From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
Following Iran’s decision to lob missiles at US-Iraqi bases last night, several major tanker operators have suspended sailing through the Straits of Hormuz, the site of several tanker attacks last year.
Petrobras, Bahri – Saudi Arabia’s state-run tanker operator – and other tanker companies have suspended sailing through the Straits of Hormuz, WSJ reports, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. Continue reading “Tanker Operators Suspend Travel Through Strait Of Hormuz”
The federal government has brought nearly 1,400 refugees to the United States over the last year from foreign countries listed on President Donald Trump’s constitutional travel ban.
In 2o19, the State Department imported exactly 1,378 refugees from Chad, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen — six of the eight countries on Trump’s travel ban list, which also includes North Korea and Libya. This indicates a more than 783 percent increase between 2018 and 2019 of refugees from travel ban countries arriving in the U.S. Continue reading “Feds Imported 1.4K Refugees to U.S. from Travel Ban Countries in 2019”
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly warned his cabinet not to get too involved in the US murder of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, lest Tel Aviv gets dragged into the escalating conflict between Washington and Tehran.
“The assassination of Soleimani isn’t an Israeli event but an American event. We were not involved and should not be dragged into it,” Netanyahu reportedly told his security cabinet during a meeting on Monday, as cited by Israel’s Channel 13. He advised ministers to avoid speaking to the media about Thursday’s targeted assassination beyond supporting the US’ right to defend itself, so as not to give the impression that Israel had played any role in it. Continue reading “Netanyahu backs away from Soleimani assassination, warns ministers to ‘stay out’ of purely ‘American event’”
“We’re going to war, bro” — declared a young US soldier from the US Army’s celebrated 82nd Airborne Division. He gave reporters a confident two thumbs up as his unit moved out on its largest “fast deployment” in a decade at a moment Iran has promised to inflict a “historic nightmare” on the US in retaliation for the killing of Qasem Soleimani. Continue reading ““We’re Going To War, Bro”: Elite 82nd Airborne In Largest ‘Fast Deployment’ In A Decade”
Breaking a 5-day silence over its response for the US killing of General Qassem Soleimani, on Tuesday Iran said it was assessing 13 scenarios to inflict a “historic nightmare” on the US. “Even if the weakest of these scenarios gain a consensus, its implementation can be a historic nightmare for the Americans,” Ali Shamkhani, the head of Iran’s national security council, was cited by Fars news agency, adding that, “For now, for intelligence reasons, we cannot provide more information to the media.” Continue reading “Iran Evaluating 13 Retaliation Scenarios To Inflict “Historic Nightmare” On US”
The Defense Department is sending six B-52 bombers to the Diego Garcia military base in the northern Indian Ocean as preparations for possible military action against Iran move forward.
Pentagon officials told CNN on Monday that the B-52 will be available for operations against the Islamic Republic if ordered into action, though the deployment does not signal a decision has been made about any attack plans. Continue reading “Pentagon sends six B-52 strategic bombers to military base on Diego Garcia”
The Most Important News – by Michael Snyder
Since just before Christmas, armies of unidentified drones have been appearing each night in the skies above Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas. The drones are approximately 6 feet wide and they have red and white lights, but nobody knows where they are from or who owns them. This is a story that is now receiving national attention, and the FBI, the FAA and the U.S. Air Force are all investigating this mystery. According to eyewitnesses, these drones can move “much faster than a regular aircraft”, and that would seem to indicate that they are highly sophisticated. So far, the U.S. military, every government agency that has been asked, and many of the major companies in the area have all denied operating the drones. Federal, state and local law enforcement officials have been doing all that they can to solve this mystery, but so far they have come up completely empty. Continue reading “Armies Of Unidentified Drones Are Appearing Over The Western U.S. At Night, And It Is Really Freaking People Out”
DC Clothesline – by Dean Garrison
The powder keg is about to explode in Virginia.
As citizens cling to their rights, the gun-grabbing authoritarians are flexing their muscles and talking a big game. Continue reading “Virginia Gun Grabbers Now Looking to Eliminate Privately Owned Gun Ranges”
TEL AVIV – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday discussed Iran’s “malign influence” following the American airstrike in Iraq on the top Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani.
“Netanyahu and I just spoke and underscored the importance of countering Iran’s malign influence and threats to the region. I am always grateful for Israel’s steadfast support in defeating terrorism,” Pompeo wrote on Twitter. Continue reading “Pompeo, Netanyahu Discuss Next Steps over Iran’s ‘Malign Influence’”
Three rockets landed inside the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, home to the US Embassy and the seat of Iraq’s government, city residents said on Sunday.
Alert sirens were sounded in the area on the west bank of the Tigris River. Continue reading “3 rockets hit near US embassy in Baghdad”
Close to 400,000 anchor babies were born in the United States in 2019 as an executive order to end birthright citizenship gets kicked down the road for another year by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Analysis conducted by the Center for Immigration Studies revealed in 2018 that about 300,000 U.S.-born children of illegal aliens are born every year. These children, often referred to as “anchor babies,” immediately obtain American citizenship and anchor their illegal or foreign parents in the country. Continue reading “Nearly 400K Anchor Babies Born in 2019, Exceeding U.S. Births in 48 States”
Washington Examiner – by Paul Bedard
FBI gun background checks, linked closely to weapons sales, recorded the second-highest month ever in December, propelling 2019’s count to the most since the National Instant Criminal Background Check System began in 1998.
The agency said Monday morning that it recorded 28,369,750 background checks in 2019, a 3% jump over the last record set in 2016. Continue reading “Record gun sales checks in 2019, NICS at all-time high: FBI”
An $80million bounty has been placed on Donald Trump’s head in Iran in the wake of General Qasem Soleimani’s assassination.
During the televised funeral, an unidentified eulogist speaking on official state television said one US dollar should be tabled for every Iranian in the country, with the cash going to whoever killed the US President. Continue reading “Iran offers $80million bounty for Donald Trump’s head after death of general”
Veterans Today – by Dr. Trita Parsi
1. Iraqi prime minister says Soleimani was in Iraq for a mediation effort
Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi has made some shocking revelations that put the assassination of Soleimani in a completely different light. He told the Iraqi parliament on Sunday that he “was supposed to meet Soleimani on the morning of the day he was killed, he came to deliver me a message from Iran responding to the message we delivered from Saudi to Iran.” Continue reading “Iraqi PM Confirms Soleimani on Diplomatic Mission at the Request of the United States”
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Organizers of a monthly storytelling gathering for the children of soldiers are planning to spend part of their next meeting making yellow ribbons. A doughnut shop owner who often donates his fried goods to troops who are shipping out has spent the last few days rushing a batch of hundreds.
And Jade Morales, a young military wife, welcomed the new year feeling deeply unsettled as her husband, so close to retirement from the U.S. Army, hurried off to an uncertain situation with far less warning than usual. Continue reading “As 3,500 Soldiers Deploy, a ‘Whirlwind’ Whips Through Fort Bragg”
Update (1545ET): The US State Department has expressed its “disappointment” at the Iraqi parliament’s vote to expel US forces. However, as Axios’ Jonathan Swan notes in a tweet, that he just spoke with a senior Iraqi government official, who explained that people should be very cautious about drawing certain conclusions from Iraq’s parliamentary vote to expel the U.S. Continue reading “Iraq Votes To Expel US Troops As Iranian MPs Chant “Death To America””
American Mirror – by Kyle Olson
Californians who like to be clean and wear clean clothes can now face a daily $1,000 fine, thanks to a new state law.
Residents are restricted to only using 55 gallons of water per day, attorney Richard Lee told KTLA when reviewing laws taking effect Jan. 1. Continue reading “CA residents now face daily $1,000 fine for showering, doing laundry on same day”
NAIROBI, Kenya — The U.S. military said the security situation was “fluid” at a Kenyan airfield used by U.S. forces after a pre-dawn attack Sunday by the al-Shabab extremist group. The attack destroyed U.S. aircraft and vehicles, Kenyan authorities said, and at least four attackers were killed. Continue reading “US military aircraft, vehicles destroyed in Kenya attack linked to al-Shabab extremists; 5 attackers arrested, 4 dead”
For decades, American men over the age of 18 have gone through the ritual of registering with the government in case of a military draft. In recent years, this action has felt more like going through the motions, simply checking a box.
But Friday, after a U.S. drone strike in Iraq killed Iran’s top security and intelligence commander, prompting concerns about the possibility of a new war in the Middle East, that oft-forgotten paperwork became a reason for spiking anxiety among many Americans. Continue reading “Will There Be a Draft? Young People Worry After Military Strike”
The nation’s Military-Industrial Complex needs to import at least 600 million immigrants to counter the growing push by China for world power, says a forthcoming book by Matthew Yglesias, the top editor at the influential progressive website, Vox.com.
The One Billion Americans book is “a bold case for massive population growth in the name of national greatness,” says the blurb from the publisher, Penguin Random House. The press release continues: Continue reading “Vox Editor Says U.S. Needs 600 Million Migrants to Counter China”