Thousands Of US Troops Amass On Syrian Border For Military ‘Drill’

Thousands of U.S. Marines arrived in Jordan at around the same time the United States, the United Kingdom, and France were organizing a direct military strike on Jordan’s neighbor, Syria.  Shortly after the US-led bombing of Syria over alleged chemical weapons use, the Marine took part in military drills.

According to Antimedia, nearly 3,600 U.S. troops, including roughly 1,800 Marines with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, arrived in Jordan for the start of an almost two-week training exercise known as Eager Lion.

Thousands of Marines and U.S. troops kicked off a major military training exercise that is reportedly set to include civilian evacuation operations, as well as chemical and biological drills. The drills followed the U.S.-led Anglo-alliance’s assault on neighboring Syria, which was allegedly in retaliation for a chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma.

It will be a rare display of allied firepower, reported the Marine Corps Times.  It also couldn’t come at a more tense time as U.S. Navy warships are steadily building a presence in the Mediterranean in preparation for what analysts presume will be a Tomahawk cruise missile strike on Syria.

Last year, satellite photos indicating a massive buildup of military armored vehicles sent alarm bells through Iran, Syria’s ally in its nearly eight-year civil war, prompting media speculation about a pending invasion. The build-up was nothing more than the start of Eager Lion. Eager Lion was then launched from the Zarqa Jordanian military base, located near the Syrian border and roughly 100 miles from the Syrian capital of Damascus. The exercise has routinely been viewed as a pretext for an invasion of Syria by analysts and countries aligned with the Syrian regime.

“Eager Lion is a major training event that provides U.S. forces and Jordan Armed Forces the opportunity to improve their collective ability to plan and operate in a coalition-type environment,” according to a press release from U.S. Central Command published April 2nd. “A wide variety of scenarios – from long-range bomber missions to maritime security operations to a ground force attack of a fictitious adversary – will occur throughout Jordan during the event.”

Departing Augusta Bay, Italy, just before the US-led attack was the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock New York which has onboard Marines and Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron VMM 162 (Reinforced), according to a post from the 26th MEU’s Facebook page.

The timing of this “event,” both this year and last, however, is incredibly unsettling.  Both came at a time when the US had decided that the Syrian government had conducted a chemical weapons attack against their own citizens.  Neither chemical attack had any evidence, and in fact, there’s more evidence to suggest the attacks didn’t even happen. 

While the media delivered a stunning performance on its coverage of Trump’s strikes on the Syrian government, as the Marine Corps Times notes, “little has been made of the fact that thousands of U.S. and Jordanian troops will be training a short skip away from the Syrian border with armored vehicles and military aircraft.”

WW3: Japan Activates Marines For First Time Since WWII On Chinese Border

Fears of a third world war spiked over the weekend as Japan activated their marines for the first time since World War 2. About 2,100 members of the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB) were activated in a ceremony in which the troops wore camouflage.

ARDB also completed a 20-minute mock drill for the public in which the “retook” an island from an invading force. According to Reuters, the formation of the Japanese marine brigade is controversial because amphibious units can project military force and could, critics warn, be used to threaten Japan’s neighbors. In its post-WW2 constitution, Japan renounced the right to wage war.

The newly activated unit is highly trained to counter invaders occupying Japanese islands along the edge of the East China Sea that Tokyo fears are vulnerable to attack by China. “Given the increasingly difficult defense and security situation surrounding Japan, defense of our islands has become a critical mandate,” Tomohiro Yamamoto, vice defense minister, said in a speech.

The brigade is the latest component of a growing marine force that includes helicopter carriers, amphibious ships, Osprey tilt-rotor troop carriers, and amphibious assault vehicles. All of these marine measures are meant to deter China as it pushes for easier access to the Western Pacific.

The activation of the 2,100 strong ARDB takes Japan a step closer to creating a force similar to a U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) able to plan and execute operations at sea far from its home base. “They’ve already demonstrated the ability to put together an ad hoc MEU. But to have a solid, standing MEU capability requires a concerted effort,” Grant Newsham, a research fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies. “If Japan put its mind to it, within a year or year and a half it could have a reasonable capability.”

Coincidentally, the United States last month deployed its F-35Bs for their first at-sea operations aboard the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship, which is based in Sasebo. The Kyushu port is also home to Japan’s Ise and close to the ARDB’s base.

All of these military decisions seem to coalesce and reignite fears of a war. The amphibious marine force of Japan has been advancing over the past few years with the help of the United States Marines. 

US Deploying Thousands of Marines to Deter China

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Pentagon may send a combat marine expeditionary force to deter “growing Chinese influence” while drawing down Middle East force levels.

Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Logan declined to elaborate, saying “(t)he Department of Defense continually evaluates how we employ our forces throughout the globe but it would be inappropriate to discuss any ongoing planning.”

Defense Priorities analyst/retired army Lt. Col. Daniel Davis/believes the move “plays directly into the concerns and the fears of North Korea that we’re actually preparing for an attack,” adding:

“Effective diplomacy (with China) can’t take place if you have a hammer hanging over the head of your negotiating partner.”

He supports drawing down US forces in the Middle East, calling the region a “money pit and blood pit…with no (US) gain.”

US forces should be brought home, not sent to East Asia “where they could potentially be used in a ground war there that would be even more catastrophic.”

Marine expeditionary forces include about 2,200 combat troops, operating from amphibious assault ships with their own warplanes, tanks and other heavy weapons.

Washington already has about 50,000 troops in Japan, another 30,000 in South Korea, 40,000 in Hawaii, thousands in Guam, along with smaller numbers in Australia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and elsewhere regionally.

With scores of ships, nuclear-powered submarines, warplanes, and 20,000 sailors, America’s Yokosuka, Japan-based Seventh Fleet is the US navy’s largest deployed sea force.

The Trump administration’s National Defense Strategy prioritizes countering Russia and China. According to the WSJ, bolstering America’s East Asia marine force aims to “persuade Pacific nations to stand with the US.”

According to Commandant of the Marine Corp General Robert Neller, the National Defense Strategy and “other guidance requires us to adopt a more global posture and this will shape our future naval presence, especially in the Indo-Pacific region,” adding:

“We have to be present and engaged to compete.” The National Defense Strategy “will shape our future naval presence, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.”

During a visit to Australia, Joint Chiefs chairman General Joseph Dunford claimed there’s “no stronger way to demonstrate our commitment to our allies than actually being physically present.”

Defense Secretary Mattis said “(g)reat power competition – not terrorism – is now the primary focus of US national security,” – at a time when the nation’s only threats are invented ones, Mattis adding:

“This strategy is fit for our time, providing the American people the military required to protect our way of life, stand with our allies and live up to our responsibility to pass intact to the next generation those freedoms we enjoy today.”

Trump’s National Security Strategy is a blueprint designed for endless wars of aggression, seeking unchallenged global dominance – peace and stability rejected as unacceptable options.

“Our way of life” is all about a permanent state of war, partnering with NATO, Israel and other rogue allies, risking the destruction of planet earth to own it.

 

The post US Deploying Thousands of Marines to Deter China appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

US Marine Corps General Warns "I Hope I"m Wrong, But There"s A War Coming"

Pointing towards the near future possibility of Russia and the Pacific theater being the next major areas of conflict, a US Marine Corps commandant warned troops station in Norway to be prepared for a coming war.

As Military.com reports, the stated goals of the Marine Corps" newest rotational force in Norway are to enhance partnerships with European allies and improve the service"s ability to fight in cold weather.

But on a brief visit to the 300-member unit ahead of Christmas, the commandant and the sergeant major of the Marine Corps both described the strategic role the small unit fills -- and the fact that a peacetime mission can be preface to combat if circumstances change.

“I hope I’m wrong, but there’s a war coming,” Gen. Robert Neller told them.

 

“You’re in a fight here, an informational fight, a political fight, by your presence.”

Fox News writes that Neller pointed to the near future possibility of Russia and the Pacific theater being the next major areas of conflict.

Sgt. Maj. Ronald Green sounded a similar tone.

"Just remember why you"re here," Green said.

 

"They"re watching. Just like you watch them, they watch you. We"ve got 300 Marines up here; we could go from 300 to 3,000 overnight. We could raise the bar."

The warnings came a day before Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told troops at Fort Bragg, N.C., that "storm clouds are gathering" over the Korean Peninsula.

At a Q&A session with the troops in the Norwegian Home Guard base near Trondheim, Neller said that the U.S. could shift its focus from the Middle East to Eastern Europe, citing Russia’s conflicts with Ukraine and Georgia as justification.

He told the Marines that they should be prepared for a “big-ass fight” on the horizon.

Signs Of War: Russian Military Deploys Marines On North Korean Border

Following North Korea’s most recent missile launch are the signs of impending war.  Russia has now deployed Marines to the North Korean border.

Russian marines have begun practicing landing operations at its border with North Korea, following Pyongyang’s controversial missile launch test this week, the military said. Although this is just one of several drills conducted over the past month, more are expected. According to Newsweek, Russian naval infantry servicemen and the crews of Russia’s Pacific Fleet ships Admiral Nevelskoy and Peresvet, carried out a swift, amphibious charge on a beachhead in the Primorye region, Russia’s only one to border North Korea.

The cargo and staff boarded Admiral Nevelskoy at Desantnaya Bay and simulated the landing at the Klerk training range, both of which are in Primorye, Pacific Fleet spokesman Nikolay Voskresenskiy told state-run news agency RIA Novosti. Peresvet made its pickup elsewhere but also arrived in the area near Klerk. -Newsweek

This military drill comes just one day before the Pacific Fleet kicks off a series of training exercises in Primorye and the far more eastern Kamchatka. Those drills will involve around 1,000 troops and over 150 items of equipment. The drills will also involve live fire exercises.

Russia has effectively practiced bombing near the region, paratrooper landings and other maneuvers since September. Each drill, declared separately from any previously announced war games, has come alongside escalating exchanges in the war of words between North Korea and the U.S. Russia has insisted that the U.S. must shoulder part of the blame for stirring the North Korean regime into a frenzy and “provoking” further tests with its ongoing defense commitments to nearby Japan and South Korea. However, Russia has also condemned North Korea’s latest missile launch as well.

Following the launch of their last missile, North Korea claimed that the entire United States is now in the range of one of their missiles. The latest test, purportedly of the North’s new Hwasong-15 missile, was the first one in the last two months sparking concerns that the regime is on the fast-track to obtain even more powerful, and highly advanced weapons.

Marines Wish Happy Thanksgiving To Our Country

Marines Wishes Happy Thanksgiving To Our Country

US Marine Lieutenant Colonel Jackson Doan and 3/5 Marines wishes our country a Happy Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving back at cha and all of our Armed Forces! Semper Fidelis Marines!Video Credit: Fb.Com/jackson.doan

Posted by Uncle Sam"s Misguided Children on Wednesday, November 22, 2017

US Marine Lieutenant Colonel Jackson Doan and 3/5 Marines wishes our country a Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving back at cha and all of our Armed Forces! Semper Fidelis Marines!

Video Credit: Fb.Com/jackson.doan

The post Marines Wish Happy Thanksgiving To Our Country appeared first on Oath Keepers.

Is It War? The First 2 Of 12 F-35 Fighter Jets Have Arrived In Japan

The first two of 12 US Air Force F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets arrived in Okinawa on Monday.  The aircraft will soon begin a six-month deployment in Japan as part of Pacific Command’s “theater security” program.

Is this a red flag for war with North Korea? Suspicions run high as tensions in the area continue to stiffen. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the most expensive and one of the most controversial weapons systems in United States history, is dubbed “the cornerstone” of US defense in the Pacific. But what exactly are we “defending” against?

The Marines deployed their version of this fighter jet to a US base in Iwakuni, Japan in January.

According to CNN, approximately 300 airmen from Hill Air Force Base, Utah’s 34th Fighter Squadron will accompany the fifth-generation fighters to Kadena Air Base, Japan. The remaining 10 jets are expected to arrive in Okinawa this week, according to Air Force spokesperson Victoria Hight.

This deployment marks the first time that the Air Force’s version of the F-35 has been sent to the region and is meant “to demonstrate the continuing US commitment to stability and security,” according to the service. “The F-35A gives the joint warfighter unprecedented global precision attack capability against current and emerging threats while complementing our air superiority fleet,” said Gen. Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy, Pacific Air Forces commander, earlier this month. “The airframe is ideally suited to meet our command’s obligations, and we look forward to integrating it into our training and operations.”

While the Air Force said its F-35 deployment has been “long-planned,” their arrival comes as President Donald Trump prepares for his first official visit to Japan and amid simmering tensions with North Korea.  The coincidences are just a bit much to miss this time.

Perhaps this means a war is imminent, or at the very least, tensions will certainly increase between the US and Pyongyang.

 

Remembering the 15 Marines and Navy Corpsman lost in the Mississippi KC- 130 Crash

The lives of their families and friends are changed forever, all over the country. The crash of the KC-130 killed nine Marines from Newburgh, N.Y., and six Marines and a Navy Corpsman from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. The story will fade from the news, but never for the families, friends, and neighbors.

Please keep the families in your thoughts and prayers, and donate to help with expenses if you have the opportunity to do that.

Some comments by family and friends about those who were lost:

“If I have a kid one day, I want him to have the type of character that Chad did.”

“As his heart, he was just a fun, goofy guy. Not a day went by without him smiling.”

“…creative, compassionate man who exuded happiness and brightened every room he walked into.”

“He was a deeply spiritual man who shared his faith with others and lived his life to its fullest.”

“The most common comments his friends made about him were that he helped them, and he inspired them to live life to the fullest.”

Capt. Sean Elliott, one of the plane’s pilots, had a longtime love affair with the C-130. His father, John Elliott, tells San Diego’s Union-Tribune that his son used to take a model C-130 loaded with toy soldiers to bed when he was 4 years old. “He slept with it like you would a teddy bear,” John Elliott said. “A big plane, in the bed. A silly plastic thing, with the toy soldiers inside. It went to bed with him every night for quite a long time.”

“He wasn’t scared of anything,” Parrish said. “That’s probably why he was so good in the Navy.”

“Every breath of air you take, all the things you’re able to do, you can do those things because of people like my son,” she told the newspaper. “I’ll never forget that.”

…his son said, “I get to fly everywhere.” His son was based at Stewart, traveling back and forth across the Atlantic and Pacific and touring many countries.

“The Marines knocked on my mother’s door at 2 this morning,” Carlo Kevianne said late Tuesday. “They said his plane went down, and they weren’t able to find him.”

“You may have been the youngest, but we always looked up to you. Our hero, Owen Lennon. (broken heart) sending love to the other USMC families that lost loved ones last night.”

Murray leaves a widow, Gayle, and four children — a 5-year-old, a 3-year-old, and twin 1-year-olds. “He loved to play his guitar and ukulele for us,” Gayle Murray said in a statement. “What he wanted most in the world besides our happiness was to destroy evil on this earth.”

“He actually would bring military gloves to football practice and play with them,” said McGowan, who drove his friend to practice in high school. “He was a patriot and all he wanted to do was serve our country. Everyone had a lot of respect for Dan.”

“He was one of the warmest, kindest, more patriotic people I’ve ever known.”

“He was a great friend, man, and exemplified what a Marine would be. A father, an outstanding American. Loved his country. Loved his family. Did everything right the right way.”

“He was definitely one to pull for the underdog,” Tab Leach told KRCG-TV of his 27-year-old son. “If there was a group of people and someone was picking on one kid, that was the kid he would gravitate to and stick up for.”

“He was just the kind of guy who by being there, improved the situation,” Jasper said.

The comments are from Midland Daily News: http://www.ourmidland.com/news/education/article/On-plane-15-Marines-1-Navy-sailor-mourned-by-11288208.php

Local Oath Keepers in Florida are working to help Joe Murray’s family. This article is about the tragedy and the Murray family.
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/marine-from-jacksonville-among-16-killed-in-mississippi-plane-crash/456084318

“Stargate” mentioned in “Iraq War Logs” leaked by Chelsea Manning before imprisonment

United States Marine Corps squads labeled as "Stargate teams" during Iraq war

(INTELLIHUB) — Army intelligence soldier Chelsea Manning who is well known for leaking over 700,000 U.S. classified documents will be released from military prison this week after serving a 7-yearsentencee, according to a statement released by Manning’s legal team on May 9.

The transgender Army intel soldier was responsible for leaking the “Iraq War Logs” to the organization Wikileaks which published the documents that mention references to “Stargate” in at least four instances.

In one incident which took place on Aug. 5, 2005, the 8th Engineer Support Battalion 9-Line Response Team, a.k.a. “Stargate 13,” encountered two Mission Area Managers (friendlies) in a garbage dump, one of whom was “digging.” After the MAMS were spotted by Stargate 13 they were seen fleeing on a motorcycle before being engaged by Stargate 13 with 5 tracer rounds followed by a barrage of 40 7.62mm bullets fired from an M240G but the motorcycle continued on to escape through a hole in the wire a location that is known as 1854D.

According to the report: “No IED was found, but a controlled demolition was performed on a possible detonation device.”

H/T: Tabertronic/Twitter

Shepard Ambellas is an opinion journalist, analyst, and the founder and editor-in-chief of Intellihub News & Politics (Intellihub.com). Shepard is also known for producing Shade: The Motion Picture (2013) and appearing on Travel Channel’s America Declassified (2013). Shepard is a regular contributor to Infowars. Read more from Shep’s World. Get the Podcast. Follow Shep on Facebook and Twitter.

Featured Image: seblinux78/Flickr

©2017. INTELLIHUB.COM. All Rights Reserved.

WATCH: Cops Call in SWAT for Veteran Paying Ticket in Pennies

Manchester, NH — Stories about citizens paying their taxes with pennies aren’t new. But how Billy Spaulding of Manchester paid his parking ticket with pennies might be a first, since he was packing a sidearm while doing so.

As The Free Thought Project has stated before, “police need you to break traffic laws” because writing tickets and receiving funds from doing so is a considerable revenue generator for police departments. It’s how police states maintain their control over the citizenry.

Manchester police didn’t take kindly to Spaulding’s form of payment, and according to reports, called in the SWAT team to deal with him. At first, the police told Spaulding he should take his form of payment to the bank to get bills instead of pennies.

“You don’t have a bank account?” one officer asked.

Spaulding responded by saying he didn’t. Whether it’s true or not simply doesn’t matter. Spaulding had every right to pay his extortion fees in pennie. According to U.S. Law Code 31.5103, “United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues.”

Spaulding had a friend record the scene. Although the recording does not start and stop at the beginning and the end of the encounter, it does show police intercepting Spaulding, asking him to find some other form of payment, and then telling his friend he has to stop recording because he didn’t announce he was going to do so.

Refusing to allow the two citizens to record themselves paying a parking fee, is considered a violation of one’s First Amendment rights, so long as it does not interfere with the official duties of the officers. Spaulding may have recourse to file a lawsuit for both issues; refusing to receive his form of payment which resulted in his occurring additional expenditures, and his friend being forced to stop recording.

READ MORE:  Police Order Facebook to Deactivate Korryn Gaines" Social Media Accounts Before Killing Her

Recently, an activist by the name of Phillip Turner won a judgment in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals who ruled he does (and so does every citizen) have a right to film police.

Entering a court house or a police station while being armed is also not illegal in New Hampshire. Spaulding knew that as well, but he reportedly had to take his grievance to the Sheriff’s department before he was allowed to go back to the court house and pay his parking ticket in pennies.

Spaulding may have, however, missed an opportunity to have his ticket nullified. Upon having presented his form of payment, and having witnessed his payment refused, he could have asked a judge to dismiss his $75 ticket. The judge would likely have done so, being fully aware that the Coinage Act of 1965 allows all forms of U.S. currency to be used for payment.

After leaving the sheriff’s office, Spaulding once again presented his $75 worth of pennies as payment for his ticket at the county courthouse. The clerk, having been notified by the sheriff to receive the former Marine’s payment, didn’t seem all too pleased to be doing so. Nonetheless, Spaulding passed through the glass window separating the two individuals, a grand total of 7,500 pennies and a $5 bill just in case he or the clerk miscounted.

Below is the video of this epic encounter.

Beijing Goes Global: China to Expand Marine Force by 400%; First Overseas Military Base Almost Complete

For most of its recent history, China has largely been a land power with no significant naval capabilities. They haven’t been able to exert much military influence beyond their coastline for hundreds of years. In fact, one of the reasons why Western powers had no trouble bullying China during the 19th and 20th centuries, was because the Imperial Navy under the Qing dynasty was incredibly weak. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that lately, China has been putting a lot of effort into building an effective overseas naval force.

Not only have they been busy constructing their first combat-ready aircraft carrier, the Chinese have also been developing new aircrafts to accompany it. Of course, a navy can’t really exert much military influence if it doesn’t have soldiers to deploy. That’s why Chinese officials have recently announced that they are preparing to rapidly expand the ranks of the People’s Liberation Army Marine Corps.

Chinese media is reporting the People’s Liberation Army’s ambitious new plans following the announcement of a 7 per cent increase to $AU200 billion in defence spending last week.

Among the details to emerge is a move to boost China’s marine corps — highly trained and well equipped troops intended for rapid deployment and offensive missions launched from the sea — from an existing 20,000 troops to more than 100,000.

Chinese officials have stated this is to protect arterial maritime trade routes and enforce its growing overseas interests.

“What growing overseas interests” you might ask? Well, China has been in the process of building their first overseas military base in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa. And that base is expected to be completed this summer.

Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, commander of AfriCom, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he expected the Chinese base on the Horn of Africa to be operational later this summer.

Without getting specific, Waldhauser said he recently met with Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh “and expressed our concerns about some of the things that are important to us about what the Chinese should not do at that location.”

The Chinese base would be about four miles from the U.S. base at Camp Lemonnier, one of the Pentagon’s largest and most important foreign military installations, where about 3,000 U.S. military personnel and contractors are assigned to Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.

Given that base’s close proximity to Camp Lemonnier, China’s intentions are obvious. They want what the United States has, which is a vast overseas empire, and an expeditionary force that can reach any coastline in the world. They want to compete with our current role in the global theater. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough room in the world for two countries carrying out that role. We may very well be witnessing the first stages of a new conflict between the United States and China.

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Author: Daniel Lang
Views: Read by 65 people
Date: March 17th, 2017
Website: http://www.SHTFplan.com

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Hundreds of US Boots On The Ground In Syria

(ANTIMEDIA) A number of leading outlets, including the New York Times, are now reporting that the U.S. is sending more and more ground troops into Syria. According to the New York Times, the U.S. just sent an additional 400 troops to Syria to help prepare for a looming fight in Raqqa, ISIS’ supposed capital in Syria.

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The majority of the public will likely shrug this off as a minor development in the global war on terror because that is how the media presents the story. However, there are a number of issues with U.S. troops being deployed to Syria — issues the corporate media refuses to acknowledge.

War needs a legal basis. A country can’t just send troops to another country because they feel like it. The only check the world currently has to protect itself from unjust wars is a combination of domestic and international legal systems that severely restrict the conditions under which a war can be launched. In the case of the United States, the superpower is bound not only to the international legal principles surrounding war, but also to a number of domestic principles that require congressional authorization to be given first. In the case of Libya in 2011, Barack Obama famously bypassed Congress and launched air strikes on the Libyan government. This was rarely questioned by the mainstream media.

Without permission from the Syrian government, which — whether we like it or not — holds the seat at the U.N. and was elected in 2014, the U.S. cannot legally launch troops into its territory.

Because the media rarely touches on the legality of the U.S.-led war on terror, there seems to be a widespread sentiment that even though the legal implications are quite damning, these operations are still the right thing to carry out given the context. For example, people often ask, “So what should we do? Nothing?” in response to the terror that ISIS has wreaked across Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen.

So what can one say in response? First, it was U.S. policies that created ISIS in the first place by disbanding the Iraqi army in 2003, leaving hundreds of thousands of military officers without jobs. It was Obama’s policies that put ISIS in Libya and that helped ISIS grow in Iraq and Syria. A good example of this can be seen in the instances where ISIS took its major strongholds in Iraq and Syria while the U.S. completely sat on their hands and did nothing.

Leaked audio of former Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed the U.S. was purposely watching ISIS grow so the terror group could put pressure on the Syrian government to come to the negotiating table. The U.S. clearly cannot claim the moral high ground regarding the war on terror.

Trump’s original travel ban heavily targeted Syria and its refugees. His new travel ban, which removes Iraq but leaves in Iran, still puts heavy restrictions on refugees fleeing Syria. In order to see the point of this statement, just reverse the countries in your head and picture the following scenario: Syria, a rich and wealthy tourism hotspot, has barred citizens of the United States from entering its country. On top of this, Syria is sending trained assassins into the United States without any legal basis.

One country bans the other but sends ground troops to invade its territory at the same time. Sound fair?

In October of last year, Anti-Media reported on the possibility that the current U.S.-backed offensive in Mosul was just an excuse to push ISIS back into Syria for an upcoming offensive on Raqqa, which would give the U.S. more of an excuse to conduct operations in Syrian territory. The intention of this is, of course, to put added pressure on the Syrian regime, which made significant advances in Aleppo last year with the assistance of Russian air power.

ISIS reinforcements fleeing Mosul and arriving in Syria are putting greater pressure on the Syrian regime. The United States was fully aware of this, but it did not seem to be of any concern to the American air force, which has done nothing but watch it unfold.

In tandem with the arrival of American troops, Saudi Arabia has also expressed its intention to send ground troops into Syria with the express purpose of ensuring that liberated areas of Syria do not fall into the hands of the Syrian regime, Hezbollah, or Iran.

Make no mistake. These operations are laying the groundwork for a direct confrontation with Syria and/or Iran — two countries that have the backing of the Russian air force and have close ties to China and North Korea.

“The upshot is that it’s still unclear who will take Raqqa when Mosul falls,” said one senior official involved in discussions, as reported by the Guardian. “The Americans are still hedging on the Kurds, even though the Turks are adamantly opposed. The Russians want the Syrian army and the rebels to do it, under their tutelage.”

Whose interests are being served here? Certainly not the people of the Middle East, and certainly not the American public, either.

***

While some people naively looked to Trump as a powerful revolutionary who could stand up to the corporate elite, it has become increasingly clear that even if Trump wanted to change America’s foreign policy strategy, his hands have already been tied. Trump’s expansive military budget should quash any discussion on this issue as he seeks to increase the size and scope of the already massive American military.

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In just 10 days, the radical left will attempt to overthrow the U.S. government.

Mike Adams  I  naturalnews.com

(NaturalNews) According to multiple sources that have reached out to me — including an individual who has infiltrated left-wing “revolutionary” groups in California — the radical left has convinced itself it has a significant chance of pulling off some variation of an uprising / occupy / revolution / coup operation on Inauguration Day (January 20).

It’s supposed to start as “protests,” then morph into “riots,” then crescendo in a kind of “mad rush” to occupy federal buildings and then somehow declare some left-wing commie nut job to be the “legitimate” President of the United States. Another source told me during a recent interview that some elements of the radical left are even planning on setting off bombs to maximize chaos, occupy emergency responders and even send some federal officers home in body bags. (Weather Underground style, get it?)

Mentally ill leftists — a term that now seems increasingly redundant — are even fantasizing over an Inauguration Day “purge” inspired by the low-budget Hollywood film The Purge. The film proposes that for one day a year, every act is legal and can be carried out without consequence, including murder, rape, looting, arson and assault. A recent installment of the film series called The Purge: Election Day is serving as a template for violent leftards who are so detached from reality, they actually believe January 20 is a “Purge” day where a person can commit any violence they want.

I’m here to tell you that, in my analysis, they are going to fail miserably. It doesn’t mean they won’t harm or even kill some people along the way, but they won’t succeed in overthrowing the government or stopping the swearing in of President Trump. Why? Because there will be roughly 10,000 total “troops” on the scene that day, encompassing roughly 1,000 U.S. Marines, 5,000 National Guard troops, 3,000 federal officers and at least 1,000+ D.C. police officers. (My estimate of 10,000 is quite conservative. Realistically, it’s probably more like 15,000 in all, including thousands of undercover agents from various law enforcement departments and agencies, both state and federal, including the FBI, US Secret Service, Treasury Dept., DHS, etc.)

The massive mistake the deranged left is making in all this is failing to remember that in nearly every successful communist uprising in the history of the world, the communists had most of the guns. But America’s radical leftist are afraid of guns. And the real firepower, it turns out, is in the hands of the military, the feds, the police officers and all the millions of pro-Second Amendment citizens who are ready and willing to do their part to defend the Republic if necessary.

To explain all this — including the hilarity of the deranged left — I’ve recorded a 40 minute podcast that covers my full analysis, what my sources have told me is going to happen, why the uprising will fail and why I believe 1,000 U.S. Marines all on their own could easily defeat 100,000 zombie leftards bull rushing the Capitol building.

This podcast is a bit tongue-in-cheek because I can’t stop laughing at the mental derangement and psychological fragility of the left, so don’t take every word of this podcast seriously. But it does give you my overall take on why I think January 20, 2017 will be a day of defeat for the desperate, deranged left.

Click here for the full podcast at Health Ranger Report.

Obama Just Quietly Sent US Marines to Fight in Afghanistan

January 9, 2017   |   admintam

(RPI – Op-Ed) Last week, as the mainstream media continued to obsess over the CIA’s evidence-free claim that the Russians hacked the presidential election, President Obama quietly sent 300 US Marines back into Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. This is the first time in three years that the US military has been sent into that conflict zone, and it represents a final failure of Obama’s Afghanistan policy. The outgoing president promised that by the end of his second term, the US military would only be present in small numbers and only on embassy duty. But more than 8,000 US troops will remain in Afghanistan as he leaves office.

When President Obama was first elected he swore that he would end the US presence in Iraq (the “bad” war) and increase US presence in Afghanistan (the “good” war). He ended up increasing troops to both wars, while the situation in each country continued to deteriorate.

Why are the Marines needed in the Helmand Province? Because although the foolish and counterproductive 15-year US war in Afghanistan was long ago lost, Washington cannot face this fact. Last year the Taliban controlled 20 percent of the province. This year they control 85 percent of the province. So billions more must be spent and many more lives will be lost.

Will these 300 Marines somehow achieve what the 2011 peak of 100,000 US soldiers was not able to achieve? Will this last push “win” the war? Hardly! The more the president orders military action in Iraq and Afghanistan, the worse it gets. In 2016, for example, President Obama dropped 1,337 bombs on Afghanistan, a 40 percent increase from 2015. According to the United Nations, in 2016 there were 2,562 conflict-related civilian deaths and 5,835 injuries. And the Taliban continues to score victories over the Afghan puppet government.

The interventionists in Washington continue to run our foreign policy regardless of who is elected. They push for wars, they push for regime change, then they push for billions to reconstruct the bombed-out countries. When the “liberated” country ends up in worse shape, they claim it was because we just didn’t do enough of what ruined the country in the first place. It’s completely illogical, but the presidents who keep seeking the neocons’ advice don’t seem to notice. Obama – the “peace” candidate and president – has proven himself no different than his predecessors.

What will a President Trump do about the 15 year failed nation-building experiment in Afghanistan? He has criticized the long-standing US policy of “regime-change” and “nation-building” while on the campaign trail, and I would like to think he would just bring the troops home. However, I would not be surprised if he accelerates US military action in Afghanistan to “win the war” once and for all. He will not succeed if he does so, as the war is not winnable – no one even knows what “winning” looks like! We may well see even more US troops killing and being killed in Afghanistan a year from now if that is the case. That would be a terrible tragedy.

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This article (Obama Just Quietly Sent US Marines to Fight in Afghanistan) by Ron Paul originally appeared on RonPaulInstitute.org and was used with permission. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.

Colorado gun law backfires; Wyoming loads up with Magpul deal

Magpul Industries announced a mega-deal to supply ammunition magazines to the Marines last week, a boon for Cheyenne and a loss for Colorado.

Dec. 27, 2016, by Joey Bunch, ColoradoPolitics.com

Magpul, one of the country’s largest producers of ammunition magazines and other accessories, left Colorado in protest of the state’s 2013 gun laws that limited the size of magazines to 15 rounds.

In 2013, when Democrats controlled the state House, Senate and governor’s office, Colorado passed a 15-round limit as a measure to curb mass shootings, particularly in the wake of the 2012 Aurora theater assault that left 12 people dead and more than 70 wounded. Among James Holmes’ weapons was a semi-automatic rifle with a 100-round drum magazine.

The political and legal fallout came swiftly. Gun rights supporters recalled two legislators and another resigned. State sheriffs sued in vain to block the law. The economic cost is still adding up.

Magpul moved its production, distribution and shipping operations to Cheyenne and its headquarters to Texas last year. Besides principle, the move was fueled by cash—the  Wyoming State Loan and Investment Board ponied up $8.3 million

At the time the deal closed in September 2014, the Wyoming Business Council said Magpul would pay back about $3.7 million, but Laramie County, Wyo., stood to gain another $14.3 million in taxes, income off leases and other benefits from growing its workforce.

Magpul took about 100 employees out of Colorado in early 2015. When the gun law was passed in 2013, it had about 200 workers in a 100,000-square-foot in Erie. The payroll has since grown to 380 and added a second shift in 185,000-square-foot facility in Cheyenne.

The dollar value of the contract with the Marine Corps was not estimated by Magpul or the U.S. Department of Defense, but it promises to be lucrative. Magpul will be the exclusive provider for magazines Marines carry into combat.

Frustration was in the voice of Colorado Senate President Kevin Grantham Tuesday.

“My take is there is no big surprise here,” said the Republican leader from Canon City. “You tell a company they can’t sell a product in your state, when it’s a good product and a popular product. They move across the state line, they get a lot of support and they get a big contract. We lost not only the jobs they had when they were here, we lost  the jobs they’ve grown into since and we’re losing all the jobs they’re going to grow into in future years with this contract.

“Once you have the Marine contract, I don’t see how the other branches won’t follow suit eventually. That’s a massive, massive contract just a short distance down the road. We lost that.”

On the other hand?

“What good did this gun law do? Not a blasted bit,” Grantham said.

ColoradoPolitics.com