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One factor in a bunch of Americans opting for Donald Trump in 2016 was his promise not to start a new war in the Middle East — but the D.C. establishment secretly kept troops in Syria, and lied about it to the president.Defense One, a subsidiary of The Atlantic, came out with a story last week about a man named Jim Jeffrey. If you haven’t heard of him, don’t feel bad, but he’s pretty important in Washington, D.C. Under his fancy title, he’s been appointed to oversee the U.S. fight against ISIS and what are supposed to be the limited...

An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test at 1:13 a.m. Pacific Time Oct. 2, 2019, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a $13.3 billion contract to engineer and manufacture its next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile. (Air Force Photo by Staff Sgt. J.T. Armstrong) The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a $13.3 billion contract for the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase of the service's next-generation intercontinental ballistic missiles to replace the aging Minuteman III ICBMs. The service on Tuesday said the contract for the Ground Based...

@ColumbiaBugleTucker Praising Trump For Calling Out The Defense Industry & Pulling Troops Out Of The Middle East "The press core are still telling you how much Donald Trump hates the troops & wants them to die. The guy who is bringing them home. Add that to the irony file, which is bulging."

@mkrajuGOP Sen. Mitt Romney took issue with Trump's comments yesterday about top Pentagon leaders who are angling for war to help the defense industry. "What he said (yesterday) about generals was unfortunate, offensive and wrong," Romney told me

Economic giants, the flagships of the Ukrainian industry, one by one are falling apart. The result can be truly disastrous for the Ukrainian economy this year, the consequences of which will haunt us for a long time. Industrial statistics shows the start of the disaster. New data of the state statistics for November indicate a decline in industrial output of 6.9%. Logical consequences in the short term are increasing unemployment and a new wave of emigration. Against the background of strengthening of the hryvnia and a complete misunderstanding of the situation by the government on what to do with it,...

It's no longer just always-listening microphones -- Google's new Nest Hub Max smart display adds a camera that's always scanning for faces.Google Home and Nest Hub gadgets already feature microphones that are always listening for the words that wake up the Assistant ("OK, Google" or "Hey, Google"). Now, the search giant's newest gadget for your home, the Nest Hub Max smart display, adds in a camera that's always watching for a familiar face.Google calls the feature Face Match, and it uses facial recognition technology to remember what you look like. After that, you can tap on the screen to see...

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she is sorry she insulted a police union leader aloud on Wednesday. It's no secret that Mayor Lightfoot does not get along with the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). However, it was still surprising when, during the City Council meeting, she was caught on a microphone insulting the group's second in command. As Patrick Murray got up to speak, Lightfoot could be heard saying, “oh, back again, this FOP clown."

There are a lot of phrases that live on long after they were first uttered, and most lose their meaning or have it changed over time either through overuse or the necessity of politics. But one phrase remains as clear and important now as it was the day it was first spoken – the military industrial complex.President Dwight Eisenhower used the phrase in his farewell address to the nation, three days before the inauguration of John F. Kennedy. “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex....

In early February, Google announced that its home security and alarm system Nest Secure would be getting an update. Users, the company said, could now enable its virtual-assistant technology, Google Assistant. The problem: Nest users didn't know a microphone existed on their security device to begin with. The existence of a microphone on the Nest Guard, which is the alarm, keypad, and motion-sensor component in the Nest Secure offering, was never disclosed in any of the product material for the device.

he proposed addition of 74 new combat squadrons to the Air Force would be the biggest increase in the service since the Cold War and is specifically intended to counter growing threats from Russia and China. “We must see the world as it is. … We must prepare,” Wilson said. “We have returned to an era of great power competition." Wilson acknowledges it will take time and additional funding to acquire the aircraft and recruit the pilots and additional personnel crews, but she called the planned expansion “an obligation to our countrymen. “We aren’t naive about how long it will...

The House on Thursday effortlessly passed its $717 billion defense policy bill for fiscal 2019, with more than 100 Democrats backing the measure alongside Republicans. The House’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed 351-66, with 131 Democrats siding with 220 Republicans to support the bill. Among those who voted against the bill were seven Republicans. “The best way to summarize this bill is that it takes the next steps,” Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said on the House floor before the vote. “The next steps to rebuilding our military and reforming the Pentagon, the next...

Direct Link to Bloomberg Article: New Lockheed Missile First Use

For all those who are steamed up over the strike in Syria, just remember HHS loses that much money in accounting errors every month. $100 million for 105 cruise missiles. As for their actual impact, 105 cruise missiles are no more a deterrent for Assad, nor provocation for Russia, than the 59 cruise missiles last year. It's apparent Russia turned off their S400 systems and let the US have a fireworks display. Nobody believes it changes anything in Syria. Or the calculus employed in Iran or Norklandia.

Shortly after Theresa May declared that she could act in Syria without approval from Parliament, the Telegraph is reporting that the prime minister has ordered UK submarines to travel within striking range of Syria, and adds that strikes could begin as early as Thursday night. With the US's Truman carrier still a month away, the "coalition" will rely on UK and French ships. US air support will likely also be involved, suggesting that any attack on Syria may be based on a joint UK-French naval operation, with US air support. Meanwhile, as reported earlier, President Bashar al-Assad has already started...

A HEAVY flight of US-led coalition warplanes have reportedly been seen flying over the Iraqi border as a nerve gas counter attack looms. Flight data shows planes being diverted from Syrian airspace as a 48 hour clearance was reportedly ordered by the US military

Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!

President Donald Trump signed a military spending bill on Tuesday, promising a “strong military” with the best equipment during his presidency. “We need our military, its got to be ‘perfecto,’” Trump said, urging Congress to remove military sequester caps and pass a clean funding bill for the government next year. Trump called the military funding bill a “momentous“ occasion and a great step in funding the “greatest fighting force in the history of the world.” He said that the bill increased the size of the armed forces budget for the first time in seven years, and included the largest military...

We've fought in Afghanistan for 16 years now. Are we making progress? After 9/11, we invaded, overthrew the Taliban, killed Osama Bin Laden and -- stayed. Afghanistan is now America's longest war, ever. President Trump's solution? He'll send several thousand more soldiers. Erik Prince says he has a better idea -- fight terrorists with only 2,000 American Special Operations personnel, plus "a contractor force" of 6,000. Prince is the founder of Blackwater, the private military contractor. The military uses contractors to provide security, deliver mail, rescue soldiers and more. Private contractors often do jobs well, for much less than the...

Behind the high-minded rhetoric surrounding many government programs, there often (or even usually) lies some grant of special privilege to a powerful business interest. The most well-known example, of course, is ObamaCare’s individual mandate creating a guaranteed market for insurance companies. However, the most common hiding place for corporate welfare is the Pentagon. Hawkish politicians love sticking gifts to big corporations in the yearly National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). So it is no surprise to find an example of cronyism in the Fiscal Year 2018 NDAA, which the Senate is expected to vote on this week.

The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon has announced that President Donald Trump’s administration has delivered military equipment to the Hezbollah-linked Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), namely Bradley Fighting Vehicles. “It will provide the Lebanese Armed Forces with new capabilities to protect Lebanon, to protect its borders, and to fight terrorists,” declared Elizabeth Richard, the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, referring to the U.S.-supplied military vehicles. “Over the next several months, the Army will undergo intensive training on how to operate and maintain this new, very sophisticated combat system.” “I am pleased to once again demonstrate our long-term commitment to Lebanon, and our support...