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Iran’s Options in Showdown with America Are All Bad By Victor Davis Hanson

Posted By on January 9th, 2020

https://pjmedia.com/victordavishanson/irans-options-in-showdown-with-america-are-all-bad/

After losing its top strategist, military commander and arch-terrorist, Qassem Suleimani, the Iranian theocracy is weighing responses.

One, Iran can quiet down and cease military provocations.

After attacking tankers off its coast, destroying an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia, shooting down a U.S. drone and being responsible for the killing and wounding of Americans in Iraq, Iran could now keep quiet.

It might accept that its strategy of escalation has failed to lead to any quantifiable advantage. Trump did not prove a passive “Twitter tiger,” as his critics mocked. Instead, he upped the stakes to Iran’s disadvantage and existential danger.

The chances, however, for such a logical and passive readjustment by Iran are nil.

Iran believes that Trump’s beefed-up sanctions have all but destroyed its economy and could now extend to secondary boycotts of nations trading with Iran. U.S. sanctions have also squeezed Iranian expeditionary efforts to forge a permanent hegemony and a Shiite crescent extending to the Mediterranean.If unchecked, American economic pressure could eventually lead to a popular rebellion that would topple the theocracy. In sum, a return to the status quo is unlikely.

Two, Iran can agree to re-enter talks about its nuclear program and offer a few concessions.

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Andrew McCarthy: War Powers Resolution vote against Trump is pointless – He has right to strike bad guys

Posted By on January 8th, 2020

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/war-powers-resolution-vote-trump-andrew-mccarthy

By this time in our history, one supposes, there could not be a presidentially-ordered use of military force without the inevitable opposition party blather about how the commander-in-chief is violating the War Powers Act (WPA). And so it is that Senator Tim Kaine, D-Va., has introduced a resolution that would purport to direct President Trump to cease hostilities with Iran in the absence of a congressional authorization.

Though inevitable, the exercise is pointless.

The WPA (often called the War Powers Resolution) was enacted over a weakened President Richard Nixon’s veto in 1973 by the Democrat-dominated Congress of the late Vietnam War era. It was an effort to limit the president’s power to commit American forces to battle without a declaration of war or other congressional authorization.

From the time of its passage until the Obama administration, all presidents regarded it as an unconstitutional infringement on the president’s Article II powers.

POLITICS Comments turned off

Joe Biden’s Deterrence Policy: Stop Trump The Democratic Party’s national security strategy is where it was in 1972, a year their candidate lost big.By Daniel Henninger

Posted By on January 8th, 2020

https://www.wsj.com/articles/joe-bidens-deterrence-policy-stop-trump-11578528412?mod=opinion_featst_pos1

Aside from the stunning photograph of Qasem Soleimani’s mangled car outside Baghdad airport, the most astonishing sight after the attack was the universal ambivalence, at best, from Democrats.

Not long ago—before Donald Trump—any president’s use of force against an overseas enemy would get at least 24 hours of partisan restraint. No more. The Democrats’ jack-in-the-box talking point was that Mr. Trump had brought us to “the brink of war.

Startled by this reaction, former Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman wrote in these pages: “It may be that today’s Democratic Party simply doesn’t believe in the use of force against America’s enemies in the world. I don’t believe that is true, but episodes like this one may lead many Americans to wonder.”

If the party’s presidential front-runner is any barometer, the use of credible force is off the table. In a foreign-policy speech Tuesday, Joe Biden said, “The only way out of this crisis is through diplomacy—clear-eyed, hard-nosed diplomacy grounded in strategy.”

There you have it: In the mind of Joe Biden—former vice president, former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and his party’s most notable “moderate”—the only two policy paths available are “war with Iran” (his words) and diplomacy. When did national strategy get so simple, or simplistic?

A byproduct of Mr. Trump’s maddening persona is that it causes his opponents to lose their ability to think straight—about anything. Mr. Trump has been president for more than 1,000 days, but you would think from the commentary and coverage that every moment has been an exercise in moronic idiocy, without exception—including killing the head of Iran’s Quds Force.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Tehran’s Retaliation, Trump’s Reply Early returns show deterrence beats appeasement with Iran.

Posted By on January 8th, 2020

https://www.wsj.com/articles/tehrans-retaliation-trumps-reply-11578528961?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

Maybe the Apocalypse isn’t upon us after all. The lesson after Iran’s missile strike on U.S. bases in Iraq early Wednesday is that deterrence seems to be working.

More than a dozen ballistic missiles hit two U.S. bases in northern and western Iraq, but no Americans or Iraqis were killed in the attack. Iraq says Iran gave advance warning, so U.S. and Iraqi troops had time to disperse or seek shelter. Iran has made advances in missile targeting, as we learned in the attack on Saudi oil facilities. Yet this time the missiles seemed not to have been precise.

All of this suggests that Iran tried to make a show of hitting back at the U.S. for the killing of terror chief Qasem Soleimani while trying to avoid killing Americans. The latter seems to be the red line that President Trump has drawn for an American military response, and Iran knows the U.S. could eliminate much of its military and industrial capacity even from a standoff distance.

ISRAEL Comments turned off

ISRAEL- 2010- 2020 An Excellent Year and an Incredible Decade Michael Ordman

Posted By on January 8th, 2020

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com
An Excellent Year and an Incredible Decade

It’s been ten years since I started collating Good News articles about Israeli innovations, discoveries and achievements. At that time, Israel was still suffering from severe drought, lack of natural resources, major economic problems, global isolation and national despondency.  

Just look at Israel ten years later – what an amazing transformation. Per capita it leads the world in medical breakthroughs and devices, water technology and recycling, agriculture technology, computer processors, satellites, autonomous vehicles, security and defense systems. It enjoys phenomenal economic growth, energy resources, currency strength, reserves and foreign investment. It has matured from just being the Startup Nation to become a powerhouse of hi-tech innovation. Meanwhile, whenever a global disaster occurs, Israel is always the first to send skilled teams and supplies to alleviate suffering.

2019 has been the pinnacle of Israeli achievement.  This article focuses on two areas – Israel’s Medical achievements and its efforts to help its minorities and the disadvantaged across the globe.

Almost every week Israeli researchers announce another medical discovery that promises to eliminate cancer forever. Approved Israeli treatments are already curing children with leukemia in the UK and melanoma patients globally. Trials of new treatments are extending the lives of Stage 4 pancreatic cancer patients. Israeli focused radiation is curing skin cancer tumors and new Israeli treatments have saved many from liver cancer and myeloma. Some 30,000 foreign patients travel to Israel each year for private medical treatments.

Other Israeli drugs and therapies, approved or being trialed, are successfully countering diseases such as Parkinson’s Alzheimer’s, MS, ALS, malaria, diabetes, Age-related Macular Degeneration and many more – especially Orphan diseases that no other country is willing to target. One major global problem that Israel is solving is the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. It is also at the forefront of stem cell treatments and research into aging – therefore contributing to increased longevity globally. Israel’s importance can be seen by the fact that its treatments are dispensed in one eighth of all US prescriptions and one sixth in the UK.

POLITICS Comments turned off

ELECTIONS ARE COMING: MICHIGAN SENATE

Posted By on January 8th, 2020

John James for U.S. Senate
https://johnjamesforsenate.com
From the battlefield to the boardroom, John James has lived his life placing service before self … More than 23,000 signatures demonstrates statewide, grassroots energy

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/reaganmccarthy/2020/01/07/john-james-outraises-gary-peters-for-the-second-quarter-in-a-row-in-michigan-senate-race-n2559087
John James Outraises Gary Peters for the Second Quarter in a Row in Michigan Senate Race Reagan McCarthy

It is now officially an election year, and although President Trump will be at the top of the ballot, the fight for control of the Senate may be even more contentious. Democrats have their eyes on a few GOP swing states, including Arizona, Colorado, Iowa and Maine; the GOP also has its sights set on flipping a few blue states, including Michigan. The seat at play is currently held by Gary Peters (D-MI), who was elected to the seat in 2014. Peters is a relatively low-profile senator and has little real name recognition among his constituents.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

President Trump Delivers Another Blow to Iran in White House Address to the Nation Katie Pavlich Katie Pavlich

Posted By on January 8th, 2020

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2020/01/08/trump-remarks-white-house-n2559136

President Trump addressed the nation from the White House Wednesday morning less than 24-hours after Iran launched more than a dozen missiles at al-Asad airbase in Iraq. As he spoke Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and the Joint Chiefs of Staff stood behind him.

“As long as I am President of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon,” President Trump said at the start of his remarks. “The missiles fired last night at us and our allies were paid for with the funds made available by the last administration.”

“Our great American forces are prepared for anything. Iran appears to be standing down,” he continued, reporting no casualties from the attack. “The United States will immediately impose additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime.” 

President Trump called on European allies and China to abandon the Iranian nuclear agreement once and for all. He went after the Obama administration, slammed appeasement of the regime and repeatedly noted Iran’s violent behavior. 

MEDIA Comments turned off

Media Beclowns Itself Spreading Fake News and Anti-Trump Propaganda During Iranian Missile Attack Debra Heine

Posted By on January 8th, 2020

https://amgreatness.com/2020/01/07/media-beclowns-itself-spreading-fake-news-and-anti-trump-propaganda-during-iranian-rocket-attack/

As Iranian missiles rained down on U.S. military targets in Iraq Tuesday night, two cable news outlets, MSNBC and CNN, spread fake news that suggested that the damage was worse than it was.

The Pentagon confirmed that Tehran fired more than 12 ballistic missiles targeting two military bases used by US and coalition forces in Iraq.

During a broadcast of Hardball on MSNBC, NBC News Tehran bureau chief Ali Arouzi parroted Iranian state media propaganda claiming erroneously that Iranian rockets had killed 30 American soldiers.

“The IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] was saying that Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader of this country, was in the control center coordinating these attacks,” Arouzi told anchor Chris Matthews. “This bit I’m not sure about but Iran state media says 30 U.S. soldiers have been killed in this attack. This is not confirmed, it’s just coming from Iranian media.”

“This is drawing people from all sides into this what is potentially the beginning of a war, Chris,” Arouzi added. “I don’t know how this is going to go in the coming hours, but it’s not looking good from the rhetoric that came out from President Trump earlier today saying that he will retaliate against any retaliation from Iran. I think we can expect an attack on Iran imminently.”

HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

Chinese Students Charged for Photographing U.S. Naval Installations By Zachary Evans

Posted By on January 8th, 2020

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/chinese-students-charged-for-photographing-u-s-naval-installations/

Two Chinese students were charged in federal court in Florida on Monday with entering a U.S. naval installation and taking pictures, the Miami Herald reported.

Yuhao Wang and Jielun Zhang, both 24-year-old University of Michigan students, were arrested on Saturday at the Sigsbee Annex in the Naval Air Station in Key West, Fla. The two drove into the annex after ignoring a guard’s orders to turn back and were apprehended a half hour later. They had cell phones and a camera inside the base.

“U.S. Navy Security Forces obtained consent to look at the devices and observed photographs taken on the Sigsbee Annex property, including U.S. military structures on Fleming Key,” the FBI wrote in its affidavit for the case.

Both students voluntarily showed agents the pictures they had taken, and Wang admitted they had driven into the base against the orders of the guard.

A similar incident took place on December 26, when Chinese national Lyuyou Liao was arrested in the Truman Annex of the Naval Air Station. Liao said he was “trying to take photographs of the sunrise” from the property, and he willingly provided the passcode for his phone to a federal agent. The agent found Liao had taken photos of the facilities in the Truman Annex.

BOOKS, EDUCATION Comments turned off

The Lost History of Western Civilization Is Coming By Stanley Kurtz

Posted By on January 8th, 2020

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-lost-history-of-western-civilization-is-coming/?utm_source=recirc-desktop&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=right-rail&utm_content=corner&utm_term=first

Thirty-two years ago, this country was divided by Stanford University’s decision to ditch its Western Civilization requirement in favor of a multicultural alternative. Claims that Stanford had built a racist curriculum around the likes of Plato, Aristotle, the Bible, Marx, Freud, Voltaire, and Darwin made for a sensational cultural side-show. Today, the Stanford dust-up has become our politics.

Expanded accusations of racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and generalized bigotry now enter just about every policy dispute. The very act of naming and defining a common American culture, much less a common Western civilization, is now deemed racist. Increasingly, the left half of the country calls the right half racist. The right half objects and takes the accusation itself as proof of extremism, bad faith, or bigotry in reverse. What has brought us to this point?

On the surface, America has divided into name-calling camps organized around powerful and opposed moral certainties. Dig deeper, however, and a lack of faith drives much of the anger. The campus culture that energizes our national conflicts blends radical doubt with overbearing moralism. Deconstructionist scholars paint our national and civilizational narratives as delusions, yet with certainty that those narratives are designed to oppress. Academics portray the Founders’ belief in natural freedom and equality as a Western prejudice, or a ruse of the powerful, while drawing on those same classically liberal beliefs to fuel their outrage.