U.S. officials have confirmed to CBS News that plans have been approved for a series of strikes over a number of days against targets — including Iranian personnel and facilities — inside Iraq and Syria. The strikes will come in response to drone and rocket attacks targeting U.S. forces in the region‚ including the drone attack on Sunday that killed three U.S. service members at the Tower 22 base inside Jordan‚ near the Syrian border. Speaking at the Pentagon Thursday‚ Defense...

Intelligence officials have calculated that Tehran does not have full control over its proxy groups in the Middle East‚ including those responsible for attacking and killing U.S. troops in recent weeks‚ according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The Quds Force — an elite branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps — is responsible for sending weapons and military advisers as well as intelligence to support militias in Iraq and Syria as well as the Houthis in Yemen. The groups...

Our readers know that Mike Johnson‚ the House speaker‚ is a longtime friend of mine. And as such‚ you won’t get any criticism of Johnson from me — other than to recognize that it’s a waste of time to have particularly high expectations of Mike when he can’t actually get the votes to pass anything that looks like conservative policy. That’s what having a grand total of 219 Republicans — and a grand total of zero Democrats who can be counted on to buck their party on any serious policy items — will get you. Johnson can’t be judged on his effectiveness as speaker of the House until he has a working majority. And he doesn’t. Hopefully‚ maybe‚ he’ll have one after November. And I’m optimistic he will. There’s a lot of talk about the GOP losing the House. Most of that seems to originate from the idea that Donald Trump as the party’s nominee will hurt the party downballot. But won’t Joe Biden as the Democrats’ nominee hurt their party downballot? Particularly when it’s beginning to look like the 2024 election is likely to turn on the public’s opinion of Biden’s border invasion‚ and not really much else. A lot has been said about that issue. What I can say is that Johnson is‚ right now‚ the single most important man in America offering hope that the border invasion can be made to stop. Eventually. 1. Johnson Unloads on Biden and the Amnesty Caucus You’ll want to block off 30 minutes and watch this. It’s a speech Johnson gave on the House floor Wednesday‚ and in it he directly — I would say rudely‚ but Mike Johnson doesn’t really do “rudely;” this is about as far as he’ll go — and forcefully refutes the paltry and half-assed narrative that some sort of “border security” legislation being cooked up in the Senate will have to pass in order for the hordes of mostly military-age men swarming across our southern border on their way to the welfare rolls and free housing stateside to start getting turned away. Not so‚ says Johnson. In fact‚ Joe Biden has all the power he needs to close that border and bring law and order back to the immigration process just as his predecessor did before Biden ripped away Donald Trump’s successful border security policies. And that wasn’t all. Check out this speech and ask yourself where the refutation of it could possibly come from. 2. A Day Later‚ a … Truce? So here was Biden on Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast. Check out how utterly — and clumsily — manipulative this is: CRY MORE‚ NO 'TRUCE': Biden sheds tears and calls for truce‚ telling Republican Speaker Mike Johnson 'We must not be enemies' as they listen to Andrea Bocelli sing 'Amazing Grace' at National Prayer Breakfast in Washington BIDEN AND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY (SOCIALIST REALLY)… pic.twitter.com/hQGm6CIxjl — The Dibster (@richarddibX) February 1‚ 2024 “Must not be enemies?” Really? Fine‚ Joe. Rescind your asinine ban on LNG exports. Bring back Remain in Mexico. Fire Alejandro Mayorkas. Start deporting — if nobody else — the 25‚000 Chinese illegals who you’ve let in; if not to China then to Ecuador‚ who’s taking them in and then sending them north. You’ve operated in pure bad faith from the very beginning‚ and you want a truce now that the public is getting tired of your dishonesty and disastrous results? No‚ Joe. You’ve acted like an enemy‚ and you’ve treated your political opponents with no respect or decency at all. You get no truce. Surrender if you want peace. 3. O’Keefe Proves What We’ve Known James O’Keefe released a very interesting video this week‚ though it wouldn’t really be true to call the substance of it shocking. It turns out that O’Keefe managed to disguise himself as a gay guy and catfished a White House cybersecurity expert into dropping a dime on the Biden regime‚ all for the benefit of the cameras: BREAKING VIDEO: Top White House Cyber Official tells O’Keefe in Disguise “they can't say it publicly” the White House wants to replace Kamala Harris and Confirms President @JoeBiden mental decline: “Biden is definitely slowing down.” “I'm just telling you what I've heard…… pic.twitter.com/75Wdw03DHs — James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) January 31‚ 2024 It isn’t quite fair to call Charlie Kraiger a White House insider. He’s a staffer. But what he says doesn’t sound wrong. This is confirmation‚ of sorts‚ of what we’ve thought for a while: Top White House Cyber Official tells O’Keefe in Disguise “they can’t say it publicly” the White House wants to replace Kamala Harris and Confirms President @JoeBiden mental decline: “Biden is definitely slowing down.” “I’m just telling you what I’ve heard… they’re really concerned about it” …”I think they need to get rid of him or her.” “But no one in modern history has ever said‚ like‚ ‘We’re not going to renominate the president for a second term.'” Charlie Kraiger @CharlieKraiger‚ a Cybersecurity policy analyst and Foreign affairs Desk Officer in the Executive Office at the White House‚ tells O’Keefe “I had a meeting with Michelle Obama @michelleobama …. Someone asked her‚ ‘Will you ever run for office?’ And she said‚ ‘No’ Empathically.” She was like‚ ‘I’ve seen all this shit my husband has had to go through and that does not interest me.’ ” @VP @KamalaHarris hemorrhages black staff. She can’t keep black staff. They quit on her en masse” “She will be the vice president nominee. There was a debate about removing her from the ticket‚ but sadly they didn’t‚ she’s not popular‚ but you can’t remove the first black lady to be vice president from the Goddamn presidential ticket. Like what kind of message are you going to send to like African-American voters…People would be like‚ “What the fuck?” Like she’s a woman and she’s multiracial.” So what to make of this? Well‚ it’s not particularly in line with what the New York Post’s Cindy Adams wrote last week about the rumors that Michelle Obama was preparing to parachute in as Biden’s replacement on the ticket. I think there’s potentially some synthesis to be had here‚ which is that Team Obama would desperately love to do just that‚ but the major obstacle is that Michelle simply doesn’t want the job‚ and you can’t tell her what to do. Or maybe that’s what they want everybody to believe so that this doesn’t come off as a coup d’etat if they do parachute her in at the convention. I’ve thought that Kamala Harris is what they’re stuck with if they do have to give the demented and decrepit Biden the hook. And Biden shows more and more signs of needing the hook with practically every public appearance‚ that National Prayer Breakfast debauch included. But the overarching takeaway from this is something I talk about in Racism‚ Revenge and Ruin: It’s All Obama — namely‚ that but for the Obamas actually controlling the Biden administration‚ you would have none of this talk about replacing Biden on the ticket. That much we can bank on. 4. Your Anti-Christian America Is Here‚ Folks Here’s something to file in the “shocking‚ but not surprising” category… In news that isn’t going to shock anyone‚ the United States Capitol Police has decided not to charge the Democrat staffer who trespassed in a Capitol hearing room and then filmed himself having anal sex with another man. The video of the act was posted online by the perpetrator and found by conservative news outlets. Naturally‚ the mainstream press had little interest in the story‚ and Sen. Ben Cardin‚ who employed the staffer‚ was allowed to simply drop the issue. Keep in mind‚ we are talking about the same mainstream press that spent two weeks obsessing over Rep. Lauren Boebert engaging in some ill-advised heavy petting in a movie theater. Aidan Maese-Czeropski‚ the staffer in question‚ was defiant in the aftermath‚ claiming he was “being attacked for who I love to pursue a political agenda.” Yeah‚ I’m sure that was it. It wasn’t him filming himself going at it with another dude in a Capitol hearing room. It was just a “political agenda. … Now‚ after much caterwauling about taking the issue seriously and opening a criminal investigation‚ the USCP has decided no charges will be filed. USCP says they will not charge anyone in the sex video incident in a Senate hearing room. pic.twitter.com/9ocL5zWg4k — Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) February 1‚ 2024 Yep. They’re really all about defending our shared values in the nation’s capital‚ aren’t they? Meanwhile‚ in another capital city: A Mississippi man who admitted to destroying a statue of the pagan idol Baphomet at the Iowa Capitol has been charged with a hate crime. The statue was part of a display organized by the Satanic Temple of Iowa under state rules allowing religious displays in the Iowa Capitol during the holidays. The installation drew strong criticism from state and national leaders‚ including Gov. Kim Reynolds and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis. On Dec. 14‚ the centerpiece of the display‚ a figure depicting the horned deity Baphomet‚ was “destroyed beyond repair‚” according to the Satanic Temple of Iowa. Michael Cassidy‚ a former congressional candidate from Mississippi‚ was charged the following day with fourth-degree criminal mischief‚ a misdemeanor. The Lauderdale‚ Mississippi‚ man told the conservative website The Sentinel that “My conscience is held captive to the word of God‚ not to bureaucratic decree. And so I acted.” Now‚ Polk County prosecutors have accused Cassidy of a more serious offense. A charging document made public Tuesday charges him with felony third-degree criminal mischief and notes that the act was committed “in violation of individual rights” under Iowa’s hate crime statute. “Evidence shows the defendant made statements to law enforcement and the public indicating he destroyed the property because of the victim’s religion‚” triggering the violation of individual rights enhancement‚ said Lynn Hicks‚ a spokesman for the Polk County Attorney’s Office. Making gay porn in a Senate hearing room doesn’t even get you a ticket in Washington‚ D.C. They want you to believe that Republicans are a bunch of hyper-religious‚ joyless scolds‚ but they will literally sodomize each other in the halls of Congress‚ on camera‚ and get away with it with no sanction at all. Not to mention putting up a statue of Baphomet and charging you with a hate crime if you decide to do to it what they do to statues of Robert E. Lee‚ Ulysses Grant‚ Ben Franklin‚ and Junípero Serra. And somehow this is better than living in a Christian nation? This is the America they want you to pay taxes and go to war for. Yeah‚ OK. 5. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare? Yes‚ Please. Guy Ritchie has a new movie coming out. It’s based on a true story about the British mounting a special operation against German U-Boats in World War II. Starring Henry Cavill‚ Alan Ritchson‚ and Cary Elwes‚ it’s hitting theater screens in April. The trailer… This spring might actually offer a little more cinematic entertainment than we’ve grown to expect‚ between this movie.‚ the second installment of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune duology‚ and Angel Studios’ Cabrini making their debuts in March and April. So we’ve got that to look forward to‚ which isn’t nothing. READ MOE: The Spectacle Ep. 65: Nikki Haley Proved She’s on the B Team Enough Is Enough: No Mo Bro-Fo Omar The post Five Quick Things: The Speaker Has Spoken appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

When a store closes in your neighborhood‚ you might express sympathy for the owner and the workers. In Roxbury‚ a section of Boston where a Walgreens closed Wednesday‚ they protested. Demonstrators chanted “Hell no‚ Walgreens!” and criticized the business for putting “profits over people.” The pharmacy stayed open an additional two weeks but the signs and chants otherwise made no difference. The closure marked the fourth Walgreens shuttering in Boston in the last two years. “When a Walgreens leaves a neighborhood‚ they disrupt the entire community and they take with them baby formula‚ diapers‚ asthma inhalers‚ life-saving medications‚ and‚ of course‚ jobs‚” Rep. Ayanna Pressley said on the floor of the House. “These closures are not arbitrary and they are not innocent. They are life-threatening acts of racial and economic discrimination.” Pressley’s contention that Walgreens closed not because it wanted to stop losing money but because of its deep hatred of racial minorities and poor people suggests not only a profound misunderstanding of how businesses work but reflexive thinking‚ which is no thinking at all. Discrimination as the default criticism and protest as the default response shows the degree to which ideology puts brains on autopilot. One reason Walgreens and other stores close in high-crime areas involves retail theft. Walgreens reported theft losses at 2.5 percent of sales in 2023’s fourth quarter‚ a number actually heading in the right downward direction but still crippling when one considers the fine line between profits and losses. At a Walgreen’s in San Francisco‚ they chained up the freezer and placed gum‚ toothbrushes‚ and nuts behind a plexiglass protector. In Chicago‚ a store unveiled a new layout with two display aisles and kiosks to order products fulfilled by workers in a backroom that keeps all the goods away from all the customers‚ paying and otherwise. Why did it so recently devolve to where stores lock up not just high-priced items such as razors and Red Bull but toothbrushes? It turns out the people pointing the biggest fingers at Walgreens bear a massive share of the blame. Take Ayanna Pressley. Even prior to the summer of George Floyd‚ she came out with something called the People’s Justice Guarantee‚ which posited that “the American legal system duplicates and maintains systems of oppression that can be traced back to slavery.” Her solution‚ outlined in a congressional resolution containing 62 whereases‚ involved ending bail‚ mandatory minimums‚ truth-in-sentencing laws‚ and “dramatically increasing diversion opportunities‚ community service‚ restorative justice programming‚ and treatment options that minimize court involvement and result in no prison time for most offenses where the person does not cause or intend to cause harm.” Stores abandon urban areas not because their owners hate people of color or poor people but because many cities embrace the basic tenets expressed in Pressley’s People’s Justice Guarantee. By not prosecuting so-called petty crimes‚ ending bail for most offenses‚ and putting habitual offenders on the streets and not in a cell‚ criminal justice systems in many cities incentivize theft. Just as Pressley fails to grasp that economic incentives and not protests dictate whether stores stay in business‚ she does not understand the predictable consequences of removing consequences for shoplifting. The same activists who pushed for the abolition of bail and not punishing violators of certain offenses should protest themselves instead of the stores they helped put out of business. Ayanna Pressley might ponder what Walt Kelly’s Pogo once noted: “We have met the enemy and he is us.” READ MORE: Jay Leno: Mix Politics With Comedy‚ and You Get Politics Another Phony Justice Department Yakety Sax Case Concludes Monday The post Leftists Protest the Stores They Put Out of Business appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Earlier this week‚ the Catholic University of America terminated the contract of a psychology professor who invited a self-proclaimed “abortion doula” to speak for a class. University president Peter Kilpatrick announced the decision on Tuesday‚ Jan. 30 — just one week after the abortion doula’s lecture.  ‘Abortion Doula’ Visits Rachel Carbonneau‚ the speaker who identified herself as an “abortion doula” in an audio recording provided to the Daily Signal‚ spoke at the invitation of psychology professor Melissa Goldberg on Tuesday‚ Jan. 23. Carbonneau is the founder and CEO of Family Ways‚ an “LGBTQ-aligned doula company.” While traditional doulas assist in bringing life into the world by offering guidance and support to pregnant women‚ abortion doulas help mothers kill their children.  Goldberg’s course‚ titled “Psychology 379: Lifespan Development‚” is a required class for nursing majors‚ though it is taught outside of the Conway School of Nursing. A Catholic University nursing student who had previously taken the class with a different professor said that she was confused about the decision to include a lecture by an abortion doula.  “If I’m going to be completely honest‚ I don’t even know why this speaker was necessary for that class‚” the student told The American Spectator. “The class is about the psychology of growing up and how your brain and mental processes evolve as you get older. Based on the class I took‚ I couldn’t even tell you why the speaker was relevant.” (RELATED: Harvard’s Reputation Is Dealt Another Major Blow: A Research Misconduct Scandal Ensnares Its Top Scientists) Carbonneau spoke to students about “coaching women through abortions” and fawned about her experience with so-called transgender men giving birth. “We work with trans clients.… I have some men who have given birth; it’s amazing‚” she told students. “It’s lovely‚ especially when it’s a water birth; it’s fantastic.” She encouraged students to “normalize” the “stigma” of “pregnant men‚” by “using the gender-neutral language‚ talking about pregnant men as pregnant people‚ pregnant women‚ pregnant men‚ pregnant humans.” As Kilpatrick explained in an email to the campus obtained by The American Spectator‚ “The speaker advocated for abortion‚ for language that distorts the distinctions between the sexes‚ and for the normalizing of transgender births.”  University Takes Swift Action The university administration learned of the abortion doula’s visit the day after her lecture and began investigating the incident. On Thursday and Friday of that same week‚ the university received two media inquiries requesting comment on the lecture. Kilpatrick explained:  While we were unable to confirm what exactly was said in the class‚ we did determine that the speaker’s views on life issues and on the anthropology of the human person were not consistent with our mission and identity as a faithful Catholic university‚ and that she should not be allowed to address the class again. After obtaining “clear evidence” that the overall content of the psychology class did not align with the university’s mission‚ Catholic University took the next logical step. On Jan. 30‚ one week after the abortion doula’s lecture‚ the university terminated the contract of the professor who had invited the abortion doula.  “In our rigorous pursuit of truth and justice‚ we engage at times with arguments or ideologies contrary to reason or to the Gospel‚” Kilpatrick wrote. “But we do so fully confident in the clarity given by the combined lights of reason and faith‚ and we never advocate for sin or give moral equivalence to error.”  Students‚ Faculty React to Firing Whitney Paulson‚ a senior at Catholic University‚ told The American Spectator that she was not surprised by the president’s decision. Kilpatrick became president in 2022‚ when Paulson was a sophomore‚ and she has learned that “Catholic identity is very‚ very important to him and impacts a lot of his choices.”  Paulson is heartened by Kilpatrick’s commitment to this Catholic mission. “We go to the Catholic University of America. It’s literally in our name‚” she said. “Like it or not‚ that is who we are.”  Catholic University is the “national university of the Catholic Church in the United States” and is sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. “Whether or not you agree or disagree with a speaker’s politics or position on‚ in this case‚ abortion and ‘transgender births‚’ you have to recognize where you go to school‚” Paulson continued. “It’s the job of the university as a branch of the Holy See to properly represent our Catholic faith.” A Catholic University professor told The American Spectator that faithful professors at other Catholic colleges and universities have expressed their support for Kilpatrick’s decision.  “Everyone has been impressed that Kilpatrick did this‚” he said. “The Catholic faithful almost brace themselves for disappointment in leadership.”  The professor framed Kilpatrick’s swift action against the background of “a failure of leadership in a whole generation of Catholic leaders‚” citing several examples of problematic statements by professors at other Catholic colleges and universities.  Just last year‚ for example‚ seven academic departments at the University of Notre Dame hosted an event in which transgender abortion doulas promoted abortion as a positive good. The local bishop swiftly condemned the event‚ but the university administration took no action.  “We should applaud [Kilpatrick’s decision]‚ but one of the reasons we applaud this is that it’s all too rare‚” the Catholic University professor said. “He did the right thing.” Mary Frances Myler is a writer from Northern Michigan now living in Washington‚ D.C. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2022.  READ MORE from Mary Frances Myler:  Kamala Harris Stumps for Abortion Ahead of Election The Ghost of Roe v. Wade New EPA Regulations Are a Death Sentence for Small Oil and Gas Producers The post ‘He Did the Right Thing’: University President Fires Professor Over Abortion Doula Lecture appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Good for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The move to take down Confederate monuments was trying to infect Florida‚ and there is now a move in the state legislature to put an end to this madness. The governor has had the sense to stand up and say taking down these statues ain’t going to happen on his watch. As reported in Florida Politics‚ DeSantis said:  I’m 100 percent against removing the monuments. I think it’s just gone too far…. I have not seen the legislation‚ but I’ve been very clear ever since I’ve been Governor‚ I do not support taking down monuments in this state. Florida Politics reported:  The Governor said calls for the removal of “some Civil War general or whatever” have evolved into other forms of historical erasure‚ such as “taking down Thomas Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt and (Abraham) Lincoln‚ taking (George) Washington’s name off schools.” “I think it’s totally appropriate for the Legislature to say we’re going to stop the madness‚” DeSantis said. He then referred to a local activist calling to take down the city’s Andrew Jackson statue downtown. “What are we going to do: rename the city? I mean‚ come on‚ we’ve got to stop doing this and I think that it’s just‚ it’s not something that’s going to end up working out well for us and especially it’s like‚ you know‚ who’s next?” DeSantis said. “You’re already up to‚ like‚ Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. I mean‚ you’re going to go on and on there because … if you’re going to apply some type of hyperwoke 21st century test to pass people‚ you going to run into turbulence with MLK Jr.‚ you’re going to run into turbulence with a lot of people.” The governor went on to discuss the recent renaming of U.S. Army military bases‚ focusing on what is now “Fort Liberty” in North Carolina. It was originally named Fort Bragg‚ after Civil War Confederate General Braxton Bragg. Said DeSantis:  Here’s what I said with respect to Fort Bragg is‚ that’s an iconic base in this country. I didn’t even know it was a Civil War general…. I don’t think most people knew it was a Civil War general. You just know you’ve been to Bragg‚ right? And they’re changing it for political correctness reasons. And so I don’t believe in doing it for political correctness reasons and that’s just kind of how we’re going to roll on it. And here’s the thing‚ you know‚ you learn from history‚ you don’t erase the history. Bingo. The governor gets it. The move to take down Confederate statues is‚ among other things‚ decidedly about erasing history. It is a serious fact of history that in the Left’s desire to erase Confederate history they are‚ not so coincidentally‚ trying to erase the hard fact that the Democratic Party was founded by slave owners‚ not to mention the fact that the party was run by die-hard segregationists following the Civil War. Republicans‚ the Party of Lincoln‚ were not standing up for slavery and segregation. The Florida Politics columnist A.G. Gancarski‚ taking note of DeSantis’ position‚ added:  He then referred to a local activist calling to take down the city’s Andrew Jackson statue downtown. “What are we going to do: rename the city? I mean‚ come on‚ we’ve got to stop doing this and I think that it’s just‚ it’s not something that’s going to end up working out well for us and especially it’s like‚ you know‚ who’s next?” DeSantis said. Bingo again. The idea of renaming Jacksonville‚ Florida‚ because it is named for the slave-owning Andrew Jackson raises another‚ similar question outside of Florida. History records that New York is named for one James Stuart‚ the Duke of York who later became King James II. Before taking the throne‚ the duke was the governor of the Royal Trading Company — and the largest commodity the Royal Trading Company traded was‚ yes indeed‚ African slaves. Which is to say‚ New York is named for a major slave trader. Thus the obvious question for all those tearing down statues of Confederates. Will they now be demanding that New York — New York City‚ New York State‚ and everything else bearing the slave-trading Duke of York’s name — be renamed? Noticeably‚ there is silence on this. In the current case‚ the statue issue is in Gov. DeSantis’ hands‚ and he has decidedly stood up for not hiding the facts of history by tearing down statues or renaming a major Florida city. In this case‚ statues that remind of the ties between slave owners and the creation and running of the Democratic Party. Good for DeSantis. READ MORE: E. Jean Carroll Reelects Trump? Trump’s New Hampshire Triumph Breaks Records The post DeSantis Stands Up for Statues — And History appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The primary slogan of the Trump movement is the simple‚ now-iconic appeal to “Make America Great Again.” Indeed‚ “MAGA” is so ubiquitous that it is now a metonym for the movement itself. But if the Trump movement has a second catchphrase after “MAGA‚” it would be “America First.” Donald Trump himself routinely vows that he is an “America First” politician. Myriad Republican congressional candidates now tout themselves as “America First‚” typically with an eye toward securing a coveted Trump endorsement. And many prominent conservative commentators‚ often with close ties to Trump’s orbit‚ frequently beat the drums of “America First.” But what exactly is meant by “America First”? In a literal sense‚ “America First” is one of the most anodyne‚ uncontroversial political slogans in decades. It is‚ or at least should be‚ axiomatic that the United States ought to place its own interests first in everything it does: from its trade deals to its immigration policy to its diplomacy and foreign policy to its membership in international institutions‚ and so on. To pursue an “America First” foreign policy‚ then‚ is to make decisions through the singular lens of what is best for the U.S. national interest. Such a foreign policy approach is often dubbed “realist‚” but it is also just commonsense. Indeed‚ because it is such a basic analytical prism‚ “America First” does not necessarily get us very far when it comes to making actual foreign policy decisions. Any sober‚ national interest–centered foreign policy should look skeptically at ideological interventionism‚ whether it takes the form of dogged neoconservatism or starry-eyed liberal humanitarianism. Crucially‚ however‚ “America First” should look just as skeptically at ideologically driven foreign policy from the other end of the spectrum‚ meaning doctrinaire isolationism. The Trump administration intuited this‚ and the 45th president implemented this understanding in practice quite well. The “Trump Doctrine” was neither neoconservative nor isolationist; it rejected such an absurd false choice‚ opting instead for a narrower‚ national interest–centric foreign policy that eschewed ideological excess from any direction. Sometimes‚ that pragmatic calculus militated in favor of American restraint on the world stage. But sometimes‚ it militated in favor of decisive American action — just ask Qasem Soleimani. Unfortunately‚ many voices on the Right now clamoring the loudest for “America First‚” such as Tucker Carlson‚ either outright ignore or fail to grasp and appreciate such nuances. They conveniently overlook Trump’s actual presidential record‚ preferring instead to retcon history and conflate Trump–style “America First” with Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas)–style ideological isolationism. This is a disservice to the public discourse at best‚ and it is deceitful at worst. How is it “America First‚” as some would submit‚ to discount the importance of the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom in Israel — a mass slaughter‚ that is‚ in which dozens of United States citizens were killed and many were captured and taken hostage? How is it “America First‚” moreover‚ to question the American patriotism of those who care about what is‚ on its own terms‚ the single worst American hostage crisis since Tehran in 1979? How is it “America First” to dismiss those who are righteously indignant about the three American soldiers killed‚ and dozens more wounded‚ by an Iranian-supplied drone at Tower 22 in Jordan last Sunday? How is it “America First” for the United States to fail to respond in any capacity to a terrorist regime whose proxies have now struck our military bases over 170 times since Oct. 7? There is nothing “America First” about mindlessly toppling foreign autocracies and seeking to transmogrify Islamist hellholes into shining Madisonian democracies. But there is also nothing “America First” about shirking our solemn duty to protect and defend our own citizens and soldiers overseas. Many now touting their “America First” bona fides sound a lot less like Donald Trump‚ who boasted of “defeating ISIS” on the 2020 campaign trail and installed fresh missile defense systems in Central and Eastern Europe to keep Vladimir Putin at bay‚ and a lot more like Charles Lindbergh and the “America First Committee” of old. It is a rather curious conception of “America First” that would disavow any American interest in the very slaughter of its own citizens and soldiers overseas. The nation-building boondoggles of yesterday resulted in failure — indeed‚ the entire enterprise has been discredited. But basic‚ “peace through strength”–style deterrence is a timeless necessity. Caring about the fate of our citizens taken hostage overseas and seeking retaliation for our soldiers murdered by an evil adversary regime overseas‚ moreover‚ is about the lowest-hanging fruit imaginable for any American who calls himself a patriot. It really doesn’t get much more “America First” than that. To find out more about Josh Hammer and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists‚ visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM READ MORE by Josh Hammer: Texas Is Correct to Defend Its Sovereignty From the Border Invasion After Iowa‚ It’s Time for Republicans to Rally to Trump The post What Exactly Is Meant by ‘America First’? appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Are the feds planning to stage an attack on an illegal immigrant holding facility to blame Trump supporters? Emergency message from Alex Jones: Terror alert: Secret FBI memo warns border patrol to brace for imminent white supremacist attack. pic.twitter.com/HG8lcO8X3d— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) February 2‚ 2024 Original article below: Infowars has received reports from federal sources that extremist rightwing militiamen may be plotting to attack a Border Patrol facility in Eagle Pass housing migrants‚ possibly in efforts to frame MAGA Republicans. Infowars correspondent Chase Geiser reports a confidential federal source has observed a circulating FBI bulletin warning the extremists were planning an attack on the facility sometime this week.Save 40% on DNA Force Plus NOW! Try it today and see why so many listeners have made it an essential part of their daily routine! BREAKING EXCLUSIVE! FBI Memo Warns of White Supremacist Attacks on Migrant Centers in South Texas pic.twitter.com/WwJcibwgMp— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) February 2‚ 2024 “We’ve gotten some alarming news today from a government source‚” Geiser reports. “The source from the government shared with us a bulletin that was sent from the FBI regarding two radical right-wing extremist militiamen. They believe they are planning an attack on the border patrol facility on Firefly Lane here in Eagle Pass sometime between Friday and Monday.” Since receiving the report‚ the Infowars crew has witnessed several buses moving migrants from the facility to other facilities throughout the area. “We believe that they’ve been moved from this central processing facility on Firefly Lane because they’re anticipating an attack sometime between Friday and Monday from the so-called right-wing extremists‚” Geiser reports. The memo describing a possible rightwing terrorist attack comes as thousands of conservatives traveling with the “Take Back Our Border” trucker convoy are set to arrive in Eagle Pass later this week. More on this as it develops… BREAKING: Infowars Reporter Exposes Private Illegal Alien Smuggling Facility pic.twitter.com/7kxewbmzaa— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) February 1‚ 2024