Tag: donald trump

Trump’s extreme use of military is stirring a crisis of conscience among troops

As President Donald Trump increasingly uses the U.S. military to carry out his agenda through brute force, organizations that provide counseling services for U.S. servicemembers are reporting growing numbers of calls. These calls have further spiked in response to Trump’s war on Iran, one of the most unpopular in U.S. history.

The United States has carried out the war through intense attacks on densely populated civilian areas, the impact of which was clearly shown in the bombing of a girls’ school, killing well over 100 children. Not even concerned with selling the war to the public, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has leaned into treating the intervention as a “holy war” for Christianity.

Mike Prysner, an Iraq War veteran and executive director at the Center on Conscience & War (CCW), told Truthout that troops are telling his organization that they don’t want to be involved in the killing.

“That’s pretty much all of the cases that we have,” Prysner said. “It’s all people who don’t want to take part in killing in a war that they don’t believe in, and this war has made them realize that they can’t take part in any kind of U.S. military action ever again.”

The CCW, formerly the National Interreligious Service Board for Conscientious Objectors, was founded in 1940 to assist religious communities whose beliefs prohibited them from participating in war. Over time, and as a result of broadening criteria for who can qualify as a conscientious objector (CO), the organization evolved to assist troops of all backgrounds whose values prevent them from being able to participate in war.

Prysner told Truthout that in recent weeks CCW has already been able to help several servicemembers become COs to avoid being deployed.

To reach more servicemembers experiencing crises of conscience, CCW and other organizations including the Quaker House founded the GI Rights Hotline in 1994. Steve Woolford, a resource counselor at the Quaker House, has taken calls for the hotline since 2001 and agreed that the war on Iran, and Trump’s broader use of the military, has caused a spike in calls.

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Trump Gives an Indefinite Cease-Fire to Iran. What Is This War?

Last Friday, President Trump posted a series of announcements on Truth Social, claiming that Iran had given him everything he wanted in exchange for nothing. The President asserted that Iran had agreed to hand over what he called their “nuclear dust” (the enriched uranium buried under ground from last June’s American air attack); to stop funding Hezbollah and Hamas; and to open the Strait of Hormuz and never close it again. Many of Trump’s pro-war supporters declared victory, reveling in their triumphalism.

While that was a feel-good story, there were many obvious problems with it, starting with the fact that Iran never confirmed any of it and would never realistically surrender, given its perception of the massive leverage it continues to possess. Sure enough, Iran later that day denied having agreed to anything beyond opening the Strait during the cease-fire negotiations. But after Israel continued to bomb Lebanon, despite Trump’s announcement that he had “PROHIBITED” Israel from doing so, which he followed by announcing a full military blockade of the Strait to prevent Iran from selling oil, it was clear that a deal to end the war was very far away.

During his flurry of victory claims, Trump set Wednesday — tomorrow — as the deadline for Iran to agree to a comprehensive deal, after which he said he would begin obliterating the country. He announced that he was sending Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff (with J.D. Vance being added later) to Islamabad to meet with the Iranians. In response, Iran announced that it would refuse to attend any negotiations while the U.S. was blockading the Strait. As a result, Trump’s deadline will come and go tomorrow, presumably without a deal.

As he has done before, Trump’s response to the lapse of his deadline is not to follow through on his threats (thankfully), but instead to announce an extension of the deadline. Today, he did exactly that, though notably, his extension came without any new deadline: it is just an indefinite suspension of hostilities pending an agreement. All of this raises a question that has lurked since the start of this: what is the purpose of this war, and how can it end? We examine those questions in the above 30-minute video.

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‘Predators’: Amnesty slams Netanyahu, Putin, Trump as human rights decline

The heads of Israel, Russia and the United States are leading the destruction of global human rights, Amnesty International has said, describing them as “voracious predators” intent upon economic and political domination.

“A global environment where primitive ferocity could flourish has been long in the making,” Agnes Callamard, the head of the global rights group, wrote in an annual report on the state of the world’s human rights that was released on Tuesday.

In 2025, “sharp U-turns were taken away from the international order that had been imagined out of the ashes of the Holocaust and the utter destruction of world wars, and constructed slowly and painfully, albeit insufficiently, over these past 80 years,” she said.

In a news conference on Monday in London, Callamard said that most governments tend to appease the “predators” rather than confront them.

“Some even thought to imitate the bullies and the looters,” she said.

Spain, however, which is an outlier in Europe for its criticism of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and US-Israeli attacks on Iran, “is standing above the double standard that is destroying the international system”, Callamard said.

She argued that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who in 2022 sent his forces into neighbouring Ukraine, have had an “absolutely dramatic” impact on the world.

Their conduct is “emboldening all of those that are tempted by similar behaviours,” said Callamard. “It is allowing for the multiplication of copycats around the world, and therefore what we are confronting now is much more aggressive and ferocious than what we had to confront three or four years ago.”

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The Consequences of Incompetence

For nearly 40 days, Israel and the United States carried out an extensive aerial campaign against Iran designed to topple the government and suppress Iran’s ability to defend itself. This campaign failed to achieve any of its stated objectives. Instead, it devolved into a numbers game where inflated outcomes were sold to an unquestioning public by military professionals and politicians alike. The Iranian government not only withstood the efforts at decapitation-induced regime change, but actually strengthened its hold on power when the people of Iran, instead of turning on the Islamic Republic, rallied to its cause. Moreover, rather than suppressing Iran’s ability to launch ballistic missiles and drones against US military bases, critical infrastructure in the Gulf Arab States, and Israel, Iran not only sustained its ability to strike, but deployed new generations of weapons that readily defeated all missile defense systems while, using intelligence information that permitted accurate targeting, destroyed critical military infrastructure worth tens of billions of dollars.

Regional experts had long warned about the consequences of entering an existential conflict with Iran, noting that Iran would not simply allow itself to be erased as a viable nation state without ensuring that the other nations of the region were subjected to similar existential threats to their survival, and that global energy security would be disrupted in such a manner as to trigger a world economic crisis. These assessments were backed up by a belied that Iran would not only be able to shut down shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz, but also effectively target and destroy the major energy production potential of the Gulf Arab States.

It wasn’t that the politicians and military planners in the US and Israel doubted Iran’s ability to impact global energy markets or strike targets in Israel and the Gulf region.

They knew Iran had the potential.

They just believed that they would be able to achieve regime change in Tehran in relatively short order, thereby mooting any threat Iran might pose to energy supplies and infrastructure.

They were wrong, which is why the US was looking for an offramp from the war soon after it started.

The end result was this current ceasefire, which was ostensibly entered into to buy time for US and Iranian negotiators to hammer out a lasting peace plan.

There is a fundamental problem, however.

While Iran has approached the current negotiations from a practical, reality-based posture predicated on resolving the actual major points of difference between the US and Iran, the US is being held hostage by the politicized whim of an American President who needs to shape domestic public opinion in a way which transforms the reality of a humiliating defeat into the perception of a bold victory.

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Sen. Rick Scott introduces legislation to repudiate 2019 Trump impeachment: ‘Lacks legitimacy’

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., on Monday became the first member of Congress to introduce legislation to repudiate the 2019 Democrat-led House vote to impeach Donald Trump, declaring evidence newly declassified by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard showed the vote to remove the president more than six years ago “lacks legitimacy.”

Scott’s move came after Just the News reported a week ago that documents declassified by Gabbard showed Congress and Trump’s legal team were kept from evidence showing the whistleblower whose allegations about Ukraine policy prompted the impeachment had the “potential for bias,” misled investigators in his first report and only had hearsay evidence to back up his allegations.

Scott’s resolution asks the Senate to consider “condemning the handling of the 2019 Ukraine Whistleblower Complaint, calling for the Department of Justice to initiate an investigation and possible prosecution of the matter, and declaring the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump by the House of Representatives lacks legitimacy.”

The resolution also stated that the House vote to impeach Trump in December 2019 “was predicated on a concealed and deficient complaint, lacks legitimacy and the facts and circumstances upon which Articles of Impeachment were based neither met the burden of proving that President Trump committed ‘High Crimes and Misdemeanors’ nor established that President Trump engaged in ‘insurrection of rebellion against the United States.'”

You can read the full resolution here.

MDM26804.pdf

In an interview with the John Solomon Reports podcast, Scott said he considered the 2019 impeachment trial of Trump to be “complete BS” but that the new evidence showed the president, his legal team and the public were all denied a fair proceeding because exculpatory evidence that undercut his chief accuser was withheld.

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Trump wages war, his sons get payoff through savvy investments

The U.S. military desperately needs drone capabilities for President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, and fast. Coincidentally, his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., are on the case.

Indeed, the Trump brothers are pumping money into defense-tech oriented firms that have already secured Pentagon contracts, or have already put battle-tested products to market. For example, they’ve invested in Powerus, a new drone company aiming to harness its “strong relationship with Ukraine” as a means to acquire and leverage war-tried Ukrainian drone technologies in a competitive U.S. market. Having bought out several competitors, Powerus already does business with the U.S. military.

In other words, the Trump family stands to benefit financially from the war, and already are.

Eric Trump also invests in Israeli drone firm and DoD contractor Xtend, whose “low cost-per kill” attack drones have been used by the IDF in Gaza. Expanding to the U.S., the company opened an office near Tampa last summer.

Donald Trump Jr. has a $4 million stake in, and sits on the board of Unusual Machines, a drone parts startup. In December, it secured a $620 million DoD loan — the largest loan in the history of the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital — to make drone parts.

And Trump Jr. is a partner at 1789, a “patriotic capitalist” venture capital firm which backs a number of defense-tech startups. The firm, which Trump Jr. joined in November 2024 — right after his father was re-elected to the presidency — has since seen explosive growth: the assets it manages jumped in value from $150 million to more than $2 billion by the end of last year.

Suggesting the firm influences U.S. policy outright, Trump Jr. explained at a Future Investment Initiative event last year that 1789 “understand[s] what the administration wants to do, because [the firm] helped craft some of the messaging.”

Conflicts of interest percolate

As William Hartung, a Quincy Institute senior research fellow, tells RS, the Trump family’s defense-tech pursuits can be linked to a larger network of technology firms and venture capitalists that has significant influence within the Trump administration.

“The emerging military tech sector has deep ties to the administration, starting with vice-president J.D. Vance’s relationship with Palantir founder Peter Thiel, who employed Vance and helped fund his Senate run,” Hartung said. “The fact that Donald Trump Jr. — not only the president’s son but a close political advisor and unofficial spokesperson — will now profit personally from the fate of specific military tech firms adds an even more profound conflict-of-interest.”

To this end, 1789’s portfolio includes a number of defense-oriented companies, such as Anduril, Hadrian, SpaceX, and Vulcan Elements, a DOD contractor that makes rare-earth magnets, which are also backed by controversial venture capitalist Peter Thiel or his VC firm Founders Fund. A Silicon Valley kingmaker and Palantir co-founder to boot, Thiel has simultaneously worked to influence U.S. politics, bankrolling Congressional campaigns while many in his orbit now occupy major positions in the Trump administration.

Notably, Trump Jr. also sits on the advisory board of controversial prediction market Polymarket — which 1789 and Thiel’s Founders Fund also back — fostering an environment where people with insider awareness regarding the outcomes of world events could theoretically profit from that knowledge.

Hartung warns such political access — and, in the case of 1789, venture capital funding — can give certain defense-tech startups an unwarranted edge.

“Venture capital allows firms to stay in the market longer before they score their first big government contract, be it with the Pentagon, an intelligence agency, or the Department of Homeland Security,” Hartung told RS. “But once these influential firms have sunk substantial funds in a startup, they may use their influence to get that firm a contract whether or not its technology is ready for prime time, just to get a return on funds invested up to a given point in time.”

“If they can recruit the president’s son to join in boosting a particular firm, whether or not its product has been proven effective, they have a whole new level of influence, which can be wielded to serve their financial interests rather than the public interest,” Hartung said.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene Suggests Butler Assassination Attempt Was a Hoax

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) shared a post that suggested the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania, was a hoax.

In her post, Greene responded to the original post, questioning why Trump “of all people” was not “leading the charge” to find out the truth about shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks. On July 13, 2024, Trump was shot by a “bullet that pierced the upper part” of his right ear, after Crooks opened fire from the rooftop of a nearby building.

“Extremely important post worth the read and consideration,” Greene wrote. “Corey Comperatore’s family deserves to know the truth about Matthew Crooks and what happened in Butler on July 13, 2024.”

“President Trump, of all people, should be leading the charge,” Greene added. “Why isn’t he? That’s the question.”

The post, which Greene shared, came from someone who described herself as “a long time Trump supporter,” and a national delegate. The lady, Trisha Hope, described hearing Trump speak at the Republican National Convention, and how Trump stated that people had been asking him to tell them “what happened.” At the time, Trump stated that he would tell them what happened, adding that they would “never hear it” from him “a second time because it’s too painful to tell.”

“At the convention of course there was massive concern for President Trump the consensus was it was divine intervention that saved Trump and we were all incredibly grateful,” Hope wrote. “On the night Trump spoke, he had the ear patch on and many in the crowd did also. As Trump begin to speak, he started with this: ‘So many people have asked me what happened. Tell us what happened, please. And therefore, I will tell you exactly what happened, and you’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s actually too painful to tell.’”

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Trump Signs Order To Accelerate Legal Access To Psychedelics For Patients With Mental Health Conditions

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at expanding and expediting research on the potential therapeutic benefits of psychedelics, a move aimed at making substances such as psilocybin, ibogaine, LSD and MDMA more readily available to patients in clinical settings.

The move will “dramatically accelerate access to new medical research and treatments based on psychedelic drugs,” Trump said.

The order, which the president signed in the Oval Office on Saturday alongside federal health officials, advocates and the podcaster Joe Rogan, directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue new guidance for researchers on conducting clinical trials on psychedelics.

“In many cases, these experimental treatments have shown life-changing potential for those suffering from severe mental illness and depression—including our cherished veterans,” Trump said.

Steps taken under the order will “clear away unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles, improve data sharing among the FDA and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and facilitate fast rescheduling of any psychedelic drugs that become FDA approved,” the president said.

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Trump Promises Major UFO File Releases ‘Very, Very Soon’ After Finding ‘Many Interesting Documents’

President Donald Trump teased the imminent release of government documents on UFOs and Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs) during a speech on Friday at a Turning Point USA event in Phoenix, Arizona.

Trump said he recently directed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to begin declassifying the files.

“I recently directed the Secretary of War … to begin releasing government files relating to UFOs and unexplained aerial phenomena,” Trump told the crowd. “And I figured this was a good crowd because I know you people–– you’re really into that, I don’t know if I am.”

The president added that the review process is already well underway and has uncovered notable material.

“This process was well underway, and we’ve found many interesting documents, I must say, and the first releases will begin very, very soon,” the president stated.

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Judicial Watch Obtains FBI Records that Reveal Would-Be Trump Assassin Thomas Crooks Involved in Altercation Before Shooting

Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch on Friday released FBI records that reveal would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks was involved in an altercation before the shooting.

Thomas Crooks was able to climb on the roof of the AGR building, put President Trump in his scope from an elevated position, and fire his weapon at Trump.

A countersniper killed Crooks.

President Trump was shot in the ear, and firefighter Corey Comperatore was fatally shot.

According to the newly-released FBI documents, Crooks made “hateful comments” directed at Trump before he climbed on the roof of the AGR building and shot Trump.

Judicial Watch announced today that it forced the release of 27 heavily redacted pages from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit that show that would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks was reportedly involved in an altercation with a group of people and making “hateful comments” directed at President Trump at the Butler, PA, rally site before the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt.

A July 17 FD-302 investigative report states that a woman who attended the Trump rally was interviewed by the FBI and reported that Crooks “had an altercation with a group of people in the area [where the woman was standing] prior to the shooting.” The witness continued that “she observed Crooks climbing the building a short time after the interaction.”

The report shows that another rally attendee interviewed by agents said he also heard the altercation involving Crooks at the rally. The report states, “[Redacted] reported just before Donald Trump came on the stage, CROOKS was making ‘hateful’ comments toward Trump. [Redacted] wasn’t sure if Crooks was filming the event or speaking with someone on his cell phone.”

A July 17 FD-302 investigative report shows that a woman contacted the National Threat Operations Center (NTOC) to report that she had attended the Trump rally in Butler and that she had seen a “suspicious individual” at the rally who was acting “very nervous” in the parking lot and she took a picture of the license plate of his Hyundai vehicle.

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