Monday AM ~ TheFrontPageCover

The Front Page Cover
 The Events of the Week -- Featuring: 
Trump, NATO, and the Burden of the Past
by ALEXANDER G. MARKOVSKY

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 Good News: Another liar-nObama Power Grab 
 Shot Down 
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As we've noted previously, if Donald Trump wants to become Hitler as the Left claims, he's doing a poor job of it. Why? He's doing little so far besides rolling back Barack liar-nObama's executive power grabs. The latest example is liar-nObama's final day parting shot, in which he banned lead ammunition on federal lands. Trump's newly sworn-in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wasted no time reversing that order. "It's time to put ammunition back where it belongs; in the hands of hunters," Zinke said.
          The previous administration based its actions on "science" — naturally. "Exposure to lead ammunition and fishing tackle has resulted in harmful effects to fish and wildlife species," claimed former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director Dan Ashe. And the Humane Society complained, "There's just no excuse not to make the transition, except for knee-jerk opposition from a segment of society that simply thinks it's acceptable collateral damage for upwards of 15 million animals from more than 130 species to die of lead poisoning every year."
          As the Leftmedia likes to say about anything Trump says, these claims were made without evidence. That's right, the science behind the ban is dubious at best, despite the caterwauling of rabidly anti-gun leftists.
          Big picture, liar-nObama is simply one of those anti-gun leftists who would in one breath offer lip service to our "traditions" of hunting and sport shooting and in the next talk about why steps were needed to restrict the gun rights of law-abiding Americans. Ironically, liar-nObama's words and deeds made him the gun salesman of the decade. Liberty lovers can rest easier knowing that Trump's administration is so quickly taking a better approach.  ~The Patriot Post
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Huckabee Calls For Comey To Resign –
Truth Will Vindicate Trump, Vilify liar-nObama
by Rick Wells
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{rickwells.us} ~ General Michael Hayden, who used to head both the CIA and the NSA is not an objective third party commentator. He’s providing deep state cover and still pushing what is increasingly being exposed as the lie that Donald Trump and the Russians colluded... or that the Russians acted independently against liar-Hillary Clinton in the elections. It’s becoming increasingly harder for him to do so, given the growing evidence pile that leads to the CIA. As he speaks, there are no facts included in what he says, only opinion and vague, broad assertions. He states that he doesn’t “know that the Russians actually committed the theft,” as he’s about to accuse them of doing precisely that. Hayden says, “With regard to the timing, I mean look, I’m now pretty close to the position that WikiLeaks is acting as an arm, as an agent of the Russian Federation.” So if he’s not able to state the most basic premise for such a claim, that the Russians were involved with any certainty, how is he then able to make the leap that someone leaking information about the CIA wrongdoing is acting on their behalf. Hayden is flailing, attempting to throw blame in any direction other than at the two agencies he headed and his successor at the CIA, John Brennan...  http://rickwells.us/huckabee-calls-comey-resign-truth-indicate-trump-vilify-obama/
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Jihadis Living on Support Payments
from the Europe They Vowed to Destroy
by Giulio Meotti
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Muhammad Shamsuddin, a 39-year-old London-based Islamist,
was featured in a documentary called "The Jihadis Next Door."
{gatestoneinstitute.org} ~ Four years ago, the British liberal newspaper, The Guardian, ran a story about the "survivors of Guantanamo", the "victims of America's 'icon of lawlessness'"... "Britain's survivors of the detention centre that has been called the 'gulag of our times'". The article featured a photograph of Jamal al Harith. Al Harith, born Ronald Fiddler, a Christian convert to Islam, returned to Manchester from detention at Guantanamo Bay thanks to activism of David Blunkett, Home Secretary of then-Prime Minister Tony Blair. Al Harith was immediately welcomed in England as a hero, the innocent victim of the unjust "war on terror" after September 11. The Mirror and ITV gave him £60,000 ($73,000) for an exclusive interview about his experience at Guantanamo. Al Harith was also compensated with one million pounds by the British authorities. The victim of the "gulag of our times" bought a very nice house with the taxpayers' cash. A few weeks ago, al Harith made his last "journey": he was blown up in Mosul, Iraq, on behalf of the Islamic State. Al Harith had also been recruited by the non-governmental organization "CAGE" (formerly known as "Cageprisoners") as part of its testimony advocating the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility...  https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10022/jihadi-welfare
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Sanctuary Cities
by EDWARD CLINE
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{familysecuritymatters.org} ~ A “sanctuary city” is no more than a haven for criminals and illegals. I don’t think we need to flaunt the definition of “criminal.” An illegal, however, is a person living in the U.S. who entered it illegally, and collects government benefits... may or may not hold a job, and may even “vote” because of chiefly democratic election rigging. If he’s found out, he can retreat to a “sanctuary city” where, presumably, the authorities cannot arrest him or detain him for deportation back to the pest hole he came from. He can be a murderer, but the authorities’ hands would be tied. He can commit the most horrendous crime, yet still be “untouchable.” Coming across the border are countless illegals, many of them dangerous, many of them jihadists posing as Mexicans or South Americans. Aaron Bandler of the Daily Wire, in an undated report, outlines the essentials of a “sanctuary city”:... http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/sanctuary-cities?f=must_reads
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Don’t Blame CIA Deep State For Disaster,
It Was Disposable Contractors
by Rick Wells
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{rickwells.us} ~ Andrea Mitchell invited Dianne Feinstein for an interview to do a little damage control to their campaign against the President and their Russia did everything story, protect the CIA that made it all possible and throw a few barbs at President Trump... because he hasn’t yet produced the evidence that liar-nObama was spying on him. The evidence is coming fast and furious (sorry Barry and Eric) from other sources, including the FISA court and from within the experts associated with the intelligence community, but that isn’t enough for Feinstein and Mitchell. They start off their little get together with a clip of Julian Assange in an audio presentation of some of the same information that was contained in the press release for his Vault7 CIA document dump. He describes how the CIA had accumulated what was probably the largest cyber warfare arsenal in the world and then allowed it, through lax and sloppy security measures, to be compromised. He notes how, having lost control of their cyber weapons, the CIA then engaged in a cover up. Once again it’s proven that Democrats and their agencies do have a real problem with both security and honesty and seem incapable of development in either area. In a vague and non-committal response reminiscent of the Hussein liar-nObama spying denial, the CIA issued a statement on the matter...We know who she is covering up for.
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Trump, NATO, and the Burden of the Past
by ALEXANDER G. MARKOVSKY
 
{familysecuritymatters.org} ~ In his first speech to members of NATO, American Secretary of Defense Mattis said, "Americans cannot care more for your children's future security than you do."  This echoes his boss Donald Trump's campaign statement, "Number one it (NATO) was obsolete, because it was designed many, many years ago." Normally, a new president can count on the backing of his own party, but on this issue there is a rare consensus on both sides of the aisle in support of the existing policies.

 The core divergence of geopolitical views is this:
  • Supporters of NATO see American commitments as implicitly limitless and irreversible. They insist that the arrangements have worked well for the United States, and any attempt to challenge them is not in America's national interests. Ideologically, adherence to existing commitments defines our national interests.
  • Driven by effectiveness, not ideology, Trump believes the existing commitments are not eternal and are limited by resources. Therefore, we must define our national interests in order to shape our commitments - not allow existing commitments to define our interests.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, is a case in point. Established in April 1949, NATO was designed to serve three objectives:
  1. Deter Soviet expansionism.
  2. Prevent the revival of militarism in Europe.
  3. Encourage European political and economic integration.
At that moment in time Europe was in ruins and facing a formidable threat from the Red Army, and later from the combined forces of the Warsaw Pact. Given strategic and political realities, the United States emerged as the principal guarantor of peace. With the demise of the Soviet Union, the Warsaw Pact disintegrated as well.  So, if you are Vladimir Putin, you would ask the United States about NATO, "Against whom are you maintaining this beautiful friendship?"

And if you are Donald Trump, you realize that seventy years later the kids have grown up and the geostrategic reality is fundamentally different. Today, the European Union is a massive economic power, with a population of 500 million and a combined GDP akin to the United States.  Russia's GDP is comparable to South Korea or Australia. The EU is sufficiently strong to maintain the regional order.

However, despite economic strength and manpower, Western democracies, having downgraded their military capabilities, continue to rely on the United States for maintaining their security. The absurdity is that while Europeans are enjoying a 35-hour work week, generous benefits and extended vacations, American workers have to put in 40 to 50 hours per week to support Europe's defense.

And it gets better! With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact, NATO found itself without a mission. "Mission accomplished" is not good news for a military alliance - it needs enemies for self-preservation.

Hence, the concept of an alliance was quietly converted into a doctrine of collective security. The significance is that while alliances identify potential adversaries and serve clearly defined objectives, the doctrine of collective security carries much broader implications. It may oppose any aggressive conduct anywhere in the world that may be interpreted as a threat to the peaceful international order. In this spirit NATO, paraphrasing John Quincy Adams, has gone around the world "in search of monsters to destroy" -- often pursuing not strategic but moral goals in an attempt to promote Western values.

But the most troublesome aspect of this conversion is that in a violation of the verbal agreement between Secretary of State James Baker and Russian Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, NATO launched a massive expansion to the east, growing from 16 countries before the reunification of Germany to 28 today. This expansion can be seen from Moscow only as a strategy to encircle Russia and turn its neighbors into hostile countries. It provokes Russia's paranoia and could lead to a direct confrontation with the United States reminiscent of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

As George Kennan, American diplomat and author of the concepts of "Cold War" and "containment," prophetically wrote in the New York Times on February 5, 1997:

"..... expanding NATO would be the most fateful error of American policy in the entire post-cold war era.... Such a decision may be expected to inflame the nationalistic, anti-Western and militaristic tendencies in Russian opinion; to have an adverse effect on the development of Russian democracy; to restore the atmosphere of the cold war to East-West relations, and to impel Russian foreign policy in directions decidedly not to our liking."

President liar-Clinton, who was an architect of the expansion, ignored George Kennan's warning and subsequently created a destabilizing environment in Europe, which was further exacerbated by the liar-nObama administration.  Idealism and affinity have led to the over-extension of American commitments and resulted in financial burdens that, according to Trump, America can no longer afford.

As Lord Salisbury observed, "The commonest error in politics is sticking to the carcass of dead policies.
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