The Trump Team Was Spied on by the Obama Administration -- Who Authorized It??

THE TRUMP TEAM WAS "BUGGED." • On Friday, WND and other media outlets reported that Representative Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committe, has confirmed that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort will testify before the Committee on Monday. Nunes has also asked FBI Director James Comey and National Security Agency Director Admiral Mike Rogers to testify in a closed session on Tuesday. • Both Comey and Rogers will apparently be presented with information that contradicts their public testimony before the committee last Monday, when they said they had "no information to support President Trump’s claims" that President Obama spied on him. While the NSA has agreed to turn over more reports on the apparent spying by the Obama administration, the FBI is reportedly stalling or stonewalling. Nunes said the FBI still has not agreed to his request to provide its intelligence reports on the Trump transition team. These are the latest developments in a rapidly exploding story that could confirm President Trump’s accusation that the Obama administration spied on him and his inner circle during the presidential campaign and afterward. • Fox News says a source told it that the NSA will provide the House Intelligence Committee with potential “smoking gun” documentation proving the Obama administration spied on the Trump transition team, and maybe even on President-Elect Trump himself. Multiple sources told Fox the intelligence information will prove the Obama administration misused information gained from legitimate surveillance of foreign targets to spy on the President-Elect, including the “unmasking” -- revealing the identity -- of those spied upon and sharing those identities in the intelligence community without asking for FISA approval for the unmasking, which would be a criminal offense if proven. Sources also told Fox : “[T]he paper trail leaves no other plausible purpose for the unmasking other than to damage the incoming Trump administration.” • Nunes said he expects the full extent of the spying to be disclosed, and he also expects the NSA documentation to provide more intelligence than he has already seen. It isn't clear if any of that information will be made public, or whether it was delivered as promised on Friday so that congressional investigators have time to examine the documents and determine their significance before this week's hearings. Nunes said on CNN that after reading reports he was confident the Obama administration “had a pretty good idea of what President-Elect Trump was up to and what his transition team was up to and who they were meeting with.” Nunes would not rule out the possibility that Obama was personally involved in the surveillance. • • • THE "UNINTENDED INTERCEPTION" EXPLANATION SEEMS TO BE SHATTERED. Nunes revealed last Wednesday, as reported by WND, that he had learned from intelligence sources that “on numerous occasions, the intelligence community incidentally collected information about US citizens involved in the Trump transition,” and that details about those people “were widely disseminated in intelligence community reporting” even though they had “little or no apparent foreign intelligence value.” Nunes also confirmed that names of Trump transition team members were unmasked, quite possibly in violation of the law, which the congressman said he found “alarming.” The NSA documentation will also perhaps reveal who saw the classified information, why the reports were not reported to Congress, and who requested and authorized the unmasking of those who were surveilled. • Of the greatest significance to former President Obama and his administration officials is that the committee will also try to learn whether the intelligence community was ordered to spy on President-Elect Trump, either by Obama or others in his senior intelligence leadership. • • • PAUL MANAFORT IN SPOTLIGHT. Last Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was questioned by reporters about an AP report published Wednesday that claimed Manafort 'secretly worked for a Russian billionaire' with a plan to ‘greatly benefit the Putin Government,’” during the administration of President George W. Bush. Taking repeated reporter questions as to whether that proved some kind of collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign, Spicer repeatedly noted that the business dealings examined in the report were from "the last decade," and that Manafort was only involved with the Trump campaign for five months, ending in August. Spicer also noted : “Nothing in this morning’s report referenced any actions by the President, the White House or any Trump administration official.” Spicer went on to turn the tables on the media's questioning about Russia meddling in the election. He observed that, just recently, “John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chair, sat on the board of a Russian-based energy company. This was something tied to Hillary Clinton, who was the face of the failed Russia reset policy.” Spicer also noted : “As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, along with the Obama administration, approved a deal that gave Russia 20% of America’s uranium reserves. Hillary’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, received over half-a-million dollars for a paid speech by a bank connected to the uranium deal. And Vladimir Putin personally called the former President and thanked him for giving the speech.” Press Secretary Spicer charged that the Clintons had far more extensive ties to Russia than did Manafort, and, “while Secretary of State, Hillary was crafting a policy she said was designed to ‘strengthen Russia.’” Spicer told the White House press corps : “Numerous individuals, including former Obama Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and acting CIA Director Mike Morrell and members of the intelligence community from both parties who have been briefed, have said across the board that they have seen zero evidence of any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials. And, that’s not going to be changed by former business dealings of a campaign staffer from a decade ago.” • • • DEMOCRATS CROWED, BUT THEY ARE NOW SILENT. Fox News journalist James Rosen reported last Thursday that Republican congressional investigators expect a potential “smoking gun,” establishing that the Obama administration spied on the Trump transition team, and possibly the President-Elect himself, will be produced to the House Intelligence Committee this week. The classified intelligence showing "incidental collection" of Trump team communications, seen by committee Chairman Nunes, came from multiple sources, Capitol Hill sources told Fox News. The intelligence corroborated information about surveillance of the Trump team that was known to Nunes, sources said, even before President Trump accused Obama of having wiretapped him in a series of now-famous tweets posted on March 4. • The intelligence is said to leave no doubt the Obama administration, in its closing days, was using the cover of legitimate surveillance on foreign targets to spy on President-Elect Trump, according to multiple sources. That conclusion was reached because of the unmasking of selected US persons whose names appeared in the intelligence, the sources told Fox, adding that the paper trail leaves no "plausible purpose" for the unmasking except to "damage" the incoming Trump administration. • The FBI under Director Comey has not been responsive to the House Intelligence Committee’s request for documents, but the National Security Agency was expected to produce documents to the committee by last Friday, producing more intelligence than Nunes has so far seen or described -- including what one source described as a potential “smoking gun” establishing the Obama administration spying. • Fox's Reston says that : "Because Nunes’s intelligence came from multiple sources during a span of several weeks, and he has not shared the actual materials with his committee colleagues, he will be the only member of the panel in a position to know whether the NSA has turned over some or all of the intelligence he is citing. However, Fox News was told that Intelligence Committee ranking Democrat member Representative Adam Schiff had been briefed on the basic contents of the intelligence described by Nunes. CIA Director Mike Pompeo is also sympathetic to the effort to determine, with documentary evidence, the extent of any alleged Obama administration spying on the Trump team, sources said." • At the dramatic Wednesday news conference when Nunes said he had seen evidence that members of the Trump transition team, possibly including the President-Elect, were subjected to “incidental surveillance” collection, Nunes characterized the revelation as legal but troubling -- but this may prove to be a hasty, wrong conclusion if there actually was criminal activity involved. Nunes said last Wednesday : “What I've read bothers me, and I think it should bother the President himself, and his team because I think some of it seems to be inappropriate.” Schiff blasted Nunes for not coming first to the Intelligence Committee with the information : "If accurate, this information should have been shared with members of the committee, but it has not been." • But, Schiff and his Democrat congressional colleagues have been muted the last few days as the full import of the information disclosed by Chairman Nunes sinks in -- that Trump was right in accusing President Obama and his intelligence hierarchy of spying on Trump and his team. The Democrat response to Russian hacking into Podesta's and Hillary's email accounts is to call it a "form of war," in the Progressive Democrat attempt to fit the hacking into a larger narrative pushed by Democrats that casts President Trump as weak on Russia and plays up the damage done by Moscow through the electoral interference. But, Michael Schmitt, an international law professor at the University of Exeter in Britain, told TheHill that public officials need to choose their words carefully to “control escalation.” Schmitt, who led the team of legal experts that formulated the Tallinn Manual 2.0, a comprehensive analysis of how international law applies to cyberspace, said : “I find that sort of talk dangerous.” Schmitt's assessment is that the hacking campaign was not an act of war but rather a violation of two prohibitions : one on violating another state’s sovereignty and another on intervention into another state’s affairs. Schmitt added : “Without a scintilla of a doubt, it is not an act of war.” • • • GOWDY SAYS NUNES ACTED PROPERLY. Representative Trey Gowdy, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Nunes "briefed the Commander-in- Chief on matters unrelated to the Russian investigation. So if that's a big deal in Washington, then we've sunk to a new low." When pressed, Gowdy reiterated that Nunes briefed the President on "something that has nothing to do with the Russia investigation. So if the Commander-in-Chief cannot be briefed by the chairperson of the House Intel Committee on a matter that has nothing to do with the FBI investigation, then I don't know what they can talk about." Gowdy, a former US prosecutor, on Sunday also dismissed the idea of establishing an independent commission to investigate the Russian interference : "Thank goodness we have one. It's called the FBI. The FBI has counterintelligence jurisdiction and they have criminal jurisdiction." More cynically, Gowdy added : "And what we learned on Monday, and it's about the only thing we learned on Monday, was that the FBI is investigating both." He added that he knows incidental collection in the country happens, but he hopes people will focus on the unmasking : "The felonious dissemination of classified information is the only thing we know for sure is a crime, and it would be nice if we showed the same level of interest in that." • • • DEAR READERS, Nunes' revelation is not just troubling news, it is the tip of a new, but not unexpected, iceberg that may show how far President Obama and his insider advisors went in violating the constitutional right of every individual to be free of government spying, and also how far these violations went in criminally breaking federal law put in place to protect individual Americans from government spying. It would fit into the Obama White House pattern of disregard for the law we already know about -- IRS harassment of conservatives, selling guns to Mexican drug cartels, covering up the Benghazi attack, refusing to comply with congressional requests and subpoenas for information and documents, lying to Congress, making laws without going through the required constitutional process of asking Congress to adopt them -- the list is long and has been troubling for years. Are we now at the point of seeing real evidence collected by Obama's own intelligence community Deep State puppets that proves our longtime suspicions. We must wait for Representative Nunes' House Intelligence Committee and its Senate counterpart to do their investigative jobs. And, perhaps FBI Director Comey will finally see that stonewalling in the name of protecting "ongoing investigations" will not help him escape liability for his role under Obama, if it was nefarious. • But, one thing is certain. In the American constitutional system, individuals are the building blocks of society, choosing the representatives who govern on their behalf. Those representatives adopt laws that carry out the electorate's desires, while being faithful to the Constitution. The "electorate" is none other than those many individuals exercising their God-given right to create a society based on laws and individual liberty -- including the right to personal privacy protected by the US Constitution. There is no room in the United States for a Democrat President or any arm of government to illegally spy on any individual -- and certainly not the duly-elected Republican President-Elect.

Casing the Colors© -- Week 2

CASING THE COLORS : THE NEW AMERICAN REPUBLIC © by Casey Pops • • • CHAPTER 3 • Stuart Wellford was forced to the political sidelines after his appointment to the United States Supreme Court. He had been a New York Senator, elected after serving as the United States Solicitor General who had made a popular household name for himself by successfully representing before the Supreme Court major federal criminal cases against drug kingpins and international terrorists. Empire State Republicans, divided between the Albany conservative caucus and the New York City liberals run by a few wealthy patrons, had one thing in common. They all loved Stu Wellford, or pretended to. He was just what they needed to soothe their consciences, an acceptably temperate civil rights spokesman and a hugely successful lawyer with the right political touch and credentials to match. Stuart Wellford was alert to the nuances in the alliance between moderate and conservative GOP politicians, and he knew how to use his blackness, the color most lacking in GOP press photos. Stu could also move brilliantly through cocktail fundraisers and state committee meetings as a favorite son no one dared oppose. Some Republicans really adored him, others simply feared the repercussions of challenging him. When a seat on the Supreme Court became vacant, he was New York's unanimous candidate, displaying restrained concern in the criticism emanating from southern and western conservative Republicans, who complained as loudly as their political survival instincts allowed about Stu Wellford's suspected pro-abortion position. But with the images of the Senate fiascoes caused by attacking prior minority Supreme Court nominees burnt into their political memories, Republicans of stature were unwilling to risk their reputations in the confirmation hearing. It was so easy. Stuart Wellford, a member of the Senate club with American Bar Association backing, was a shrewd choice and a sure thing for Senate approval. •  As Kate had agreed at dinner the prior evening, she called Justice Wellford's private portable phone number and left a message. He returned her call several hours later. "Stu, I'm at Dad's for the weekend," she said. "Could you possibly find a few hours for a visit in the country?" "Sure, Sweetie," Stu said, relishing the opportunity to be with her. "What's the problem?" "Do you always have to read my mind?" she laughed. "I need to talk to you without media coverage, and here in Washington that's not easy." "Okay, what about tomorrow for lunch." "Great, and bring Sheila, please," Kate added. "Sorry, she's in Los Angeles. You'll have to make do with me," Stu answered, picking up the framed photo of his wife that always sat on his desk. Sheila Wellford was twenty years older than Kate and the only other woman Stu had ever known who had the same combination of beauty and sharpe-edged wit, but never unintentionally hurtful. No indeed, he chuckled to himself, when either Sheila or Kate let go a verbal punch, it was always with deliberation and precise ferocity. He exhaled slowly, admitting to himself that he would lead a much calmer life if either of these women, both of whom he loved with a devotion that often bewildered him, could have been just a little less strong, just a little more pliable and soft. Later in the day, while Scott grilled steaks and Jim Gordon prepared the rest of dinner, Kate asked her father what he wanted her to say to Stu when he came to lunch the next day. "What about telling him the unvarnished truth?" he asked, his question a command rather than a request. "I know it's old-fashioned, but we soldier types still prefer the direct approach." His daughter laughed mirthlessly, her shoulders sagging at the prospect of the mission in front of her and the small help she could expect from her father or Scott. "Sorry, Kate," he said, tousling her blond curls, "but looking for a President is way out of my line of work. Just convince the Justice. If he wants to talk to me, too, that's fine with me." The steaks were juicy and delicious in the hot June evening, hazy and quiet over the rolling hills of the Potomac Valley. It was the season when most people tried to escape Washington's oppressive heat and humidity, but Kate always found Capitol summers invigorating. As they ate, she basked in the warm evening and thought about her trips to Tunisia and Egypt for two special clients whose investments were delicate enough to demand all the massaging of the military and government officials she could legally deliver, even in these dangerous times. The heat in North Africa was dry and the horizons undulating and beige, but the sensual comfort of the desert was similar to what she felt tonight, sitting on her father's terrace overlooking the Maryland countryside. She had suggested to Scott several times that he go with her on one of her business trips to North Africa, so they could enjoy the special desert beauty together, but he was always too busy with his Pentagon duties or flying around the world inspecting troops. Besides, he always asked with some reason, how would she hide him from the media? Kate watched Scott, relaxed and attentive as her father described the President's distress about continuing in office. Scott was handsome and she knew he was vain enough to be aware of it. She wondered if that was one of the reasons he was a soldier, to use the effect of being in military uniform. That's unfair, she told herself, because tonight Scott was wearing a polo shirt and slacks and he was still seductive. "You know, the President's not all wrong. We've got a hell of a problem to deal with," she heard her father say. "But, he's not making it any easier," Scott replied, "and Stuart Wellford is sure as hell not the answer to America's prayers. He'll have a real problem standing up to the Black lobby after he's in the White House. Supreme Court Justices just aren't used to the same heat Presidents get. Thank God, government regulations forbid me to wear a 'Stu Wellford for President' button. I think we'd do better with a tough white candidate who could court all the special interests without being married to any of them." Scott paused to consider the puzzling events confronting America. "What the hell should we do? I don't know," he said, exasperated. "But I know we don't need another President who could decide the job's too tough for him." Scott turned the possibilities over in his mind for the thousandth time. He actually knew just what to do. Take a damned tight hold on the country, swing through the ghettos and keep going till every last insurrectionist is dead or in a federal prison. But he knew as well as the two Gordons that the right thing and the politically possible agenda were miles apart. That was the goddamned trouble. Somewhere, somehow the country had compromised itself into this present sickness and he had no real hope that it would survive as the country the Founding Fathers had fought to create. "I couldn't agree more about the qualities the next President needs," General Gordon said, "and we'll get our chance to test Stuart Wellford. But let's get him through basic training first. Okay, soldier?" Her father motioned toward Kate as she got up to avoid the tension building between the two men and started moving toward the kitchen. She knew her father's gesture well. It was his way of saying, I want you to stay because this is important. "Scott," the General began, "Kate was a baby when her mother was killed, and I made up my mind that day that Kate would never have to live through anything I could protect her from." Scott realized that he had unintentionally offended Jim. "Jim, I didn't mean to infer anything negative about tomorrow's agenda," he said. "I know, Scott, but if you disagree with me, for Christ's sake, tell me straight, because if you just shadow box, someone else might get in front of the troops." "You're right, Jim," Scott said soothingly, "but we can't afford another flop in the White House. Stu Wellford has to know what the game is and what his chances are. The sooner, the better. America can't wait another four years to find a leader. We've got to get our act together now, while we still have enough popular support left to win. Tell that to Stu Wellford, Kate." Kate finally eased away from the table and went into the kitchen. As she arranged the ice cream and strawberries for dessert, her thoughts focused on Scott and his opinion of Stu, so at odds with her own view of the man she loved with more intensity than Scott could ever accept in their own relationship, and more than she could probably ever give him for that matter. Hell, she chuckled, it's not so easy to sleep when the whole damned Army's in bed with you. Stu was different. He focused on her, on them, and he never brought the Supreme Court to bed with him. But, Scott always fascinated Kate, even when he frustrated her with what she considered to be his rather naive but rock solid belief in American values and his certitude that there was still a substantial American majority eager to defend them. • • • CHAPTER 4 • Kate Gordon was used to unusual political assignments, but this was the first time she had been asked to interview a potential President and give him the job description. As she waited on her father's terrace, listening for the sound of tires on the driveway, she turned over in her mind the possible ways to begin. When she realized that she was preparing an opening statement for a jury, she made herself stop. Her father came out with two Bloody Marys. "Let's walk out to the vegetable garden. You'll be surprised at the progress since your last visit." They strolled along the mid-summer rows of perfect tomato plants and green bean stalks climbing up stakes and across thin nylon filaments. They stopped to admire square patches of pale green leaf lettuce and scallions. She listened as her dad tried once more to fill her head with everything he knew about gardening. She was used to his garden lore and enjoyed the time they spent together walking and digging in the garden earth to rearrange plants. It was a passion for him, something he did not so much for the produce it yielded, she thought, but because it was his way of staying close to the fundamental values of life, the common thread that bound human beings together and made them part of the earth they inhabited, and she knew it was a value he wanted to pass on to her. Occasionally, he would show her a young fruit tree or a new shrub and say, this will be here long after I'm gone and that's the way it ought to be, we need to leave something behind to replace what we've destroyed. In those moments, she also realized that gardening was in part her father's way of making restitution for the damage caused by his life's work. Scott, who had been jogging, came around to the garden to tell them that Stu's car was turning into the driveway. Kate hurried to the front door. Stu Wellford always excited her with his unique mix of elegance and affability. It put people off stride the first time they met him, but it was completely natural and he soon charmed anyone near him. He was dressed casually but with the conservatism that speaks of money and position. Stuart Wellford had both, his success coming not only from his application of a superior intelligence, but also from his family's fortune. The Wellford family ancestors had fled north after the Civil War, settling in New York City's Harlem and climbing out of poverty by opening a used furniture store that became, in several generations, a chain of up-scale department stores, far removed from the grinding poverty that had spawned them. The Wellfords educated their children, supplying doctors, teachers and merchants for their community. As Harlem began to deteriorate after the Second World War, the family settled in an affluent Manhattan neighborhood, using its money and education to buy the level of social acceptance denied to most Black Americans. By the time Stu was four, his parents had enrolled him in an elite private academy, where he repaid their confidence with an almost perfect academic record, combined with an uncanny ability to make both white and Black people feel at ease with him. He went from the academy to Harvard. He graduated magna cum laude from both Harvard College and Law School and only then faced the shocking reality of being black in a profession that prided itself on its male whiteness.  •    Kate and Stu had become friends and then lovers, in part because they experienced the same attitudes as members of the legal profession. They also shared a devotion to its mental and emotional discipline and its constant, if unevenly achieved, promise of a better, or at least more fair, world. Kate reached up to kiss Stu and he gave her a bear hug, his six-foot three-inch frame lifting her off her feet. "How are you, Sweetie?" he asked, his voice gentle and light-hearted as he stroked her hair. "Tell me the world isn't going to end if you and I don't save every last suffering citizen before lunch." "No," she laughed returning his embrace, "but when Dad sounds the lunch call, we'd better be ready. Let's go into his study and get at it. If we're good kids, he might fix us a Bloody Mary. I've already had one and I can vouch for their therapeutic value." General Gordon brought a tray with a pitcher of Bloody Marys into the study and chatted with the Justice for a few seconds. Then he said, "you two have a lot to talk about and I'm working on lunch. I'll call you when it's ready. Just whistle if you need a refill." "Stu," Kate began, closing the library door, "you've always told me the best way to start is to get the hard part out first. The President has decided not to run for re-election in 2024. The job has become too much for him and he wants out. He's looking for a hand-picked successor to offer in his place. Not the vice president -- President Harper thinks he's too tarred with divisive policies to be electable. He thinks we need someone whose credibility reaches way beyond party politics, someone who has a shot at pulling America together to heal itself, counter the Progressives and defeat the terrorists." Kate stopped to breathe, standing in front of Stu, who had settled into the plush featherbed of a couch. He looked up at her, a faint smile mingled with concern on his face. She seemed to him the student he still remembered, eager to please her professor. But she was also an exciting woman full of passion for life, searching for the best way to savor it. He finished her thought. "And the President suggested me. Is that right?" "Yes, he thinks you have the best chance of succeeding. But, there's more." "There always is," Stu sighed. "But, I must say I'm honored to be on the list." "You are the entire list, my dear," she said, falling onto the couch beside him. "There's a new FBI-CIA Report about a well-financed but largely uncontrolled islamic fundamentalist group operating in American urban ghettos. They're the allies of ISIS -- financed by them and Iran. They intend to destroy the United States, using the Progressives to reach out to poor, center-city Blacks and Hispanics to be their front line. They're dedicated to creating a fundamentalist state, exterminating any of us who resist. The President hasn't got the nerves for an urban war. He wants a credible, powerful successor who can build popular support for a tough response to the crisis, then be elected and move right away. You know, Stu," she suddenly realized, "it may be the best decision of his presidency." Stu offered a word of advice about being more circumspect, given their need to work with President Harper. "If you will agree to run for the presidency," she continued over his mild protest of loyalty to the President, "you could be the catalyst for the war against the terrorists, the strong leader, de facto before the election, visible and carrying forward every tough decision President Harper has to make. It could work. I may not always be the soul of measured wisdom, but I know how the GOP thinks." As Kate and Stu paced around the furniture in the library-den full of books arranged on mahogany shelves, they sketched in the details, becoming increasingly excited. Like all political animals, they smelled opportunity. "What we really need," he said turning to her, "is a coalition that pulls together every sector, every faction, to rebuild America. If the damned Republicans and Democrats can't do anything but blame each other, we'll use the gridlock as our call to action. Maybe things are finally so bad that America will support a new party with a new agenda." "Patriots," Kate murmured to herself, "patriots with a new agenda for America, to recreate its original image and give it a chance to survive." Stu rubbed his hands together and took her by the shoulders, almost shaking her. "That's it, Kate. American Agenda. That's what we'll call the coalition. It's uncluttered, brings in everybody." They looked at each other sheepishly, knowing it was premature to be naming the coalition before it existed. "Does the President have any specific plan?" Stu asked, breaking into their awkward exuberance. "I don't really know," Kate replied. "Dad 's the one who's talked to him. He can fill us in at lunch. Scott is here, too. He has some interesting things to tell you about his Ranger units and their work in major urban trouble areas." The pair walked to the back of the house arm-in-arm, to get another Bloody Mary and check out General Gordon's final touches for lunch. They helped carry platters out to the terrace. Scott appeared, showered and shaved, to greet the Justice. Leaving them to talk about their golf swings, Kate went back into the kitchen to give her father a quick summary of her discussion with Stu. "He's definitely interested. He's already talking about a coalition to replace the Republicans and Democrats. He wants to hear your ideas about the terrorist problem and the military plans for dealing with it. I told him Scott would brief him on the Rangers. I think we've got a deal," she added, as they left the kitchen. General Gordon had prepared a superb meal of baked trout and freshly picked salad, along with green beans and sauteed new potatoes. As they ate, Kate realized she couldn't remember a time when her father hadn't been interested in cooking. His breads and breakfast cakes were staples in her memories of home. In the Army, her father was recognized for his big casual parties, something he did with care and genuine affection, knowing that his wealth gave him a special opportunity to provide a bonding social face to the often wearying military routine. When Kate was still a teenager, her father, then at the Pentagon, became even more involved in the kitchen, taking up canning and preserving and freezing the garden's bounty, providing her a real home that she always returned to as often as possible. She knew that her indifference to marriage was at least in part a reflection of the home her father had made for her. It was a hot, sunny afternoon but the terrace awnings protected them from the heat as they ate and listened to Scott talk about the Rangers. "They're really private police forces," he told Stu. "The idea took hold in the 1980s when President Reagan's federalism made it increasingly difficult for local governments to adequately fund necessary community services." "I remember well," Stu said. "Fire departments and then prisons and police forces were supported through the combined financial resources of community groups and private industry. I've always had doubts about the wisdom of turning essential government services over to the private sector, but I think we've moved past the time for public debate on the issue." Scott was encouraged by Justice Wellford's response. "What I find is that white communities in urban areas feel safer if they have Ranger units patrolling. They're frightened, terrified is the better word, and having their own private cops helps them stay calm," he said, deliberately emphasizing 'private cops' and watching Stu's face for a reaction. "What exactly is your role?" Stu asked, wearing the exterior mask of impassivity he had developed long before becoming a Supreme Court Justice. He knew the feel of the mask, and he also knew that every successful Black American had a personal version of it, pinched into place daily to bridge the gap between required acquiescence to white conceptions of equality and the reality of being non-white. Warming to his story, Scott responded, "I got involved when I read an article about an established Ranger unit in Chicago. It was the first private force to use the name. I began a dialogue with their commander and the community they worked for. They patrol the streets at night. They protect businesses and keep muggers and drug dealers out of their neighborhoods. They teach civil obedience and good citizenship in local schools. When they make arrests, they turn them over to the police for prosecution. I've put together a group in the Pentagon to help train Ranger units. We supply weapons and equipment, give them courses in crowd control, and help with recruitment. We've started a program to integrate their capability into our regional military planning at the National Guard level. Their rapid response at ground zero can make the difference when urban trouble starts. Since many of them are former police, military or gang members, the liaison works well. Of course, some Rangers are para-military types, but I think we can control them better, and even use them to our advantage, if we work with them instead of hunting them down." "How do local police react to Ranger intervention in their community role?" Stu asked, testing Scott. "Do they feel threatened?" "Mostly," Scott replied, "the police feel relieved. A community with a Ranger unit is a community with little need of time-consuming neighborhood police patrols. The police have their hands full and the Rangers give them a breather and a path into the neighborhoods." "I've arranged for General Bennett to use the Pennsylvania National Guard as a model," General Gordon said. "We're integrating Ranger units into NG and regular Army urban response teams. It'll give each group more punch and a wider range of response capabilities in riot situations. When I retire at the end of the year, I'm going to work full-time on the project with General Bennett."    "Retire? I thought you'd stay on to support the new President's efforts. We don't have the luxury of enough time to build a new link with the Joint Chiefs like the one you've created," Stu said, genuinely concerned about an immediate future without Jim Gordon. "I think it's time for me to let someone else take over," General Gordon answered. "We need new ideas. Anyway, this Ranger project is a real challenge. We're aiming at a unified civilian and military combat-ready force in every state. My background in guerrilla warfare and counter-insurgency tactics makes it especially interesting to me. The key is that we desperately need this kind of force if we're going to fight an urban guerrilla war in the United States." "Guerrilla war?" Stu repeated, pushing his chair back slightly and turning toward General Gordon. Scott knew it was now a two-person conversation that didn't include him, so he opened another bottle of wine and refilled everyone's glass, anxious to see what would unfold. "Yes," the General responded. "We've confirmed the presence of islamic fundamentalist cells in more than a dozen cities. They're infiltrating systematically, using money and drugs as softeners for their anti-American propaganda. We believe they're planning to use this fall's election as a launching pad to escalate their attack. Our private surveys suggest we're looking at a potential conflagration if the fundamentalists actually succeed in mobilizing urban minorities against white communities. The President is too weak politically and emotionally to deal with it." The General stood up, giving his information time to be assimilated, satisfied that he had delivered the essentials of the bad news without getting an immediately unfavorable reaction from Justice Wellford. In the slight pause that followed, General Gordon sensed success. "It's much cooler in the living room," he offered. "Why don't you take your wine inside and I'll get the dessert." Everyone settled in the chairs and sofa around the coffee table, a massive slab of teak that General Gordon had shipped back home while he was visiting Thailand. Jim went to the kitchen and reappeared with fresh raspberries and tiny sponge cakes. "General Gordon," Stu said, helping himself to a second cake, "maybe you've got the wrong job. You should own a restaurant." Jim laughed. "No thanks. This is strictly for pleasure. I don't need customers complaining about my cooking. If Kate enjoys it, that's all I care about," he said, handing her a cup of their favorite Darjeeling as he picked up the threads of their conversation. "Military public opinion surveys show extensive confusion and frustration among voters. They're extremely worried about their economic security and the crumbling civil order. They want action and they're fed up with politicians who give them nothing but talk and indecision." "So the Ranger units are their response to a government they've completely lost confidence in," Stu suggested. "GOP private surveys show the same thing," Kate added. "Nobody in middle class America is willing to share their piece of a pie that's harder and harder to come by. White collar communities don't want to be victimized by what they see as an underclass out of control. Blue collar communities need jobs and protection from ghetto violence that's come far too close to their daily lives. They tell our pollsters they want walls and guns. Black communities are trapped in the worst situation. They live with the daily violence and they're frightened and disgusted. But, they're ambivalent about using force and they can't afford to run, so they're condemned to watching while drugs and killers stalk their communities." "It's time to pay the bill," General Gordon said, "but it's too late to pay it with empty election promises. Our only salvation may be someone free of party politics who can act independently." Stu Wellford could feel the old fervor stirring. Get the job done, he thought, finish what began a lifetime ago in the small towns of Alabama and Mississippi. Kate added, "The next presidential race could be the fuse that detonates America. Only one thing is certain," she said, deliberately looking around the room for emphasis, "whoever wins this fall, we'll have another conservative Congress confronting Black and Hispanic Americans more angry than they have ever been. Traditional values may look great on campaign posters aimed at white communities but they spell racism in inner cities, especially when they're combined with Ranger units and a paralyzed government." "It may have been trivialized and buried by the media, but middle class America still believes in traditional values," Stu said. "They expect to live in safe neighborhoods, send their kids to college and live their lives without being bombarded by crisis after crisis. The old Protestant work ethic and the Constitution still dictate their response to ghetto problems. Get out and work and everything will be better. Don't expect a free ride. On the other side, minority Americans are still being fed worn-out liberal promises about legislating and buying our way to social justice. We've got to pull those opposing ideas together, forge a coalition that brings everyone onboard. Everyone, not just the upper end of society." Stu sat back, shaking his head. He knew what he was saying was all but impossible. Did he sound like a fool? He hoped not. Scott walked around to lean on the back of a chair across from Stu, so he could look directly at him. "Do you really believe what you just said?" he asked, "or are you trotting out a speech left over from your Senate campaign?" Kate watched the two men, uneasy friends brought together by her to provide an excuse for her to be with Stu socially. "Christ, yes, I believe it," Stu sputtered, forgetting his normal reserve, "but I don't have much confidence in our chances. The message always gets buried under prejudice and fear." "If," Scott emphasized, "if we succeed, there's going to be a lot of blood left behind. American blood on American streets. The terrorists will make sure of that. I don't have a better guess than anyone else about our chances, but I'm willing to try if you are." Stu answered quietly. "We've tried just about everything else. If we can build the coalition, I'll be the candidate." "I'll tell President Harper," General Gordon said, wanting to end the discussion before it unraveled into second thoughts and endless political brainstorming. He was pleased his mission had turned out to be relatively straightforward and brief. Late that evening, as Scott and Kate sat talking with her father, they began to flesh out a list of people to contact. Kate, being the civilian in the group, had the job of convincing them. The General paced along the edge of the terrace, a shadow in the summer darkness beyond the house lights, wondering what the President would say when he understood that they not only had a candidate but probably a new party as well. "Kate," he said turning toward the pair who had been watching his silent deliberation, "can Stu make a difference in the mid-term congressional elections? We need to get out in front with him as soon as possible, to get a handle on his support with white voters." "We don't have enough time to move slowly," Kate replied, thinking about the planning and money required for phone banks and complex private polls and TV ads. "We'll begin the ground work for American Agenda and just the fact of Stu's presence will have some effect." Scott chuckled. "That's what I keep telling her, General, just the fact of my presence helps. Don't you agree?" "I get the message. Let's call it a day, kids."

Why Are Europe and the United States Committing Suicide?

THE LONDON TERRORIST ATTACK. I watched BBC and Sky News all afternoon and for much of the evening on Wednesday. I was humbled by the British calm and determination to get on with the aftermath of the attack. It was a remarkable display of British national character and a lesson for all of us. But, as I watched, I returned again and again to the spectacle of innocent people being mowed down by a beserk islamic terrorist in the heart of the Palace of Westminster -- the home of democratic parliaments for a thousand years. I could only think how sad this new world is. We now know that the killer was a 52-year-old British man born in Britain and radicalized after converting to Islam, although we do not yet know, and may never know, how or why he was possessed by such evil thoughts that he ended his life killing four innocents who neither knew nor had any opinion of him or his beliefs, however twisted they had become, whatever they finally may have been. He taught English. He was a bodybuilder. He had a wife described by neighbors as a young Asian woman. He had a young school-age child. He had a criminal record, but his slate was clean from 2003 until Wednesday. That slate no longer matters. What matters is the random terrorism that is haunting Europe and America. The speculation is that he chose Wednesday because it was the first anniversary of the horrific Brussels attack that left 32 dead and 270 injured. ISIS claimed he was their “soldier.” His weapons, a knife and an SUV, have become the weapons of choice for these attacks in Europe. Prime Minister Theresa May, who was in Parliament at the time, was rushed to safety after the attack. Later, in a TV address to the nation, Mrs. May praised the "exceptional bravery" of police, and thanked them and other emergency services "on behalf of the whole country." She said it was "no accident" the attacker chose Parliament, which stands for democracy, freedom and rule of law. It serves no purpose to repeat the killer's name. His name is Evil. • • • WHY IS THE WEST DETERMINED TO SLAUGHTER ITSELF? We have been debating, arguing, shouting, marching, boycotting, accusing, voting, and most of all hiding from the existential threat that islamic terrorism poses to the West since September 11, 2001. We have watched President Obama open the US borders so that illegal immigrants -- among them are the mentally unsound, hardened criminals, and islamic terrorists -- could enter the United States with little to fear from its laws as that hardened core of them rob, murder and rape Americans. We have witnessed the shootings and bombings of avowed islamic terrorists increase in number and violence while the same President refused to even call them by their name. We have stood by while Progressive Democrat politicians and university students treat as racist and xenophobic any effort to have a dialogue about what to do as this scourge advances. • America is not alone in this horror. Europe has made a place for more than a million refugees and economic migrants, with islamic terrorists imbedded in their masses, calling it the human thing to do, even as some of the same refugees and migrants murder, rob and rape European citizens. • Especially in Europe, and increasingly in the US, the immigrants, whether refugees or migrants, want to live in enclaves where they reject integration, preferring to speak their mother tongues, follow only their country-of-origin culture, and cling to their non-Western social mores that include degrading women, applying sharia, and attacking the West's Christian faith that they see as heresy. • The West's behavior in this matter is suicidal. There is no other word for inviting in and tolerating the misdeeds of such misfits. • • • START WITH ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. Sean Hannity of Fox News on Tuesday raised an issue that has fallen by the wayside because of the Democrat congressional theatre of the absurd dancing around the legitimate President of the United States, seeking to destroy him and the majority of Americans whom he represents. Hannity reminded us that : "From the very beginning of Donald Trump’s historic run for the presidency, he said combatting violent crime carried out by illegal immigrants would be one of his top concerns. His law and order stance and vow to secure the border was one of the reasons the American people elected him with 306 electoral votes. And his words from back in 2015 carry a prophetic poignancy in light of the horrific rape of a 14-year-old Maryland girl in a high school bathroom, allegedly by two much older immigrants. One suspect is here illegally, and the other’s immigration status is not yet clear." • As a presidential candidate, Trump said : “The US has become a dumping ground for everybody else's problems. When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with [them]. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people....It's coming from more than Mexico. It's coming from all over South and Latin America.” Trump was ridiculed mercilessly by the Progressive propaganda media machine and excoriated by Hispanic activists following those comments. Univision anchor Jorge Ramos asked : “When you say that immigrants from Mexico are criminals and rapists, isn't that spreading hate?” • Now he is "President Trump," but, says Hannity : "violent crimes carried out by illegal immigrants continue to take place, including last week’s brutal rape by suspects aged 17 and 18. Despite their age, the alleged rapists were attending high school as 9th graders. This terrible crime is just the latest in a long list of Americans who are victims because of illegal immigration. During the presidential election, the murder of Kate Steinle became national news. She was gunned down in the summer of 2015 in front of her parents in the sanctuary city of San Francisco. The killer was an illegal immigrant who had been deported five times. These high-profile incidences are just the tip of the iceberg. Last year, Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” held a town hall with then-candidate Trump, and we had mothers whose children were killed at the hands of illegal immigrants. It was a sobering moment. Their heart-breaking stories unfolded, underscoring their personal tragedies as well as twisted local government policies that seem to place people who sneak into the US above innocent Americans." • Hannity reminded us that for years, he has been "raising real concerns about illegal immigration. Back in 2014, Texas Governor Rick Perry and I sat in on a border security briefing. I learned that in the previous seven years in Texas alone, illegal immigrants had been responsible for about 642,000 criminal offenses. Between 2011 and February 2017, illegal immigrants were responsible for 1,162 homicide charges, 68,151 assault charges and 6,098 sexual assault charges in the Lone Star State." • Those are sobering statistics that represent real Americans suffering from Obama's open border. But, Hannity continued : "Texas is not the only state impacted by criminal illegal immigrants. In 2015, 36.6% of all federal sentences were given to illegal immigrants, including convictions for drug trafficking, kidnapping, and murder. Between 2013 and 2015, despite the dangers listed above, the Obama administration released 86,288 criminal illegal immigrants right back into the general US population. You won’t hear about that in the alt-left media. Thankfully, we have a new President, and he has a new attitude." • • • DEAR READERS, why talk today about illegal immigrants? Because it is the most visible evidence that the West is committing "immigrant" suicide. Hannity mentioned that President Trump recently commented about illegal immigrants : “I met with many American families whose loved ones -- sons and daughters, husbands and wives -- were viciously killed by illegal immigrants. These American victims and their families were ignored by the media. The media doesn't want to talk about it. But these Americans were not ignored by me. They were not ignored by you. You showed that on November 8. There were not ignored by you, and they will never be ignored by any of us.” • President Trump is right. We need and should demand a secure border and an end to illegal "sanctuary" policies that allow illegal immigrant criminals to prey on innocent Americans. • It is a starting point for stopping the 'suicide' that admits anybody to Western democracies -- all they have to do is show up -- that is suicidal and its halt should be our next demand. Then, stop legal mass immigration and apply extreme vetting to every candidate for entry into the US or any European country. Our third demand should be that "homegrown" terrorists must be stopped -- shut down radical mosques, deport radical imams, insist that the children of all immigrants go to public schools and learn English or the host country language, study civics and history, and refuse re-entry to any person who goes to an ISIS or other islamic terrorist training site or serves as an ISIS foot soldier and then tries to re-enter the US or Europe. • There are other things to be done. But, the importnat thing is to get started while we still have time on our side, at least in the US. There is no excuse for doing nothing in the wake of the Wednesday attack on the British parliament.

Iran and Iraq Are Ground Zero for Trump-Tillerson Foreign Policy Success

Our thoughts and prayers are with Great Britain and her people today. As they face terrorist acts, we stand steadfastly with them. • • • President Trump and Secretary of State Tillerson have their work cut out for them in trying to engage China in serious assistance to bring about a halt in North Korea's nuclear program. But, while Trump and Tillerosn focus on North Korea and China, they cannot forget the Middle East. • • • IRAQ. "In his very first meeting with President Trump, Iraqi PM Haider al- Abadi expressed confidence in defeating the Islamic State (IS) terror group : "We have been given assurance that US support will not only continue but will accelerate Iraq to accomplish the task." India Today reported Iraqi prime minister's words about his Washington meeting with President Trump on its online news site, and also reported that the Chinese Xinhua news agency published a positive report. • When Trump and al-Abadi met on Monday, they agreed to pursue a long-term partnership to "decisively" root out terrorism and strengthen the Iraqi military and other key institutions, according ot their joint statement. They also indicated that "terrorism cannot be defeated by military might alone," and Trump and al-Abadi also agreed to promote an extensive political and economic partnership between the two countries. Later this year, the US and Iraqi leaders will meet to decide on steps to "deepen commercial ties and promote investment, expand collaboration in the energy sector, and seek new opportunities for cultural and educational cooperation," according India Today. Monday's meeting came as Iraqi forces "continue to consolidate gains against the IS, particularly in the battle for Mosul, which has been under the IS control since June 2014." India Today also reported : "The meeting between Trump and Abadi also comes two days ahead of a key multinational meeting in Washington on fighting the IS. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will host foreign ministers and senior officials from 68 nations and international organisations for a detailed discussion of priorities for the efforts against the IS." In a side note, India Today noted that "Abadi also thanked Trump for removing Iraq from travel ban affecting several Moslem-majority countries." • • • As India Today was reporting positively about the Trump meeting with al-Abadi, the Washington Post was reporting with a different slant : "As US-backed forces and Iraqi government troops steadily take back the crucial northern city of Mosul from the Islamic State, attention is shifting to what happens once the battle is won. There are vexing challenges ahead : The weak shiite-led government in Baghdad has yet to prove it has the ability to govern provinces where sunnis comprise the majority; a movement for a referendum on an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq is gaining traction; a host of other regional powers, including Turkey and Iran, are also exerting influence on the ground in competing ways." This is true, but positive reporting of the meeting was downplayed. The WP quoted al-Abadi : “We are proving that Daesh can be eliminated,” noting that he was speaking at the US Institute of Peace, an agency of the government "that the Trump administration plans to eliminate in its new proposed budget." The WP said : "Abadi offered a message of hope for his nation, arguing that things were looking up and that the country's fledgling democracy was successfully moving forward." Then, the WP added : "Still, critics, including human rights organizations, are concerned about the effects of an entrenched and deepening sectarianism. Abadi's shiite-dominated government remains distrusted in areas reclaimed from the Islamic State. Key Iranian-backed shiite militias mobilized by Abadi's government to fight in the anti-Islamic State campaign have been accused of carrying out their own massacres of sunnis deemed to have collaborated with the extremist group. A report...by PBS Frontline...details the mass disappearances of sunni boys and men in a village outside of Baghdad once occupied by the Islamic State. Locals claim that the men were abducted by the shiite fighters who had liberated the town from the jihadists. On a wider scale, as [WP journalists] have reported, the ineptitude of local officials and endemic graft among the police and judiciary in certain parts of Iraq have created room for Islamic State cells to return to provincial cities where they were only recently ousted. 'We have inherited many problems, some of which are intrinsic in our society,' Abadi admitted during his talk at the USIP." • The rest of the negative Washington Post story outlines its disagreements with Trump -- his confusing position on Iraq, "saying he opposed the invasion of Iraq in 2003 ('although it emerged that he was for the war before he was against it');" signaling he wants a radical break from "his party's history of engineering regime change and embarking on nation-building projects in the Middle East," but at the same time, pushing for a more muscular approach to fighting the Islamic State and "exhibiting an alarming disregard for Iraqi sovereignty" with his perplexing calls to take the nation's oil; deciding to include Iraq on the list of seven Moslem-majority countries in the US travel ban, then removing Iraq from the second executive order that "faces renewed legal challenges in the courts." • On their face, these Washington Post charges seem true enough, except for their charged word choices, but if we consider the entire Middle East context, they are much less fair to the new Trump administration. Even the WP itself half-heartedly said as much in February in an editorial : “While the Obama administration deserves blame for sidestepping Iraq’s political challenges, Mr. Trump has quickly exacerbated the trouble.” The Post's basic problem with Trump seems to be the same one the Foreign Policy journal has, as quoted by the WP : " 'The White House's proposed cuts to the State Department and its general apathy toward multilateral diplomacy don't inspire observers with much confidence. Trump’s efforts to 'deconstruct' the non-Pentagon parts of the US foreign policy apparatus -- as well as cuts to support for international institutions -- threatens to strip the United States of the tools required in Iraq and elsewhere, just when we need them most,' wrote Jeff Prescott and Daniel Benaim, two former Obama administration officials, in Foreign Policy. Unless we plan another occupation of Iraq (or genuinely and absurdly seek to 'take the oil') it is a reality that as the fighting stops our military will step aside and the State Department, USAID, the IMF, and the UN will have to take over.” • Granted, the situation in Iraq is extremely complicated. There is a push by Kurds for a Kurdish nation. There is the historic animosity between Iraq's sunnis and shiites, now exacerbated by Baghdad's volatile politics that include the ascension of shiite Iran, thanks in large part to Obama's leaving the door open for them to enter Iraq in force. And al-Abadi is facing re-election next year, with some in his own shiite political party, as well as former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, widely seen as waiting in the wings for Abadi to make a 'fatal' political mistake. Trump himself has criticized both Obama and G.W. Bush for giving Iraq to Iran. But, Trump must now figure out how to corral and control the newly rich and powerful Iran unleashed by Obama without undercutting al-Abadi and other prominent Iraqi shiites in Baghdad, who prefer shiite Iran to Iraqi sunnis as their political and military partner. In Washington, al-Abadi tried to show that his government is capable of being a solid US partner. But, according to the Washington Post, the underlying tensions are not far from the surface : "We have to work with others. We have to build bridges,” Abadi remarked at the close of his USIP talk. He ended with a joke at Trump's expense : “Otherwise, what do you do? You build walls?” • • • IRAN. So, if Iran is the underlying problem in the Middle East, and most observers seem to agree at least on this one point, what is Trump going to do about Iran? • On Tuesday, Israel Today wrote : "Many believe that it’s inevitable that the Syrian civil war will eventually spill over into northern Israel. Iran is doing everything in its power to prove them right." The Israel Today article goes on to describe how "Iran’s Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, is already heavily engaged in the war in Syria. But the group has suffered major losses, and is stretched thin trying to keep Syrian dictator Bashar Assad in power. So Iran has funneled money and resources to establish a new Hezbollah brigade focused on 'liberating' the Golan Heights from Israeli control." Israel Today quotes a spokesman for the “Golan Liberation Brigade,” who told Iranian media : “This is a trained army with specific plans. If the government of Syria requests, we and our allies are ready to take action to liberate Golan. We will not permit Arab and Islamic countries in the region to remain in the grasps of the [Israeli] occupiers.” Israel Today notes that the new brigade's promotional video featured soldiers carrying flags that read “Israel Will Be Destroyed.” • Does Russia agree with this new Iranian proposal to attack Israel and retake the Golan Heights for Iranian proxy Hezbollah? Not so much, it would seem, if the next report is accurate. • • • ISRAEL IDF CONFRONTATION WITH SYRIAN AIR DEFENSE. The French i24 TV outlet that also publishes a news website in English, reported last Friday that the Syrian army claimed Friday it shot down an Israeli plane and hit a second one as they were carrying out pre-dawn strikes near the ancient desert city of Palmyra [Syria]. The Syrian army said : "Our air defense engaged them and shot down one warplane over occupied territory, hit another one, and forced the rest to flee." The i24 site reported that the Israeli air force had said earlier that it carried out several strikes on Syria overnight, but that "none of the ground-to-air missiles fired by Syrian forces in response had hit Israeli aircraft," citing Israeli military officials, who confirmed that "Israel downed an incoming Syrian anti-aircraft missile which was fired at an Israeli jet with the Arrow defense battery early Friday morning, marking the first reported use of the advanced missile defense system." Overnight Thursday, Israeli warplanes attacked several targets in Syria, the Israel Defense Forces said, prompting the Syrian attempt to shoot down the Israeli jets, according to the IDF : “Several anti-aircraft missiles were launched from Syria following the mission and IDF aerial defense systems intercepted one of the missiles. The safety of the forces and Israeli civilians were not compromised." The i24 story continued : "The Arrow system, a part of Israeli's multi-layered air defense array, is designed to shoot down intercontinental ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere, intercepting the weapons and their warheads close to their launch sites. The IDF did not specify which targets were attacked, but local media and Arab media said the target of the strikes was a Hezbollah weapons convoy. Apparently triggered by the Syrian anti-aircraft missile, sirens warning of incoming rockets sounded off in the Jordan Valley region in central Israel and the West Bank early Friday. Initial reports said the sirens and explosions were believed to be from rocket launches against Israel from either the West Bank or Jordan. But according to the news site Walla, the sirens sounded when Israeli missile defense systems detected a missile being launched at the Israeli Air Force planes during their strike against Syrian targets. Shortly thereafter two loud blasts were audible as far south and west as Jerusalem, local media reported. Earlier Friday, an IDF spokesperson said the incident was being examined. IDF ground forces in the area initially launched a search for fallen rockets in the mountainous terrain before discovering the trigger for the sirens." • There is also a related Jerusalem Post Tuesday report that Iran has accused Russia of giving Israel the codes for Syrian air anti-aircraft missiles [S-300s] to Israel. The JP quotes a senior official in the engineering department of Iran's Defense Department who spoke to the Kuwaiti daily Al-Jarida on Monday. But, says the JP : "The Kuwaiti daily quotes Iran Defense Ministry source as saying Iran was able to change the codes without Russia's knowledge, enabling Friday's missile launch against Israeli aircraft." According to the JP report : "Much remains unknown about Israel's attack on a Hezbollah weapons convoy and the Syrian response to the Israeli fighter jets early Friday morning....Friday marked the first time that an anti-aircraft missile had been fired at an IAF jet. Al-Jarida's Teheran correspondent, Farzad Qassemi, cited a source in the Iranian Defense Ministry as saying that Iranian experts had changed the operation codes for the Syrian air defense system, which is what enabled the anti-aircraft missiles to be used against the Israeli Air Force on Friday morning." • The Jerusalem Post says that according to the source : "Damascus and Teheran 'were shocked' every time the Russian-made air defense system did not work to defend Syria's airspace, or even give notification that the air space had been penetrated in order to evacuate outposts prior to the airstrike. The systems are supposed to identify the takeoff of Israeli Air Force jets from their bases because of the small distance between the countries and is even supposed to attempt to target the planes and any missiles that are fired from them." According to the source, the Iranians and the Syrians suspected that Russia gave the codes for the air defense system to Israel and even refused the requests of Iran and Syria to check the codes. The source told the JP : "Iran has the ability today to change the Russian security codes, since it received the advanced Russian S-300. This came after it received reports that Israel got the operation codes for the missile system. In Iran, they even expanded their knowledge when they built the Bavar-373 air defense system -- which is a domestic copy of the Russian S-300 -- in order that the systems would work together during an attack." According to the source, three weeks ago, during Iranian military maneuvers, Iranian engineers hacked into the codes of the S-300. The source also told the JP that the Iranian Defense Ministry sent several engineers to Syria to change the codes of the air defense system that was under the control of the Syrian army, without Moscow's knowledge : "They succeeded in changing some of the codes last month and therefore when the Israel fighter jets took off from their bases -- the air defense system succeeded in identifying them and firing interceptor missiles at them and at the missiles they had launched." The source added that "the Syrian radar treated Israeli fighter jets as friendly planes in the past and not as enemy planes, which proves that Israel knew the codes of the missile system." According to the source, the identification of the Israeli fighter jets taking off enabled Hezbollah to evacuate the outpost and even to launch a missile toward the military base from which the fighter jets had taken off. The Iranian source said further that in a report sent to the Russian military command, the Russians were asked if someone penetrated the Syrian air defense system. Both the Iranians and Syrians are awaiting an answer. • It seems that earlier reports that there is growing tension between Russia and Iran over who will control Syria and its military are at least partially true. Why else would Russia and Iran be engaged in an operation-code war over the Syrian air defense system. • • • TRUMP AND TILLERSON VS IRAN. That would seem like a no-brainer. Is it??? American Thinker on Sunday published an article by Amir Basiri, an Iranian human rights activist, who wrote : "Perhaps the most challenging foreign policy dilemma facing the Trump administration is none other than Iran. Issues include Iran’s nuclear program, a regional policy focused on increasing its hegemonic reach, a network backing a conglomerate of militia groups rampaging the entire region, a dangerous missile program, and continuing human rights violations. The question before Washington is how to tackle these issues without launching yet another unnecessary war or adopting an appeasement-based policy." Basiri says the situation has become ever more sensitive "as Teheran once again resorted to a new round of hostilities in successfully testing a naval missile hitting a target at 250 kilometers, launching a new pair of ballistic missiles last weekend, and again dispatching its fast-attack boats to harass a US Navy surveillance ship in the international Gulf waters of the Strait of Hormuz. The provocative move was described as 'unsafe and unprofessional' by a US official." Basiri say it is time to forget the current Washington policy of trying to find so-called "moderates/reformists" inside the regime...after 38 years in power, the mullahs have through their atrocious domestic crackdown and wreaking havoc across the Middle East proven this perspective to be nothing but a hoax." • It is certainly true that the US and the West have continually looked at the every new Iranian president as a "moderate" who will rally the Iranian people behind him in a successful attempt to gradually overturn the power of the Ayatollah. It just hasn't happened -- from Rafsanjani who fathered Iran’s nuclear program and purged a slate of political dissidents abroad, to Khatami who viciously oppressed the 1999 student uprising in Iran, to the current Rouhani who successfully beat Obama by negotiating a nuclear deal extremely favorable to Iran. Obama thought he could smooth-talk Rouhani, and also Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei by writing secret letters to him, but all Obama accomplished was to provide Iran a green light to immerse the entire Middle East in terrorism -- the examples are Syria and Iraq. • Basiri lays out the result in Syria : "The concessions made by Obama in this regard to Iran were unnecessary, to say the least. Not only was Iran allowed to preserve its ballistic missile and nuclear program, Syria is now a radicalized state thanks to Teheran’s meddling. One can truly argue Obama’s approach allowed Teheran to support Assad in the massacre of over half a million Syrians, the displacement of 12 million, and the entire country left in ruins." And the same applies to Iraq, says Basiri : "Obama also turned a blind eye to Iran brewing disaster in Iraq through the Revolutionary Guards’ [IRGC] proxy militias that continue to massacre the sunni minority to this day, all under the pretext of battling Daesh (ISIS/ISIL)." • And we recently learned through an Iranian opposition press conference in London that the IRGC’s secret network of 90 docks is used to send arms to regional militia groups smuggle $12 billion of goods in the ongoing effort of taking control of Iran’s economy and providing illicit funds for its terrorist activities. Says Basiri : "The Obama-crafted nuclear agreement actually encouraged the Iranian regime to increase its belligerence and press the gas pedal on its radical Middle East agenda." • • • AMERICA AND IRAN. The most important thing the Trump administration must remember is the failure that looking for "moderate" Iranian leaders has produced. Under Obama, the US lost much of its credibility, its influence, and the trust of people looking for American protection in Syria, Iraq -- and Iran. In the process, Obama policies led to the loss of thousands of American soldiers' lives and continued the massive expense that, under Obama, was mostly money lost. CENTCOM commander General Joseph L. Votel told the Senate Armed Services Committee recently that Iran poses the most substantial threat to US CENTCOM's area of responsibility : “We are also dealing with a range of malign activities perpetrated by Iran and its proxies operating in the region. It is my view that Iran poses the greatest long-term threat to stability for this part of the world." • The rise of Iran has been the result of the serious misunderstanding about the reality of Iranian politics and internal factions that, says Basiri, "leaves no room for 'moderates' or 'reformists.' The history of appeasement/engagement/rapprochement vis-à-vis Iran’s mullahs is enough proof that such an illusion must be set aside for good." • • • DEAR READERS, then-President Obama was caught on an open microphone in 2012 telling then–Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to pass along a message to then–prime minister Vladimir Putin : “On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved, but it’s important for him to give me space....This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility.” We assumed then that Obama was talking solely about the air defense missile ring that was to be installed in eastern Europe. BUT, was Obama also referring to the Russian air defense system to be installed in both Iran and Syria?? Perhaps the main driver behind Obama’s unwillingness to confront Russia, and his decision to ignore or downplay Russia’s aggression, was that he wanted Russia’s help with what would become Obama’s "legacy" foreign-policy “achievement,” the Iran nuclear deal. And, oh boy, did Obama get help -- a billion-dollar anti-missile system sale to protect Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, and the sale by Russia to Iran of the advanced S-300 air defense system that had been on hold under the Iranian sanctions that Obama lifted. The Russian–Iranian partnership wouldn’t exist in today's format if it weren’t for Barack Obama. • Further, many details about the Iran deal were negotiated secretly, avoiding congressional oversight and public scrutiny, and these "details" are still classified, so we have no idea what Obama agreed to or if the Deep State left behind by Obama is carrying them out. The President of the Institute for Science and International Security, David Albright, testified recently before the House Foreign Affairs Committee : “First, the workings of the deal have been far too secret. Some portions of the parallel or side deals and secret Joint Commission and Procurement Working Group (PWG) decisions and actions have been publicly revealed. Although the PWG decided after Donald Trump won the presidency to release its major decisions, likely feeling increasing pressure to do so, much still remains secret.” In the summer of 2015, Congress meekly sought access to the side deals and annexes related to the Iran deal. Two prominent members of Congress who actually fought hard were GOP Senator Tom Cotton and then-Representative Mike Pompeo, who, as the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, may now be able to sort out the secret details. And, let's not forget that Obama shipped $400 million in cash on pallets to Iran on the day the Iranians released American hostages held on the tarmac in Teheran waiting for the cash to arrive. Obama insisted the hostage release and the pallets of cash were not a ransom, saying the transactions were unrelated. Members of the media reported this as the truth, even after a State Department spokesman eventually admitted that the timing of the cash transfer was “leveraged” to secure the hostage release. Then, while the media frenzy focused on the American election results and whether President-Elect Trump was saying nice things about Putin, the US, still under Obama, and the five other world powers that negotiated the Iran deal (including Russia), authorized the shipment of 116 metric tons of natural uranium from Russia to Iran. David Albright told the media the 116 tons could be enriched to make more than ten nuclear bombs. • This is the starting point for President Tryump and Secretary Tillerson -- and the US military. It is not a pretty picture and it will require time, nerves of steel and US muscle applied to all its allies to reverse the catastrophe Obama left behind him in the Middle East. What should Trump do? Remember that -- while trying to work with Russia is better than ignoring it or running NATO troops up to its border in eastern Europe -- Russia is an adversary of the United States, and Russia is supporting and arming a terrorist Iran that is the avowed enemy of both the US and Israel. It all happened under President Obama, despite his denials, and because of his constant capitulation, it remains true today. But, in addition, because of the Obama initiatives, both Russia and Iran are far more powerful today -- witness the Syrian air defense missile that recognized and fired at Israeli Air Force planes for the first time Friday. We might be tempted to edit President Theodore Roosevelt's famous line about winning : "Speak LOUDLY and carry a big stick." Putin and the Ayatollah just might respond to that.