rosenstein no longer has control over the corrupt Mueller probe. The Deep State and Democrats went from celebrating flipping the House to panicking after the President forced out AG Sessions on Wednesday. “This is a red line” Holder said. HOLDER: Anyone who attempts to interfere with or obstruct the Mueller inquiry must be held accountable. This is a red line. We are a nation of laws and norms not subject to the self interested actions of one man.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry said former President Barack Obama should have followed through on his infamous "red line" warning to Syria, and the United States "paid a price" as a result of Obama's inaction. Obama vowed in 2012 that if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime used chemical weapons on civilians, it would be a "game changer" for U.S. military involvement in Syria. But Obama failed to enforce the promise a year later when hundreds of Syrians were killed in a sarin gas attack, and he instead brokered a multi-nation deal in which Assad pledged to remove his chemical...

Just a few thoughts to get you rolling:Paul Ryan’s retirement: which Deep State industry will he be taking a multi-million dollar job with? Healthcare? Insurance? Big Pharma? Big Media? Wall Street? All of the above (lobbying)? Paul Ryan: he didn’t write the book but he did discover the Path to Prosperity.Syria: Although Barry had a hard time finding the red line he drew - probably due to the fact he’s color blind - President Trump doesn’t seem to have that problem. Proposed Future Presidential Litmus Test: Disqualified if all you see is blackZuckerberg hearings: Make that “show” hearings. So far...

Last Thursday, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan unveiled a $9 billion project to widen three of the state’s most heavily trafficked highways: I-270, I-495—also known as the Capital Beltway—and MD-295, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. What the governor’s office dubbed the Traffic Relief Plan involves constructing two express toll lanes each way—or four total toll lanes—to all three highways. Widening the Capital Beltway and the section of I-270 connecting the growing commuter-city of Frederick to Washington, D.C., would cost an estimated $7.6 billion, which the state expects to be financed via public-private partnerships: Private companies would build and maintain the new toll lanes,...